About the National Fibromyalgia Association (NFA)

Founded in 1997 in Orange, California, by Lynne Matallana and Karen Lee Richards, the National Fibromyalgia Association (NFA) is the largest nonprofit [501(c)3] organization working to support people with fibromyalgia and other chronic pain illnesses. Lynne and Karen became acquainted in the mid-1990s through an online fibromyalgia (FM) chat group. Both women had seen numerous doctors before receiving a diagnosis and they were concerned that many people with FM were not receiving the medical attention and support that they desperately needed. Before long, the pair was sharing ideas about helping others with FM. They concluded that there was very little reliable information about this misunderstood and debilitating condition-and that patients and health care providers needed to unite to ensure helpful information was easily accessible to those with this chronic disorder .

What began as a part-time altruistic venture quickly grew into a full time "life's work" for Lynne. After receiving non-profit status for the organization and developing a mission platform focused on executing programs to improve the quality of life for people affected by FM, the next step was to find a team of individuals who were also passionate about helping people with FM. The National Fibromyalgia Association became an organization made up of devoted individuals who made a concentrated effort to create a voice for people with fibromyalgia by supporting and staging awareness events, encouraging high profile media coverage, and providing support and training to support group leaders across the country. The NFA's philosophy was to help empower patients and to provide them with a new level of hope for the future.

Over the next five years the NFA evolved from its humble beginnings in a make shift office in Lynne's attic, to a nationally respected organization carrying out programs that helped change the attitudes and understanding of what it is like to live with FM. Lynne's personal dream of growing an organization from just an idea into a thriving and effective vehicle representing the needs of an under represented and stigmatized community of patients became a reality. The NFA recently celebrated its eleven year anniversary and the extensive efforts which include the development of an educational web site, the publication of an international magazine, Fibromyalgia AWARE and the development of continuing medical education programs.