Max Schewitz Foundation Announces Leadership Changes

The Max Schewitz Foundation is pleased to announce that Kathy Aykroid will join the board of directors as the executive director and secretary. Ms. Aykroid has been the lead project manager for nearly a decade coordinating all school EKG screenings, volunteers, and vendor logistics. She replaces founding member Mary Beth Schewitz, who will become chairman of the Max Schewitz Foundation board.

The Max Schewitz Foundation also welcomes new directors Jeanne Coogan and Alane Church. Jeanne Coogan is a CPA and will serve as treasurer in addition to managing all financial aspects of the Foundation. She has been with the Foundation for five years providing quality assurance of all records and results to parents. Alane Church has a deeply personal interest in the foundation after losing her seemingly healthy son, Josh, to unknown cardiac arrhythmia at age 17. Since his death in 2016, she has found the courage to provide outreach to our test schools to educate students and staff about the benefits of cardiac screening. She is also an ardent and creative fundraiser who brings the passion of personal loss to all she does.

The school-wide EKG screening program began in 2005 following the sudden death of 20-year-old Max Schewitz. The Foundation has now provided 85,152 EKG’s and 2,197 limited echocardiograms. The Foundation has found 787 students with abnormalities who were referred for further medical evaluation.

Our spring school-wide EKG screenings start at Warren Township High School, Josh Church’s alma mater, on February 13 (Almond Campus) and February 20 (O’Plaine Campus), followed by Libertyville (March 13) and Deerfield High school (April 24). Registration for all spring EKG screenings is now open at HeartSmartEKG.org.

Commitments have been made for the 2019/2020 school year: Lake Forest Academy (9/3/19), Vernon Hills High School (9/11/19), John Hersey High School (9/18/19), Wheeling High School (9/25/19), Antioch Community High School (10/9/19), Carmel Catholic High School (10/16/19), New Trier Freshmen Campus (10/23/19), Stevenson High School (11/6-7/19), Rolling Meadows High School (11/20/19), Elk Grove High School (2/5/20), Prospect High School 2/12/20) and Buffalo Grove High School (3/18/20).

Heart Smart, the Foundation’s school-wide EKG screening program, is administered by trained parent volunteers and the EKGs are interpreted by cardiologist Eli Lavie, MD, Medical Director of the Max Schewitz Foundation.

About The Max Schewitz Foundation

Based in Libertyville, Ill., The Max Schewitz Foundation’s dual missions reflect Max’s life and death. His parents and family friends started the Foundation in 2005 after 20-year-old Max died suddenly from a cardiac arrhythmia. The Foundation works to prevent sudden cardiac death (SCD) in young people and to promote conservation of fragile reptile species and their ecosystems. To learn more, call Kathy Aykroid at (847) 736-8140 or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.