Staff

CEO, ConferenceEdge, Inc.
Trevor Barlow has been actively involved in enterprise technology and building global companies for over 20 years.  He has helped pioneer multiple technology companies while building solutions that scale for SMBs all the way up to the Fortune 50.  
He is the founder & CEO of ConferenceEdge, Inc., an enterprise event registration company, that provides technology solutions for webinars, webcasts and in-person business conferences.  

His professional expertise encompasses all areas of business development and leadership with and experience navigating local, federal and international political environments.

Trevor’s personal interests involve international travel (he speaks 4 languages), outdoor activities (biking, hiking and skiing).  Barlow has a long history of environmental and social volunteer work (Big Brothers Big Sisters, Outward Bound, Environmental Fundraising, USSA Coaching, are a few of his favorites).

Co-Founder, PALTOWN, Founding Mayor, COLONTOWN
Ms. Brown, a Montana native, had a long and healthy career as a corporate executive search professional in the consumer packaged goods and telecommunications industries until – at age 58 – she was diagnosed with late-stage colorectal cancer. Once her treatment was completed, she refocused her professional energies on the undeveloped niche of disease-specific patient empowerment, founding COLONTOWN, the patient community. COLONTOWN features deeply engaged, experience-specific, secret support groups that are exclusively dedicated to colorectal cancer patients and family members.

In 2016, Brown co-founded the PALTOWN Development Foundation to create additional disease-focused communities for even more patients and families. COLONTOWN is the model for patient community building, providing the template and proof -of- concept for disease communities that will be developed.

Erika holds a B.A. in Liberal Arts (French) from the University of Montana.

Ms. Brown is grateful, empowered, and disease-free – 18 years later.

COO & Program Manager, PALTOWN Development Foundation
Seybold began her career as the first Web editor for the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and soon moved to the National Cancer Institute, where she built a web-based initiative to increase understanding of and participation in cancer clinical trials. While at NCI, Seybold participated in a number of high-level initiatives surrounding the push to develop a unified, branded web presence (now cancer.gov) for the Institute.

Seybold spent 16 years consulting to clients in the health information, biomedical, and public health fields as an information architect and user experience practitioner. Clients include several institutes at the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Education, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and Johnson & Johnson.

Seybold co-founded the PALTOWN Development Foundation, a 501(c)3 corporation, in 2016. The Foundation develops and manages online support communities for patients and caregivers affected by serious disease.

Seybold holds a B.A. in Humanities and M.A. in Medieval Studies from Yale University.

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Linh Nguyen is a nationally recognized leader in organizational strategy, talent development, and change management. In 2019, Linh joined the Nonprofit Professionals Advisory Group as Vice President with a focus on organizational consulting and leadership advisory practice areas. Previously, Linh has served as chief operating officer and vice president for learning and impact at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan. Prior to joining the foundation, Linh spent over 25 years in investment consulting and management consulting.

Linh started in consulting with Cambridge Associates, an international financial and investment consulting firm based in Boston, MA. Pivoting from numbers to people, Linh continued his career at Accenture, where he grew to lead the firm’s U.S. public sector talent and organizational performance group. In recognition of his expertise, Linh was selected in 2008 to serve on the Obama Presidential Transition Team as transition co-lead for the Office of Personnel Management.

Linh holds a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology from Yale University in New Haven, CT. He lives with his college sweetheart and thirteen year old daughter in Albuquerque, NM. In his spare time, Linh is also a practicing artist, musician, and avid cook.

Dr. Chelsea Boet is a primary care physician board certified in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. She cares for patients from birth through end of life, specializing in preventative care and management of chronic medical illnesses. Special interests include breastfeeding medicine. Dr. Boet earned her BA from Kalamazoo College, and completed her MD training at Wayne State University School of Medicine. She practices medicine full time in Grand Rapids, MI.

Art Director, American Chemical Society
In 1982, Robin Braverman received a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has been working as a graphic artist since graduation, and has spent the last 27 years working at the American Chemical Society, mainly as an Art Director for Chemical & Engineering News, the weekly newsmagazine of the Society.

She was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer in August of 2002. Surgery was immediately performed, and she enjoyed a period of remission for 18 months. A recurrence was discovered in July of 2004. Since that initial diagnosis, she has endured three major surgeries, several minor procedures, and three different chemotherapy “cocktails.” She has been NED (no evidence of disease) since May of 2005, and has had no chemotherapy since that time.

She and some family members underwent genetic testing at MD Anderson Cancer Center, and it was determined that she had the MSH2 mutation of Lynch Syndrome. Her daughter was tested at the age of 18, and does not carry the gene mutation.

Wanting to help spread the word about colorectal cancer prevention, she became active with and joined the Board of Directors of Chris4Life (now the Colon Cancer Alliance). She participated in two public service announcements, a video, and has spoken to various groups about her journey. She was one of the first twenty people in COLONTOWN, and participates in the continuing discussion.

