officers

Patty Novak

As founder and president of About Face Acne Foundation, Patty Novak brings the knowledge, experience, relationships, and compassion necessary to change the lives of thousands of adolescents. Throughout the last 8 years, Patty’s deeply rooted relationships with dermatologists and in-depth expertise in the world of pharmaceuticals have brought to her attention the ongoing challenge acne poses for low income families. As a result of either insufficient insurance coverage or unaffordable co-pays, thousands of families simply cannot afford treatment. Furthermore, she found that increasing the amount of medication samples given to doctors is not a sufficient alternative for this population of patients.  The ongoing and compelling requests by physicians to help facilitate treatment for these patients inspired Patty to begin her journey to About Face. 

Patty’s role as President and board member of About Face will be focused primarily on increasing patient participation and fund development. She will also act as the interface between potential program participants and participating dermatologists. Additionally, it is Patty’s hope to work with national health plans to improve their coverage levels for indigent patients suffering from acne.

During the early part of Patty’s career in pharmaceuticals, she worked with various Managed Care entities. Targeted as a person who could consistently achieve results and build relationships, Patty worked diligently to increase the coverage of various acne medications within many of the nation’s largest health plans. It is here that she learned first hand the absence of treatment programs for low-income patients suffering from acne.

Patty earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Communication from the University of Oklahoma. During her tenure there, she spent her extracurricular time serving as an officer in many nonprofit organizations and public agencies. She served as a fellow for Governor Frank Keating and volunteered during the city’s devastating Oklahoma City Bombing. In addition, she was involved in the set up for Susan G Komen’s Oklahoma chapter during its inaugural year. It was through these endeavors that Patty experienced the true meaning of loss and human pain and how the efforts of volunteers can change the lives of not only victims but also those around them.

Kellie M Mills

Kellie Mills, the Chief Financial Officer for About Face, brings with her an extensive background in corporate finance and cost engineering. For over 10 years, Kellie has helped to develop and execute comprehensive financial management tools for a wide range of organizations in the oil, fashion, and technology industries.

As the Chief Financial Officer for About Face, Kellie will oversee all financial matters for the organization. Specifically, she will help to establish the organization’s financial operating budgets, manage all monetary donations, work with the executive director on all fund development projects, and implement cost control measures in order to maximize the dollars available to participating patients.

In addition to her volunteer position with About Face, Kellie works as a Sr. Cost Engineer for an engineering contracting company in El Segundo, California. She is currently managing 35 projects totaling $18 million in annual revenue for a major local refinery. Previously, Ms. Mills has worked as an Associate Buyer in the fashion industry where she planned buys, monitored receipt flow and managed inventory, open-to-buy and daily operations for seven departments and two divisions of $30 million annual sales volume for 117 stores.

Kellie Mills grew up in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. In 1997, she graduated from Bentley College in Boston with her B.A. degree in Computer Information Systems. She is a sister of Phi Sigma Sigma and has participated in various charities through the organization.  After earning her Associate degree in Merchandise Marketing in 2003 from The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles, California, she moved to Southern California.

Wendi Hutchinson

Wendi’s passion for medicine is indescribable.  Over the years she has been fortunate enough to have had numerous life experiences with medicine, both personally and professionally.  Wendi began working in dermatology 10 years ago as a part of the office administration team for Dr. Zapatero, a Los Angeles dermatologist. Through continued service to his practice, she has gained a vast amount of knowledge from Dr. Zapatero including the intricacies of patient care, skin cancer surgeries, and the importance of cancer follow up.  Furthermore, Wendi spent over a year working in the pediatrics field, thus giving broadening her exposure to the practices of pediatric medicine.  She has also been an active participant in the Neil Bogart Fund, a non-profit organization that provides financial support to pediatric cancer, leukemia and AIDS research at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. 

Wendi began her work in the medical field as an EMT/Paramedic in 2001. In addition,  she courageously completed The Fire Academy in June of 2001.  She was one of just two women in the academy and graduated with the honor of Magna Cum Laude.    Following graduation, Wendi worked as a paramedic for American Medical Response while also being a volunteer firefighter for Pepperdine University and a paid call firefighter for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.  Wendi earned her Bachelor of Science degree in fire Administration at Cogswell Polytechnical University and during that time, she continued volunteering her services to those in need.  She is currently going back to school for her RN license.