Balas Begins Role as President and CEO of ALS Association

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The ALS Association today announced that Calaneet Balas has begun her role as President and CEO. Her appointment marks the culmination of an orderly transition that was announced earlier this year. Balas previously served as the Association's Executive Vice President for Strategy.

"Calaneet is the perfect person to lead The ALS Association forward in our efforts to find treatments and a cure for ALS, while empowering people with the disease," said Stephen Winthrop, Board Chair of The ALS Association. "Calaneet brought considerable experience leading organizations with her to The ALS Association and she has since been critical to integrating our core mission areas ? research, care services, and advocacy."

Balas was hired in June 2016 to oversee the integration of the organization's research, care services, and advocacy missions. She had previously served as CEO of the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance. In this role, she successfully collaborated with a partner organization to create the largest global organization dedicated to ovarian cancer research, advocacy, and patients. Her extensive experience also includes roles at the Arthritis Foundation, where she was Chief Strategy Officer of the Mid-Atlantic Region and President and CEO of the foundation's Metro DC Chapter.

"It's a tremendous honor to take on this new role leading our dedicated staff, chapters, and volunteers, who are working tirelessly on behalf of people living with ALS," Balas said. "I'm grateful for their support and I look forward to continuing to work with them to serve and empower people with ALS."

About ALS
ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Eventually, people with ALS lose the ability to initiate and control muscle movement, which often leads to total paralysis and death within two to five years of diagnosis. For unknown reasons, veterans are twice as likely to develop ALS as the general population.

About The ALS Association
The ALS Association is the only national non-profit organization fighting Lou Gehrig's Disease on every front. By leading the way in global research, providing assistance for people with ALS through a nationwide network of chapters, coordinating multidisciplinary care through certified clinical care centers, and fostering government partnerships, The ALS Association builds hope and enhances quality of life while aggressively searching for new treatments and a cure. For more information about The ALS Association, visit our website at www.alsa.org.

SOURCE The ALS Association