Ms. DeLeon will succeed Dan J. Krupp as Vice President, Innovation & Partnerships following his retirement from OREF.
ROSEMONT, Ill., Dec. 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation (OREF), the leading private and independent organization funding musculoskeletal research across all subspecialties, is pleased to welcome Erika L. DeLeon as its new Vice President of Innovation & Partnerships. Ms. DeLeon will assume the role following the retirement of Dan J. Krupp, who currently holds the position.
Ms. DeLeon has over 15 years of experience leading strategic partnerships, operational execution, and growth initiatives across the healthcare and life sciences sectors. Prior to joining OREF, she served as Chief Operating Officer for the Journal of Orthopaedic Experience & Innovation (JOEI), where she executed partnership programs focused on emerging orthopaedic innovations and strengthened engagement with key opinion leaders and MedTech partners. She previously held leadership roles as Director of Integration Management at Pacira BioSciences and National Director of Quality at TeamHealth, overseeing national quality and compliance programs.
Ms. DeLeon holds an Executive Master’s in Healthcare Administration from Florida Atlantic University and a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification. She is also co-host of the Connect 2 Develop podcast, which explores leadership, innovation, and strategy in healthcare.
After years of dedicated service, Mr. Krupp will transition from his role as Vice President of Innovation & Partnerships to a volunteer role at the end of 2025. OREF CEO Lee Grossman stated, “Dan’s leadership has been instrumental in strengthening OREF’s relationships with orthopaedic partners and advancing our mission to fund transformative musculoskeletal research. His strategic vision, collaborative spirit, and commitment to innovation have significantly enhanced OREF’s reach and impact.”
The growing burden of MSK conditions in the United States is well documented with MSK-related diseases and injuries affecting more than half of the adult population and imposing an estimated economic burden of $980 billion annually.1 Despite the outsized impact of MSK diseases on quality of life and the U.S. economy, funding for MSK conditions is disproportionately low when comparing the physical and economic burden of various diseases. OREF is a leading voice in advocating for increased MSK research funding and strongly believes that the nation’s healthcare will not improve unless and until MSK research funding becomes a national priority.
About OREF
An independent 501(c)3 nonprofit, OREF strives to improve clinical care and patient outcomes by advancing innovative research, developing new investigators, and uniting the orthopaedic community in promoting musculoskeletal health. The Foundation raises funds to support research on diseases and injuries of bones, nerves, muscles, and tendons and to enhance clinical care leading to improved health, increased activity, and a better quality of life for patients. For more information, visit oref.org or follow OREF on X and LinkedIn.
1United States Bone and Joint Initiative: The Burden of Musculoskeletal Diseases in the United States (BMUS), Third Edition, 2014. Rosemont, IL. Available at https://bmus.latticegroup.com/fourth-edition/if0/healthcare-utilization-and-economic-cost
SOURCE Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation