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BY ALISON BAILIN BATZ / PHOTOS BY CLAUDIA JOHNSTONE / LOCATION: ANDAZ SCOTTSDALE RESORT & BUNGALOWS

THE ACCELERATOR

Ray Damm navigates local nonprofit at warp speed while expanding services to the Middle East

Though just 35 and colorblind, Ray Damm has certainly led a colorful life. His story starts in 1986 at a Navy base in Pensacola, Florida. The second oldest of four children, Damm grew up in a military family, notably with a fighter pilot father and Marine Corps grandfather. “We moved about every 18 months with the Navy, so I had already lived in more than a dozen cities across Florida, Arizona, California, Texas, Virginia and South Carolina before I could even drive,” says Damm, who spent his early childhood dreaming of following in his father’s footsteps.

Although a good student, there was only one subject in school that gave him trouble. “In third grade, I was mastering multiplication tables and memorizing state capitals with ease, but when the teacher took out a color wheel, I was at a loss,” Damm says. Among his struggles were discerning pastels, bold colors, greens, and browns from black and white. In short order, Damm was diagnosed with color vision deficiency, a subset of colorblindness where an individual is unable to distinguish certain shades of color. “I was a pretty upbeat kid but learning it would preclude me from becoming a fighter pilot like my father was a bit of a blow,” Damm says. Instead, he shifted his interests to sports, becoming an adept football punter and kicker while maintaining a high GPA. His talent earned him a full athletic and academic scholarship at The University of Virginia’s College at Wise in 2004, where he studied business and graduated in three years. Just prior to earning his degree in 2007, Damm spent his spring break interviewing for jobs, ultimately earning a position at a company in Miami that turned out to be more door-to-door sales than a first step in a career. “Through it, however, I ended up knocking on the door of a printing company, which led me to meet the owners of a magazine who offered me an opportunity to go into publishing. I took it, and it ultimately led me to New York in 2008,” Damm says.

A Philanthropic Path

Admittedly being somewhat sheltered from growing up on tightknit military bases and in sports teams, experiences in both Miami and New York opened Damm’s eyes to a world well outside his comfort zone, especially when it came to the homeless population. It was while in New York and he began connecting oneon-one with several members of the homeless and low-income population that Damm decided to change course in life. “In the span of a year, I went from attending a private Prince concert for 50 to working with men coming out of prison and homeless shelters,” says Damm, who quit his publishing job and joined a nonprofit called The Doe Fund in 2009. “Our mission was to break the cycles of homelessness, incarceration, and recidivism by providing holistic services, housing, and work opportunities. And it was exhilarating.” The position not only helped Damm find his calling, but his true love as well. “I met my now-wife, Christiana, while we worked together at Doe,” Damm says. He was also inspired to earn his master’s degree from New York University while at Doe, buoyed by a client who successfully transitioned from prison to working both a full-time job and earning his degree simultaneously. “Christiana is a Valley native. Her mother Connie Fletcher Laird – today Connie Fletcher Harrington – was the CEO of a nonprofit called ACCEL, which provides educational, behavioral, therapeutic and employment programs to individuals who have special needs.” The two were married in 2013, and moved to Arizona in 2016 to be closer to family. “I was honored to accept the role of chief financial officer at ACCEL that same year,” Damm says. When his mother-in-law retired after more than 25 years of service to the organization, Damm was humbled and honored to be chosen by his peers to accept the position of chief executive officer of ACCEL in 2018, knowing he had very big shoes to fill. Damm has also had the privilege to expand ACCEL internationally in recent years. Just prior to the pandemic and in partnership with Saudi Aramco, ACCEL opened the Ajyal Center for Comprehensive Education and Life Skills in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in late 2019. The center is the first of its kind in the region to provide high-quality therapeutic and educational services to children who have special needs. “Our goal was to put the foot on the gas pedal – or accelerate – our impact worldwide. Despite the unique set of challenges since COVID-19, we are firing at all cylinders,” says Damm, noting their operations in Arizona and worldwide are open, operating under all CDC guidelines. “Serving the members of this community and beyond who live with special needs and helping them to develop the necessary skills to work and live successfully with dignity and independence, gets me out of bed daily with a sense of purpose and such pride.” Looking ahead, Damm sees continued acceleration both in Arizona and abroad the rest of the year, literally. “When not traveling to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and United Arab Emirates to be of service, my wife and I are physically accelerating along the I-17 to our newly acquired second home near Mormon Lake, which we’ve been updating by hand for the past year.”

RIT for Foot & Ankle Pain

BY GREER BANKS

I hate to hear that foot pain is keeping someone from their everyday life,” says Dr. Kerry Zang, podiatric medical director of CiC Foot & Ankle. Just because you’re on your feet all day or are getting older, doesn’t mean your feet should hurt. Another big reason why people live with chronic foot pain, is because they didn’t get relief from prior treatment and are not aware that there may be other options.

“The thing that excites me most about being a doctor is finding new ways to help my patients. Regenerative medicine is the latest answer,” says Zang. “It doesn’t matter if you are suffering from arthritis, an old injury, Achilles tendonitis, heel pain or plantar fasciitis, pain after surgery, the list goes on and on. Regenerative medicine may be able to help.”

Regenerative injection therapy (RIT) uses growth factors to help repair and restore tissue, ligaments, and joints. Until recently, anti-inflammatory medication and steroid injections, like cortisone offered the best chance for relief. But, these options just reduced the symptoms. “While cortisone stops the swelling and pain, it can also interfere with the healing process and more damage can occur,” explains Zang.

Now, doctors are able to deal with the underlying problem that is causing the pain. RIT helps the body initiate its own healing response, where the body replaces, repairs, reprograms and renews diseased or injured cells. “Sometimes the body just needs a little boost to encourage the regenerative process. The growth factors in RIT do that,” says Zang.

“While cortisone stops the swelling and pain, it can also interfere with the healing process and more damage can occur.”

A recent patient of Dr. Zang’s has seen wonderful results from RIT.

A patient had been suffering from ankle pain after an injury and surgery three years ago. Cortisone injections, physical therapy and pain medications did not help. He needed to wear a brace because his ankle was unstable and painful. “I couldn’t recommend additional surgery because while it may have addressed his ankle problem, I believe it would have just transferred the pain further up his leg, and most likely affect his knee,” says Zang. “I felt his best option was a growth factor injection.”

Dr. Zang recognized that the patient was skeptical, and explained, “I’ve seen excellent results with ongoing pain after prior surgeries, and believed he had on opportunity to benefit as well. I advised him it could take a bit of time, but it may offer the relief he needed.” A few months after the injection, the patient noticed the pain was nearly gone. Soon after, he realized, “I [haven’t] noticed any pain…this is an unbelievable outcome so far, and I thought this could never happen. The shot works!”

Dr. Kerry Zang, a Diplomate of the American Board of Foot & Surgery, is the Podiatric Medical Director at CIC Foot & Ankle and can be reached at (602) 954-0777 or azfeet.com.