David Tillman is the proud parent of three wonderful human beings — Miles, an 8-year-old living with Fragile X syndrome, and his two adult sibling advocates, Mary Haven and Teagan. Miles and David enjoy playing musical instruments, singing show tunes as loudly as possible, and hiking nearby Raven Rock State Park.

David is the chair of the Department of Public Health at Campbell University, and his professional career is focused on health equity and innovation. He has served on the Executive Council for Disability and Health with the American Public Health Association and has published and presented on a variety of topics related to inclusiveness and equity in health care.

In the Fall of 2020, David created the Xtraordinary Miles Campaign and ran a marathon completely barefoot to raise awareness of Fragile X syndrome and raise funds for NFXF. In Fall 2022, he repeated the effort and ran an ultramarathon. Prior to joining the NFXF Board of Directors, David was already involved with the foundation, participating in Advocacy Day, attending the International Fragile X Conference, serving as a consumer reviewer representing NFXF for the Congressionally-Directed Medical Research Program, and as a parent advocate during the Patient-Focused Drug Development Meeting with the FDA.

“The National Fragile X Foundation immediately connected me to a supportive community from the first moments of learning of Miles’ diagnosis … joining the board is an opportunity for me to contribute to strengthening this community as we share stories, share resources, share research, and work toward a better future for folks affected by Fragile X.”