Our Board
Our board is made up of people dedicated to giving back and determined to have fun along the way!
Luby Myrthil Co-Founder, Director
If you were to meet Luby Myrthil at a dinner party, her love for people, for laughter, and for life would come through within minutes. She’s unpretentious, witty, animated and has the energy of a marathon runner. It’s an energy that moves people, that makes you want to know more about her. It’s an energy she pours into life, her family, and her goals for the future.
Jump into Luby’s life when one of her and her husband Vincent’s four children— “Mouse”/Xavier, “Papou”/Alexander, Xachariah, and Xarina—have a birthday on the horizon and you’ll see their house a-buzzing with heavy-duty anime costume making, only to be followed by some seriously fun, off-the-hook (in a completely kid-appropriate way) partying. In other words, the Myrthil household throws one mean anime-themed birthday party!
Take a peak at Luby’s life when she’s in the courthouse and you’ll catch her joking with a judge or colleague, disarming them with her humor. Then, without missing a beat, she’s a surefooted lawyer who’s there to fight for her client and represent them with integrity 110%.
Helping others with love, compassion, and expertise is second nature to Luby. As the founder of Myrthil’s Law, P.A. which specializes in Family, Estate Planning, Personal Injury, and Probate law, she’s spent years serving her clients and her community and doing pro bono work. A full yet fulfilling life was what Luby had and it would have continued in much the same way, then the unexpected happened.
Childhood cancer? It was the furthest thing from Luby and Vincent’s minds when their son Papou was diagnosed with A.L.L. leukemia at just 22 months old. A three and a half year fight against cancer ensued during which Luby, Vincent, and Papou’s eldest brother, Mouse, spent every hour they could at the hospital to join Papou in the fight, making sure he knew he was not alone. While they supported Papou, they, in turn, had the support of others—extended family, their church, and the cancer community.
The outpouring of love and kindness they received sustained them throughout a journey full of ups and downs. But their experience was far more the exception than the rule.
As the mother of a child who was fighting cancer, and as an advocate for children who are now fighting the fight, Luby has seen the need up close. Single parents with little to no support from friends or family. Parents who, due to economic hardship and fear of losing their jobs, could not be there at the hospital to spend the night or could not go to chemo with their child. She’s seen the frustration mothers and fathers have endured when their own relatives “just don’t get it” or bring dysfunction and toxicity into the situation when peace, love, and support are what’s needed most.
Seeing just how real the need is has inspired Luby to take action beyond what she’s been able to do on the local level. With Papou’s Mouse, bringing support and understanding to more children and their parents can take place in more communities throughout the nation. By showing up and being there for those who need it most, when they need it most, Luby hopes no one feels they need to fight childhood cancer alone.
Learn more about Papou’s Mouse, a 501c3 whose mission is to connect families battling childhood cancer with childhood cancer survivors who understand the unique challenges faced in the fight and the need for emotional support.
Vincent Myrthil Co-founder & CFO
Vincent Myrthil is an engineer with over 18-years of experience in a medical manufacturing plant running large teams that contribute to making healthcare better (you can click this link to his resume’.) What this writer does know is that Vincent is both serious- he is observant and calculated; and he is lighthearted- his ears always perk up at a joke.
Vincent keeps a very busy schedule balancing work, his commitments to the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. that he joined in Spring of 2022, his obligations to Papou’s Mouse as co-founder and executive board member, with family & fun time.
To earn Vincent’s respect, you need to work hard and reach the goals that you set (and you might want to keep your car tidy, too). He judges himself by these same high bars and is a dependable and a treasured team-mate. He is married to his high school sweetheart, equal and rival in every way (Go Luby!), and together they have created an impressive troupe of children.
A common weekend for Vincent might be spent getting up early for church, then to an Alpha Phi Alpha charity event perhaps with the gaggle of kids in tow, followed by celebrating one of his children’s birthdays in anime’ full dress-up (they are an Anime’ obsessed family) (click here if you want to smile).
Vincent’s schedule might have you thinking he is in a race, but it isn’t to a finish line. It seems to this writer that it is a race to be as effective as possible day-to-day, week-to-week- whether that looks like providing Thanksgiving dinners to people down on their luck, or taking a mentoring phone call. Surely sometimes that pensive expression isn’t really about work at all, but Vincent escaping the hecticness daydreaming about kicking back under a fedora on a quiet gondola tour through Europe.”
Ruth Anioce Outreach Coordinator
Ruth’s fierce dedication to helping others is only surpassed by her passion for leveraging relationships to further the cause of fighting childhood cancer. With over a decade of client management and relations experience, Ruth is always looking for strategic ways to help the community and give back. While she is more of an introvert, she loves spending time with her family and traveling. Once comfortable, Ruth is easily the kindest, sweetest jokester you’ll come across. As our Families will attest, her easy and open demeanor will always leave you smiling.
Diana Anioce Andre
Diana is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Qualified Supervisor, who has been working in the mental health field for 14 years. Her work is primarily focused around guiding families and individuals through self-explorations and healing by finding their creative voice through interventions that encourages them to adopt new attitudes and feelings towards life situations. In 2020, at the peak of the Covid pandemic, she transitioned to self-employment. She now enjoys both the flexibility of working from home and the ability to treat her patients with autonomy. Diana wants to be able to utilize every tool at her disposal to help her patients put one step in front of the other and meet their goals. She says, “Even the tiniest of steps can be great big successes.”
Success for Diana is in the rewards that she gains by knowing that her work makes a difference. It wouldn’t be unheard of to find Diana’s phone number stored in one of her youth patients’ phones and a story about them having left class to go to the school nurse and ask to call Diana. On that call, they would identify which strategy is needed to get through that hard day.
“Serious? Not Diana!” her sister corrects me. “Diana can turn Go to the fridge and get the milk into a show tune!” Musical obsessed, she knows just how to play the middle sister role and wind up her siblings.
In January of 2022 Diana joined the executive board of Papou’s Mouse, Inc, a not-for-profit serving childhood cancer in the Tampa, FL area. Diana is the Care Coordinator. Diana is married with 3 handsome sons and a beautiful daughter
Make a Difference—Join Our Board!
We’re looking for people that want to give back in a meaningful way. As a board member, you’ll play a vital role in supporting families battling childhood cancer by bringing your expertise, network, and passion to our mission. Help us grow, fundraise, and create lasting impact with a cause that truly matters. Join us today and be a part of something special!
Get the help your family needs
Send us an email, text, or call, and we will be in touch with you ASAP. Support is on the way!