Nadina Riggsbee

Founder and President

When tragedy upended her life in 1978, Nadina became the first true consumer advocate for childhood drowning prevention. Her tenacity—which has never wavered in the decades since her loss—has helped make childhood drowning a recognized hazard. She has been critically instrumental in changing policy, promoting legislation, and enhancing building codes—all with the intent of educating about childhood drowning and taking steps to reduce the toll.

Nadina is a hands-on advocate, unafraid to roll up her sleeves and get into the fight to keep drowning prevention a priority among childhood injury prevention efforts.

Breyana Riggsbee

Board Member

Breyana Riggsbee has been an Education/Parks and Recreation professional for the past 15 years. With a Masters Degree in Public and Education Administration from San Francisco University, Breyana strives to continually educate communities on injury prevention and drowning awareness issues. Breyana works with youth and families of all ages throughout various communities. Breyana is an advocate for young children and their safety. She works closely with families, agencies, and community entities to ensure education and awareness regarding drowning prevention.

Dorothy Ann Drago

Board Member

Dorothy Ann Drago is a Product Safety Consultant, who specializes in infant and childhood injury prevention. She started her career in product safety/injury prevention in 1978—ironically the same year that Nadina’s daughter drowned and son suffered non-fatal drowning—when she joined the staff of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in Washington, DC. After working at CPSC for nearly ten years, Dotty formed her own consulting company in 1987. Studying at the Injury Prevention Center at The Johns Hopkins University, Dotty earned her MPH in 1995. She has authored several articles on childhood injuries, and in 2007, her first book, From Crib to Kindergarten: The Essential Child Safety Guide , was published by The Johns Hopkins University Press. Her goal has been to educate parents and care-givers to give them the tools they need to reduce the risks of injury to children in their care.

Ron Gilbert

Board Member

Ron Gilbert is the chairman and founder of the Foundation for Aquatic Injury Prevention which is a non-profit, educational organization dedicated to reducing the number of diving injuries, drowning and near drowning injuries and other aquatic accidents. FAIP is actively engaged in water safety education, legislation, support for victims and their families and serves as one of the aquatic communities most comprehensive informational support resources on aquatic safety issues.

Ron Gilbert has been active in the aquatic safety community over the last thirty (30) years. He was named as one of the top 25 contributors to aquatic safety by Aquatic International magazine. He has also served on the board of other drowning prevention organizations. He also served on the ASTM Standard Committee which writes standards for aquatic products and also serves on the ANSI Canvas Committee which reviews standards for various aquatic products.

Roger B. Trent, Ph.D.

Board Member

Dr. Roger Trent is a Research Scientist Supervisor and chief of the Injury Surveillance and Epidemiology Section in the California Department of Public Health. Before joining the Department in 1988, he served on the faculty of West Virginia University and as Chief of the Injury Surveillance Section, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health at CDC. He supervises epidemiologists involved in projects in injury surveillance and research in such areas as drowning, homicide, suicide, alcohol and drugs, child maltreatment and shaken baby syndrome, central nervous system trauma, traffic injuries, heat waves, senior falls, and disability. Particular interests are development of injury surveillance systems and making data available on the web. He has published journal articles on toddler drowning and near-drowning.

Charlotte Payton

Board Member

Charlotte Payton is a nonprofit development professional with seven years of experience in corporate giving, volunteer engagement, special events coordination, and grant writing. Charlotte is an expert in activating corporate partners through sponsorships and employee engagement. Currently, she is a Senior Business Development Director for the American Heart Association (AHA) in the San Francisco Bay Area. There, she is responsible for coaching corporate executives to engage employees in the $3M Heart Walk campaign. Prior to her work at the AHA, Charlotte worked in the development department at the American Red Cross National Headquarters as well as the Bay Area Chapter. Charlotte graduated with a B.S. in marketing and finance from the University of Maryland in 2000.

Kristy Andrews

Board Member

Kristy Andrews is a graduate of Norwood Community College Business School and has been a medical billing associate for over six years. After her two cousins went through a drowning she became active in the DPF. She is currently promoting awareness of drowning safety in Pennsylvania and the surrounding region.