Meet the Founders of The Ripple Effect Foundation
Joseph Green and Stephanie Wood, co-founders of The Ripple Effect Foundation.
The Ripple Effect Foundation was co-founded by Joseph Green and Stephanie Wood — two military veterans who know what service means, and what it means to fight a battle at home that nobody can see.
Stephanie Wood is a U.S. Air Force veteran who served as an air traffic controller. She contracted COVID and lives with Long COVID herself. It isn't one or two symptoms. It's a long list of them, and a long list of medications she takes every day just to get through the day. The air hunger, the brain fog, the crushing fatigue, the hospital visits: she has lived all of it. She doesn't speak about Long COVID from the outside. She lives it, every day.
Joseph Green is a U.S. Navy veteran who served as a Boatswain's Mate aboard the USS Rushmore (LSD-47). After his service, he built a life in Michigan, and then COVID changed everything for the person he loves. Joseph is also Stephanie's significant other and her caregiver. He has been beside her through all of it: the doctor's appointments, the hospital visits, every hard day since. Right next to her, because she deserves that.
We also knew Stephanie wasn't the only one. There are millions and millions of people who still need help. That's why we came up with The Ripple Effect: because one person can change everything for another. So we're going to dive into different communities, different problems, and different outreach programs, and help as many people as we possibly can. Since starting the Foundation, we have heard from people all over the world. It has been astounding.
Real stories, in their own words. Long COVID patients and caregivers share their experiences, and we publish them exactly as written — never edited down.
Real numbers, counted from patients. We tally the symptoms, diagnoses, and costs straight from those statements and publish the data — see our Symptoms Counter and By the Numbers pages.
The latest research and clinical trials. We track new Long COVID studies and recruiting clinical trials and put them within reach of the people who need them.
A community that shows up. More than 7,000 members supporting each other through an illness too many people face unheard.
Advocacy that pushes for change. Petitions and pressure that carry those voices to the people making the decisions.
Long COVID is our first campaign. The ones that follow will look different — different communities, different needs, different work. But every one of them will start where this one started: with the people living it.