Courtney Olsen, President
president@breastcanceralliance.org
Kim Augustine
Erica Blob
Sandra Caruso
Karen Colella
Meagan Davis
Rebecca Davis
Amy Dates Fletcher
Donna Hagberg, MD
Erica Juneja
Lois Kelly
Lori Kron
Stephanie Latham
Nina Lindia
Dee Mayberry
Justin Nelson
Betsy Donovan Nolan
Monique Olivier
Barbara Rodkin
Nancy Rosen
Meg Russell
Julie Stein
Magali Swanson
Susan Weis
Jane Gershon Weitzman
Elisa Wilson
Diane Zarrilli
Molly Zola
Mary K. Jeffery and Andrew Mitchell-Namdar, Trustee Emeriti
K.M. Steve Lo, MD, Chair
Susan K. Boolbol, MD
Patrick I. Borgen, MD
Rachel Brem, MD
Alison Estabrook, MD
Alexandra Heerdt, MD
Brigid Killelea, MD
Gregory S. LaTrenta, MD
Linda LaTrenta, MD
Donna-Marie Manasseh, MD
Monica Morrow, MD
Elisa Port, MD
David L. Rimm, MD
Andrea Silber, MD
Barbara A. Ward, MD
Richard Zelkowitz, MD
NOTE:
No member of the Board of Directors, Advisory Council, Medical Advisory Board or Founders Board received remuneration for their support of Breast Cancer Alliance. They are not paid - they are strictly volunteers
Jane Batkin
Susan Bevan
Frannie Burns
Kathy Clark
Jill Coyle
Carol Crapple
Nat Day
Patti Fast
Lisa Fischer
Lile Gibbons
Brett Holey
David Jones
Karen Lowney
Evan Margolin
James McArdle
Kenneth E. Mifflin
Scott Mitchell
Donna Moffly
Berk Nowak
Maureen Perry
Jordan Rhodes
Ellen Schapps Richman
Carol Santora
Margaret Sinclair
William C. Sinclair
Nancy and Turner Smith
Marylou Williams
Ramze Zakka
Yonni Wattenmaker, Executive Director
yonni@breastcanceralliance.org
Yonni has been serving as Executive Director of Breast Cancer Alliance since June 2011, a local charity upon her arrival and now one of the highest-ranked and most prominent breast cancer charities in the United States. Yonni remains an active volunteer, currently sitting on the National Council for Arts and Sciences at The George Washington University, Jewish Book Council and the Community Advisory Council of Greenwich Hospital. In 2019 she was honored to be named one of “40 Fascinating Women” by WAG Magazine and as a "Woman Who Inspires" in 2021 by the YWCA. Yonni is also a certified health coach and founder of Yon Appetit, offering healthy recipes, tips and personalized nutritional coaching.
Yonni grew up in Great Neck, New York, and graduated from The George Washington University in 1993. In 1996 she earned her Masters degree from HUC-JIR in New York City. Prior to her time with BCA, she spent ten years as Director of Education at Temple Shaaray Tefila in Bedford Corners, NY, two years as Development Director for Tikva Children’s Home, a charity supporting homeless and abandoned children in the former Soviet Union, and four years as Director of Lifelong Learning at Central Synagogue in Manhattan.
Kristen Linardos, Executive Assistant
kristen@breastcanceralliance.org
Kristen joined BCA at the start of the pandemic in 2020 and has grown with the changes. Kristen grew up at the beach in Fairfield and later went to school at Eastern Connecticut State University. Currently, she lives in Black Rock and spends as much time as she can with her dog, family and friends.
Irene Horowitz, Bookkeeper
Irene has worked with the BCA team since December 2019. After 30 years of providing bookkeeping services for both businesses and individuals, Irene has settled in with BCA as her sole client. Growing up in southern Ontario and attending college in Calgary, Alberta, Irene now splits her time between Westport, CT and Park City, UT where she enjoys a variety of outdoor activities.
