Dawn M. (Torrence) Ireland is the founder of CHERUBS – The Association of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Research, Awareness and Support. Created in 1995, after the birth of Ms. Ireland’s son, who was born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia (CDH), she wished to create a supportive, collaborative community of families of researchers. It was built upon a foundation of research, awareness and support – providing as many services and as much information as the budget and volunteer system could withstand. With the encouragement of several prominent pediatric surgeons, CHERUBS began to have a presence at medical conferences in 1996. By 2000, the CDH Research Survey Database was created. In 2017, the charity was restructured. Ms. Ireland stepped away as President of CHERUBS and into the role of President of CDH International to further the research projects that the organization is involved in. CHERUBS still exists as the family support division of CDH International. Currently, Ms. Ireland oversees CDH International which now runs the world’s largest natural history database of CDH, has 3 boards, employees, many volunteers, assists over 6300 patient families in 70 countries, presents research abstracts, and works with both the NIH and the EU. Ms. Ireland also is a founding member of the Rare Advocacy Movement and senior level patient advocate, mentors several other non-profit organizations, is a founding member of the Alliance of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Organizations, has written/edited 4 books and spends her time between the United States and Europe to continue the organization’s growth and outreach.
