Jeff Bradbury
Jeff grew up with the Leider family and has been a long time friend of the Sarcoma Alliance. In 2001 he raised money for the Alliance by running in the Marathon des Sables, a 150 mile race across the Sahara in Morocco. In 2005 he was the moving force behind the successful Spirit of Survival walk/run in California. He is currently a product manager in the semiconductor industry.
Joan Darling, Ph.D.
Joan’s daughter was diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a pediatric sarcoma, in 1996 at the age of 13. She successfully underwent a year of treatment that included twelve rounds of chemotherapy, 28 doses of radiation, and five operations at Omaha Children’s Hospital and at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Joan is a biologist and works as an environmental consultant in Nebraska. Since 2001 she has volunteered as a Patient Advocate with the Children’s Oncology Group (COG), the cooperative group that designs and implements clinical trials for childhood cancers. She also volunteers in a variety of other patient advocacy roles, including co-managing the ACOR Rhabdo-Kids mailing list; serving on the board of Lincoln Candlelighters and facilitating the adult support group; and contributing articles to ESUN (Electronic Sarcoma Update Newsletter). On the Sarcoma Alliance Board, she represents pediatric sarcoma patients, who make up roughly 1,500 of the 10,000 sarcoma patients diagnosed each year in this country.
Jared Holmes
Jared is a synovial sarcoma survivor who joined Sarcoma Alliance in 2005 as a way to give back and stay connected to this community that has provided support and information throughout his journey. Jared enjoys traveling domestically and internationally, as well as maintaining a very active lifestyle including running, hiking, and any outdoor activity. After overcoming diagnosis, treatment, and lingering effects, Jared has climbed Mt. Shasta, Mt. Lassen, and Half Dome; ran several half-marathons and road races; and is expecting his first child in April. Currently, Jared lives a very full life in Denver, CO, in a sales role for a leading tool and access security company.
Ade Lawal
Ade Lawal is a Director of Service at GE Healthcare. He resides in the greater Los Angeles area and is responsible for taking care of diagnostic imaging equipment such as CTs, MRIs and X-Ray machines for many hospitals and outpatient imaging centers. Prior to joining the Sarcoma Alliance, Ade has been involved with several non-profit boards particularly those that serve families and children going through life's challenges. Ade has a Bachelor's of Science in Commerce from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He enjoys running, cooking and performing arts. Although he once performed in a Broadway style show, he generally sticks to his day job.
Philip Leider
He is the brother of Suzanne Leider, the founder of the Sarcoma Alliance. Philip is an attorney in the San Francisco office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP. After earning his B.A. in Literature from Yale University, Philip went on to pursue graduate studies in Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine. He received his juris doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley (Boalt Hall). In his free time, Philip enjoys golf and tennis, playing piano, and traveling with his partner, Tony Buckman.
David Murphy
Dave Murphy is an active figure in the online sarcoma community, devoting his energy among various lists but especially to the sarcoma list for the Association of Cancer Online Resources (ACOR.org). His wife, Piera, died after a 15 month battle with Leiomyosarcoma, later diagnosed as malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma in 1999.
Because of his strong personal belief in supporting this underserved community, he is well-known and loved by the many people who go to these lists seeking information and resources. He is currently a Computer Lab Specialist at El Camino Community College in Torrance, California and is in charge of over 400 computers in 11 computer labs on campus. He is conversant in Italian, French, and Spanish. Dave joined the Sarcoma Alliance Board of Directors in October of 2002.
Kevin Plottner
Kevin Plottner is a graphic designer in the San Francisco Bay area. He graduated from Tulane University with an Architecture degree in 1984. In 1998 he created the original Sarcoma Alliance web site when his wife, Wendy, a sarcoma patient, and Suzanne Leider, first conceived the idea of a sarcoma support organization. He is the creator of our original logo seen on the “Our Founders” page and the artwork for Sage Cuisine. Today he helps maintain the Alliance web site and oversees the production of our newsletter and various printed materials for the organization.
Denise Scrivner
Denise Lapins worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 15 years. She began her career at Bristol-Meyers Squibb & Co. in 1990 and joined the pain management company Purdue Pharma, LP, from 1996 through 2004. While earning her B.A. in Speech Communications from California State University, Fresno, Denise was a volunteer counselor at a local health clinic. Upon relocating to the Bay Area, Denise continued her volunteer service as a tutor to adult women working to obtain high school equivalency credentials and as a volunteer to deliver meals to persons affected by HIV/AIDS. Denise is also a long-time board member of an active neighborhood association in San Francisco and is involved in community improvement projects. Denise resides in San Francisco with her husband and daughter. She enjoys hiking, cooking, reading, and traveling. Inspired by her friendship with Suzanne Leider, Denise joined the board of the Alliance in 2000 and currently chairs the Board Development and Assistance Fund Committees.
