Our Leadership

Meet our Board of Directors

Julie Scher, J.D.

Chair

Tracy Christensen

Vice Chair

Emma Cooksey

Secretary

Ana Lara

Director

Meet our Staff

Julie Flygare, JD
President & CEO

Julie Flygare, JD, serves as President & CEO of Project Sleep. Flygare is an internationally recognized patient-perspective leader, an accomplished advocate, and the award-winning author of Wide Awake and Dreaming: A Memoir of Narcolepsy. On March 22, 2022, she delivered the TEDx Talk, “What Can You Learn from a Professional Dreamer?

Since receiving a diagnosis of narcolepsy with cataplexy in 2007, Flygare advanced her leadership in the sleep and healthcare space through speaking engagements, publications, earned media, collaborations, and advocacy and awareness initiatives. Prior to accepting her current role as President & CEO of Project Sleep, Flygare served as President of Project Sleep’s Board of Directors, while also gaining invaluable experience in marketing and philanthropy at the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network and City of Hope. Additionally, she served on the National Institutes of Health’s Sleep Disorders Research Advisory Board from 2012 – 2015. Flygare received her B.A. from Brown University in 2005 and her J.D. from Boston College Law School in 2009, focusing on health law, policy, and rare disease drug development.

Professional photo of Lauren Oglesby, a white woman with blue eyes and brown chin length hair, wearing a blue floral top and blue cardigan.

Lauren Oglesby, MPH
Programs Manager

Lauren is a public health educator and advocate, with a focus on healthcare and resource accessibility for vulnerable and underserved populations. She has implemented programs serving LGBTQ+ youth in rural Virginia, teens at high risk of pregnancy, and people who are incarcerated and living with HIV.

Lauren has personal and family experience with invisible disabilities and chronic conditions, including mental illness and autism spectrum differences. She is thrilled to serve as Programs Manager with Project Sleep, where she leverages her diverse personal and professional experience (and love of spreadsheets) to coordinate advocacy and awareness initiatives with the sleep community. In her spare time, she enjoys hiking in the Blue Ridge mountains, reading too many books at a time, and trying to keep up with her large extended family. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and teenaged kiddo.

Rachel Aubrey, a white woman with long brown hair wearing a dark teal dress.

Rachel Aubrey
Digital Media Specialist

Rachel is a content creator and digital communicator, with a passion for working in the non-profit sector. She has worked with a small theater in her hometown of Wausau, WI, and with a dog rescue organization based out of Thailand.

Rachel is excited to continue learning about sleep health and sleep disorders. She believes sleep is indeed a pillar of health and strives to share its benefits with the world, mostly via social media and other digital platforms! In her spare time, she enjoys seeing live music, getting outside to explore the beautiful land and lakes that Wisconsin has to offer, and also traveling far beyond to an ever-growing list of destinations! As much as Rachel loves living in Wisconsin, the winters can be tough! She plans to start being a “snowbird,” trading the cold winter for a warmer climate.

Meet our Expert Advisory Board

Project Sleep's 30 Expert Advisory Board members.

Project Sleep’s Expert Advisory Board includes cliniciansresearcherspatients, and advocates who are thought leaders and trailblazers in their respective fields. This powerful group works together to accelerate our mission of improving public health by educating individuals and communities about sleep health, sleep equity, and sleep disorders.

Latest News

Project Sleep’s Julie Flygare Featured on ABC News Live

On World Sleep Day, Friday March 17th, 2023, Project Sleep’s President & CEO, Julie Flygare, JD, appeared on ABC News Live to talk about signs of sleep disorders. Julie was interviewed by ABC News Anchor and Correspondent, Diane Macedo (author of The Sleep Fix) alongside Project Sleep Expert Advisory Board Member, Dr. Michael Grandner, Behavioral…

Podcast: Alida Abdullah’s Story with Sleep Apnea

The Project Sleep Podcast – Sleep Insights Series Ep. 5 If you tell your doctor that you’re tired all the time, would they take you seriously? What if you said you’re snoring? In this podcast, we talk to Alida Abdullah about finding her sleep apnea diagnosis, getting treatment, and what she wishes she’d known earlier…

Urgent Action: Ask Your Representative to Support Sleep Research and Awareness

Your Voice Matters For the fifth year in a row, an official Congressional Sign On Letter will be sent to the Appropriations Committee asking them to prioritize support for sleep and sleep disorders research and awareness. To be effective, we need your Members of the U.S. House of Representatives to “sign on.” The more House…

Podcast: What’s Light Got to Do with It? with Dr. Till Roenneberg

The Project Sleep Podcast – Sleep Insights Series Ep. 4 How much light did you get today? In this fascinating episode, we speak with Dr. Till Roenneberg, a Professor of Chronobiology for the Institute of Medical Psychology at Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, Germany. Dr. Roenneberg explains how powerful light and darkness are in setting our internal…

Black American Sleep Focus Groups: Register to Participate!

Contribute to sleep research This spring, Project Sleep is partnering with Dr. Robert W. Turner II and Dr. Michael Grandner to hear first-hand perspectives on sleep and sleep disorders from Black Americans, trusted community and faith leaders, and health care providers. This project aims to uncover important insights that will inform future sleep awareness and…
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