Mari Ullrick
Mari Ullrick is dedicated to building strong, supportive communities where no one has to face colon health challenges alone. After her husband’s full colectomy, she saw firsthand the importance of knowledge sharing and early intervention in improving patient outcomes. With a background in entrepreneurship, nonprofit leadership, and community engagement, Mari applies her expertise in operations, […]
Michele Leslie
After my dad was diagnosed with Stage III colon cancer in 2009, our lives changed forever. Watching him endure multiple surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation fueled my passion for advocating for CRC patients and caregivers. In 2016, I found COLONTOWN, a community that provided hope, support, and essential resources. With their help, I became a stronger […]
Megan Schirmacher
Megan Schirmacher brings a blend of marketing expertise, nonprofit leadership, and community engagement to her role as Marketing and Outreach Coordinator at PALTOWN. Her connection to PALTOWN’s mission is deeply personal; her sister, Kathy, was diagnosed with colon cancer at age 32 and passed 5 years later. This loss reshaped Megan’s priorities, altered her professional […]
Lindsay Sichta
Lindsay comes to PALTOWN as a proven organization executive in educational leadership where she focused much of her time on system building and strategic development of grant-funded programs and services to support children and families navigating the early childhood system throughout the State of Michigan. She holds her Master’s Degree in Education and multiple certificates […]
Jen Schafer
I am the mom to two amazing little boys and wife to the most supportive husband. My life took an unexpected turn when a little bit of side pain turned into a Stage 4 Colon Cancer diagnosis at 33 years old. Within days of diagnosis, I had surgery, met my oncologist and was given the […]
Laure Chotel
My involvement with colorectal cancer began when my husband was diagnosed with stage 4 BRAF V600E mutation at the age of 42. Faced with the terrible prognosis, I began to research ways of giving him access to as many treatment options as possible, which are far fewer in France than in the USA. It was […]
Michele Vangilder
In 2022, at the age of 50, I was diagnosed with early stage rectal cancer in a screening colonoscopy. The cancer returned a few months later at stage 3a, leading to major surgery and six months of chemotherapy. COLONTOWN helped me through the fear and uncertainty after diagnosis and this amazing community guided me through all that was […]
Ann Elliot
I am a stage 4 patient, diagnosed in November 2018, two days before my 51st birthday. My treatment path included a partial colectomy to remove the tumor from my sigmoid colon, chemo, liver resection, and more chemo. I disconnected from the last chemo cycle in August 2019. Since then, I have shown no evidence of […]
Natalia Muñoz
I’m a biochemist and doctor in chemistry by training with a passion for all things immunology and research. I’m a Research Assistant Professor at Trinity College Dublin. I’m a problem solver by nature and love making sense of complex biological data sets and biochemical interactions. I’ve spent the last 10+ years of my career researching […]
Keith Hollingsworth
I was diagnosed with Stage IV Colon Cancer on 5/5/21, have completed multiple surgeries, SBRT, and quite a bit of Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy. When I heard those words “You have cancer” as you can imagine, my world flipped upside down. I immediately thought…”How long do I have.” I am a husband to my wife Casey […]