Suzie Siegel
Suzie Siegel spent more than 18 years as a full-time newspaper reporter and editor at newspapers in Little Rock, New Orleans and Tampa. She has a bachelor's of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a master's in women's studies from the University of South Florida. She's in remission from metastatic leiomyosarcoma and spends much time volunteering on behalf of sarcoma patients. Last year, the Alliance named her consumer of the year. She participates in peer-to-peer programs for the Alliance as well as the M.D. Anderson Network. She volunteers for the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, where she lives. As a sarcoma advocate, she has attended three meetings of the Connective Tissue Oncology Society and two meetings of the Society of Gynecologic Oncologists. She has written about those meetings and other subjects for the Alliance, Leiomyosarcoma Direct Research, and the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative. Her personal experience with sarcoma can be found at http://www.sarcomaalliance.org/Stories/stories25.html .
Ellen Silver
Nurse, mother, caregiver, nurturer and advocate. These are the words; Sarcoma Alliance Board of Directors President uses to define herself. These words were put to the test in 1999, when Ellen’s 15 year old. daughter, Shoshana, was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma. Navigating the complex medical system of services (surgical oncology, medical oncology and radiation oncology) and working within the guidelines of a health maintenance organization, Ellen used all of her professional skills to create a coordinated and seamless treatment plan for her daughter. Ellen has relied on the services of the Sarcoma Alliance such as the bulletin board and has found comfort and a sense of community by ‘chatting’ with others who understand the complexities of sarcoma. Currently, Ellen serves as the Executive Director of The Wellness Community-West Los Angeles, the first non-profit to provide psychosocial support to people impacted by cancer.
Tracey Talley
Currently serving as CFO at Alvarado Hospital in San Diego, Tracey is known for his dollars and sense attitude in the Southern California health care industry. As a former Regional Vice President of Finance for Tenet Health Care in Los Angeles, Tracey managed a capital budget of $60 million for 12 hospitals. Particularly close to Tracey’s heart is his connection with the Sarcoma Alliance. A cancer survivor himself, he has worked diligently to spread the word about the importance of cancer research. Thankfully, Tracey’s treatment was successful, and he continues to talk to other survivors about cancer and tells them to make sure to explore all options, just as he did.
Marites Tullius
Marites met Suzanne Leider, founder of the Sarcoma Alliance, early in their respective nursing careers at the University of California, San Francisco where they formed a lifetime friendship and commitment to helping the community of people affected by sarcoma. Marites earned her BS in Nursing from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1992. A dedicated Bruin, she obtained her Master’s degree in Nursing from UCLA in 2006. She is currently a Nurse Practitioner at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, a county facility which provides health care to the uninsured, indigent and medically underserved population of Los Angeles. As a founding board member, Marites remains dedicated to advancing the mission of the Alliance in Suzanne’s honor and in honor of the people we serve.
Jean-Laurent Vilon
Jean-Laurent established Safran, LLC in Chicago with a goal of providing high end branding consulting for corporate businesses and the fashion industry and has worked with fortune 100 companies and major Hollywood studios.
Jean-Laurent found the Sarcoma Alliance after Laetitia, his sister, died of synovial sarcoma in 2002. He was putting together an exhibit of her photographs and wanted to do something to honor her and her story. The Paris exhibit was the culmination of his efforts and was a wonderful tribute to his sister and resulted in generous donations to the Alliance. Jean-Laurent brings skills in graphics, web design, marketing and branding to the Alliance.
Daphne Yousem
Daphne has been working in the field of marketing, communications and journalism for more than 15 years. After starting her career in broadcast journalism as a cut-in writer and producer at KCAL 9 News in Los Angeles, Daphne decided to try her hand in Marketing and Public Relations.
Focusing in the field of health care, Daphne has held positions as Director of Marketing and Public Relations at various medical centers in Southern California, including Providence Holy Cross and Saint Joseph Medical Centers as well as Encino-Tarzana Regional Medical Center. She has also served as a senior brand manager at Health Net. Having worked on both sides of the fence in health care gives Daphne a unique perspective on hospitals and managed care. She understands the insurance side – and also has a keen understanding of the dilemmas that hospitals are facing today. Daphne has launched programs and products in both settings. This experience will be a tremendous help as the Alliance seeks ways to reach more sarcoma patients and to help them navigate the complex health care system.
Currently, Daphne runs Gilko Consulting — a marketing, communications and public relations firm in Los Angeles. She is also the owner of www.JewcyWrap.com - gift wrap and greeting cards for all Jewish occasions. Daphne holds a Masters degree from the University of Southern California in Broadcast Journalism and her Bachelors from cross-town rival University of California, Los Angeles. |
