Fuentek Senior Consultant To Raise Money For Pulmonary Fibrosis

APEX, NC, April 10, 2011 (Press-News.org) Laura A. Schoppe, president of Fuentek, LLC (http://www.fuentek.com/), a local technology consulting firm that provides intellectual property and technology transfer services, has announced that Karen Hiser, a senior consultant at the firm, has created a fundraiser to benefit Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF) research. The fundraiser is called "Swim To Breathe" in memory of Hiser's father, who died from PF in 2009, only three months after his diagnosis. Hiser has pledged that for every one dollar donated to the fund, she will swim one yard on Friday, April 15 at the Cary YMCA located at 101 YMCA Drive, beginning at 8 a.m.

PF is a lung disorder characterized by progressive scarring and deterioration of the lungs, robbing its victims of their ability to breathe. This progressive and ultimately fatal disease claims the lives of 40,000 Americans each year, has no known cause, no FDA-approved treatment and no cure. All of the proceeds from this fundraiser will go directly to furthering the mission of the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF), a nonprofit organization founded to accelerate research efforts leading to a cure for PF, while educating, supporting, and advocating for the community of patients, families and medical professionals fighting this disease.

QUOTE:
"Everyone at Fuentek has been inspired by Karen's commitment to creating awareness of Pulmonary Fibrosis," said Schoppe. "We hope others support her in her mission to raise funds to support research for a cure."

"Having lost my father to this disease in 2009, I have a deep personal commitment to this important cause," said Hiser. "This disease claims the lives of 40,000 Americans each year - the same number as breast cancer - yet Pulmonary Fibrosis receives only a fraction of the funding. As a result, the breast cancer survival rate is 87 percent, while the PF survival rate is zero. I will continue to support fundraising efforts to help researchers find a cure."

DETAILS:
- As of April 5, Hiser has raised $4,000 and will be swimming 80 laps, or 160 lengths, over 2.25 miles.

- To learn more about Swim To Breathe and Hiser's progress, visit http://swimtobreathe.blogspot.com.

- To donate to Swim To Breathe, visit http://bit.ly/eov9P5.

- To learn more about Pulmonary Fibrosis and the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis, visit http://www.coalitionforpf.org/.

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ABOUT FUENTEK, LLC:
Fuentek, LLC is a consulting firm that provides intellectual property and technology transfer services. With a specialization in technology commercialization and the Symbiotic Innovation approach to open innovation, Fuentek works with a wide variety of clients to identify promising technologies and assist them in converting their ideas and inventions into marketable products. Drawing upon its unique combination of technical, business and commercialization expertise, the firm is one of the largest NASA contractors in North Carolina and has helped organizations around the world find the technology they need through licensing as well as collaborative research and development (R&D) partnerships. Led by President Laura A. Schoppe, a 2008 recipient of the prestigious Triangle Business Journal Women In Business award, Fuentek also offers training workshops, guidebooks, white papers, and websites to help clients and other tech transfer professionals improve effectiveness in managing their intellectual property. Recognized as a top women- and minority-owned small business in North Carolina for the past five consecutive years, Fuentek has been featured on National Public Radio and in the book The New Small: How a New Breed of Small Businesses is Harnessing the Power of Emerging Technologies. The firm has received numerous awards for its work, including an entrepreneurial Pinnacle Business Award from the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. For more information, please call (919) 249-0327 or visit Fuentek's website at http://www.fuentek.com.

ABOUT KAREN HISER:
Karen Hiser is a senior consultant with Fuentek, a consulting firm that provides intellectual property and technology management services. Hiser works with a variety of clients and serves as Fuentek's client lead for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. One of her more recent accomplishments includes identifying a new prospective vertical market for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center's Hilbert-Huang Transformation Method, developing a comprehensive list of key industry players and executing a marketing campaign that generated several outstanding partner prospects. Hiser's background includes more than two decades of experience in business and technology, including eight years in the federal sector, and extensive experience in technology assessment, in-depth market research and client relationship management. Prior to joining Fuentek, Hiser was the director of compliance services for Open Source Risk Management, where she built a highly-specialized consulting business. At that firm, she gained a strong customer base of multinational corporations in the software and telecommunications industries, managed a corporate marketing program and launched the world's first Open Source Compliance insurance policy. Hiser also served as president of Karen Rae, Inc., as well as vice president of professional services at SciQuest.

Brittney Storm
MMI Public Relations
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brittney@mmipublicrelations.com
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