Mallory MacDonald, PR Consultant
Mallory is a freelance consultant for BCA focused on communications, partnerships and events. She spent over 15 years working in public relations, ultimately as the Vice President of Fashion at a leading PR firm in New York City. Throughout her career, she managed global communications strategies for luxury and emerging European and American brands. She also has extensive event management experience. Mallory went to Davidson college in North Carolina, where she met her husband. They returned to Greenwich, her hometown, 10 years ago.
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Vedangana Saini, Development Associate
Vedangana Saini is a freelance medical writer, editor, neuroscientist, and the founder of Intelligible Scientific Writing LLC. She holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience and a certificate in medical writing and editing from the University of Chicago. Dr. Saini specializes in writing scientific manuscripts and grant proposals, designing educational material for continuing medical education for health professionals, and writing science in plain language for lay audiences. Prior to founding Intelligible Scientific Writing LLC, Dr. Saini has done two postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, and Burke Neurological Institute, White Plains, NY. She has published original research and review articles and book chapters with hundred plus citations in reputed, peer-reviewed journals such as Pharmacological Research, Journal of Neurochemistry, Scientific Reports, etc. She is also an active member of the organizations such as the American Medical Writers Association and the International Society for Publication Professionals. Dr. Saini loves to coach undergraduate and graduate students and new medical writers on the nits and grits of academic writing and publishing. She lives in Columbia, MD, with her husband, her son, one dog, and a lot of fishes.
($1,000,000+)
Deborah G. Black (1952-2017)
Paula & Robert Burton, Sr.
Joanne & Michael Masin
Lisa & Mark Walsh
($500,000+)
Courtney Combe & Christopher Combe
Lucy & Nat Day
Ilda & Charles Lee
Susan & Stephen Mandel
($250,000+)
Jane & Alan Batkin
Cynthia G. Biondi
Carol & George Crapple
Lile & John Gibbons
Pamela & Robert Goergen
Mary K. & Kim Jeffery
The Mitchell Family
Mary & Garrett Moran
Gloria & Dan O’Connell
Barbara & Gary Rodkin
Peggy Van Munching
Lucy Day (1944-2020)
Susan Elia (1944-2017)
Kenny King Howe
Valerie Marchese
Cecile McCaull
Mary Waterman (1944-1997)
"Women need to know [breast cancer] affects everyone around you. If you love yourself, and those who love you, you’ll watch your body."
MARY WATERMAN
Enjoy the video from BCA's 20th anniversary here
To commemorate its milestone 25th anniversary, Breast Cancer Alliance is assembling a special advisory and outreach group comprised of influential and diverse voices impacted by breast cancer. It is named the "Sterling Club" to recognize the special and unique attributes of those involved.
We are thrilled to announce the inaugural members of this esteemed council:
Pat Battle, survivor, NBC News
Ann Caruso, survivor, celebrity fashion sylist, tastemaker, Vogue and Harper's Bazaar alum
Dr. Nora Disis, survivor, Director, Cancer Vaccine Institute, University of Washington, Seattle and BCA Exceptional Project Grant recipient
Dr. Steve Lo, Oncologist, Stamford Hospital and BCA Medical Advisory Board Chair
Chaunte Lowe, survivor, four-time Olympic medalist and world champion high jumper
Joan Lunden, survivor, former host of Good Morning America, journalist, and author
Andrea Mitchell, survivor, journalist, anchor and NBC News commentator
Ali Rogin, previvor, Foreign Affairs Producer at PBS NewsHour and author, Beat Breast Cancer Like a Boss: 30 Powerful Stories
Patty Steele, survivor, CBS FM Morning Co-host and Deep 6 Podcast
Anne Thompson, survivor, Chief Environmental Affairs Correspondent, NBC News
Katie Wee, previvor, actress and yoga instructor
Judy Woodruff, Anchor and Managing Editor, PBS NewsHour
Melanie Young, survivor, podcast host, creator of The Connected Table, and author, Fearless Fabulous You
