Ambassadors of Hope

Estela Mata is the President and co-founder of Looms for Lupus, a non-profit organization that provides lupus, fibromyalgia and mental health awareness, advocacy, and support to those living with these conditions, their loved ones, and caregivers. Estela has worked in healthcare for over 30 years, currently supporting private practices with electronic medical records, office workflows to help the practice and patients for a top leading healthcare organization.

In 2011 she co-founded Looms for Lupus when her sister almost lost her life to Immune thrombocytopenia and Lupus; she is alive today because she advocated for herself. Estela has supported her sister and her passion to help others has evolved to illuminating, engaging, empowering, and supporting the community to take control of their overall health care. For the past 11 years, Estela has co-facilitated support groups, led, and participated in educational symposiums, advocated locally and nationally.

As a community leader and healthcare advocate she partners, collaborates with initiatives including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Minority Health and Health to increase awareness on the need for diversity in lupus clinical trials. She is a Virtual Advisor Team member for both the All of us Research Program and the Scripps Research Digital Trials Center and participant in the Congresswoman Grace Napolitano’s Mental Health Consortium. Estela is an exceptional community engagement liaison for both English and Spanish speakers.

Juana Mata is a Children’s Social Worker for the Department of Children and Family Services. She has been working for DCFS for the past 27 years. Juana works with children and their families to assist, support, and guide them through the process of separation, reunification, maintenance, and or adoption.

Juana has been interviewed by Channel 52 on her Lupus journey, shared her story with the California Chronic Care Coalition, My Patient Rights. She is the National Ambassador for the NIH All Of us Research Program as well as a Virtual Advisor Team member for both the All of us Research Program and the Scripps Research Digital Trials Center. She has been featured as a Lupus Hero by Lupus LA, written blogs for Lupus Research Alliance and was part of the Advocacy\Lobbying efforts in Washington DC on March 2018 through 2022. Also in March of 2018, Juana was honored as the 48th Assembly District Woman of the Year by Assemblywoman Blanca E. Rubio in the annual event at the Capitol. Juana was the 2019 Lupus Patient Advisor for Patients Like Me, the world’s largest personalized patient platform. In 2018 and 2019 Juana was a consumer advocate for the scientific peer review of Department of Defense. Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs’ Lupus Research Program. Juana also advocates for Fibromyalgia and Mental Health; she attended the first Fibromyalgia DC advocacy day in 2019.

Juana is one of the co-founders of Looms for Lupus is a nonprofit organization that provides support for Lupus survivors, their families, and caregivers. She dedicated to raising awareness, self-advocacy and advocating for lupus, fibromyalgia, and mental health. Juana advocates with local, state, and national government officials.

Juana lives in La Puente, CA with her husband and Son. She has two sons and two grandchildren.

Molly McCabe is an experienced entrepreneur, leader and board member in the non-profit arena. She co-founded Molly’s Fund Fighting Lupus (“MFFL”) with her mother after being diagnosed with lupus in 2005. MFFL is a leading nonprofit organization that is changing the way the health care community, pharmaceutical companies, governmental agencies, the general public and those living with lupus understand the disease, its diagnosis and its treatment. Molly and a group of committed volunteers were determined to improve the lives of people with Lupus through increased awareness, earlier diagnosis, and peer support. In addition, Molly spearheaded to create a critical mutually beneficial partnership between MFFL and the Alliance for Lupus Research, now known as the Lupus Research Alliance, the world’s largest private funder of lupus research. Molly is a board member for the Lupus Research Alliance.

Molly started volunteering her time at an early age – First with Kid’s Making Miracles for the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland from 1993 – 1998. She was both a volunteer and event committee member for the Children’s Relief Nursery of Portland.  Molly currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Randall Children’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon.

Molly is a classically trained opera singer.