Howard Brown is an Internet/software entrepreneur, and a two time cancer survivor. His areas of expertise include new game strategic consulting, digital platforms (mobile, audio, video, broadcast / cable, cloud computing, social media, online communities and smart enterprises (data collection, analysis, intelligence, insights and reporting. He is the founder of Advocasee, and was the CEO and Cofounder of CircleBuilder Software LLC, a provider of private online community software. He has twice served as the President of the Babson College Alumni Association Board of Directors, and has served on a number of other nonprofit and private sector boards and committees.

Director, Fairfield and Woods
John A. Eckstein focuses on the general representation of technology-based companies and venture capital funds, investors, investment bankers, financial advisors and financial institutions. He works often with complex legal structures in entity and project financings; however, lately he has often represented private business owners in the exit sale of their companies.

As a securities lawyer active in corporate finance, John has been involved in a range of offerings in the U. S. capital markets, including initial public offerings; other primary and secondary offerings of securities; exchange offers; tender offers; and private and limited offerings. He also has assisted clients in preparing and reviewing all types of disclosure reports for businesses regulated under federal and state securities laws.

John provides advice regarding integrated legal strategies for board-level challenges faced by all kinds of companies. He is interested in the application of technology to the business of energy and is actively involved in legal and public policy aspects of energy, biomedical and IT/software.

Eckstein holds degrees from the University of Iowa, an M.A. from SAIS at Johns Hopkins, and a law degree from UVA.

Dr. Christopher Heery is the Chief Medical Officer for Bavarian Nordic where he oversees the clinical development of BN’s pipeline, comprising therapeutic cancer vaccines and vaccines for prevention of infectious diseases. He is a medical oncologist by training. He trained at the National Cancer Institute in the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, where he went on to be the Head of the Clinical Trials group in that translational ImmunoOncology-focused branch. He has personally run a wide variety of immunotherapy trials using a variety of first-in-human agents including therapeutic cancer vaccines, checkpoint inhibitors, antibody-cytokine conjugates, and cytokine targeting antibodies. His trial experience also includes combination strategies in IO and IO with standard therapies based on mechanistic rationale.

With 25 years of public affairs experience, Hoffman is an expert at devising and executing strategic communications programs that achieve legislative, regulatory and reputational goals. His experience includes corporate communications and running issue-oriented media, advocacy and third-party initiatives. Eric also has deep experience managing crisis communications programs.

Eric’s issue portfolio focuses on highly-regulated industries, including having deep experience for the medical device industry. Eric has worked with numerous patient advocacy groups to bring their voice to legislative and regulatory decisions at CMS and the FDA. His clients include the Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance, Siemens USA, Bayer Consumer Health and PhRMA. Eric has won numerous PR industry awards, including a 2015 Sabre award for his work for the Lung Cancer Alliance to convince Medicare a lung cancer screening should be an essential health benefit.

Eric also spent eight years focusing on health care advocacy. His clients included the American Cancer Society, Nike, U.S. Oncology, Kaiser Permanente, PhRMA and American Health Care Association.

Previously, Eric served as press secretary for the U.S. Senate campaign of Democrat Mark R. Warner. Eric was Warner’s spokesman and designed and executed Sen. Warner’s 1996 campaign communications strategy. Prior to taking part in Warner’s campaign, he served in the Clinton Administration working for the Childhood Immunization Program at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). At the CDC, he planned high-profile media events with First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and U.S. Health and Human Services Department Secretary Donna E. Shalala.

Eric earned his B.A. in journalism from Michigan State University.

Kamala Maddali, DVM, Ph.D.

Vice President, Biopharma Collaborations & Companion Diagnostics, Cancer Genetics

Dr. Maddali’s mantra for leadership is to “spread some sunshine” by being passionate and positive about her commitment to patient’s health via novel testing solutions for precision medicine.

While at Merck, Dr. Maddali played a pivotal role as a biomarker scientist understanding the various pharmacological and toxic effects of investigational drugs across multiple therapeutic areas in oncology, neurology and obesity disorders. 

She also has extensive experience as a chief scientific commercial liaison for precision medicine at top-tier central laboratories and reference laboratories, including Quintiles and Quest Diagnostics.  

At Cancer Genetics, she has initiated a biopharma collaboration campaign, implementing strategic initiatives to foster positive growth of the company through the provision of high-quality, innovative, responsive services. Her vision is to ensure that the patient’s voice is heard and her goal is to help patients and pharma partners implement the right test for the right patient and innovate the right drugs for improving global community health.

Dr. Maddali’s work to realize this vision includes the upcoming “Adopt a patient program,” which will help screen women in underserved communities in Asia for early cancer diagnosis. She is a board member for “Cancer NJ”, a South Asian cancer patient advocacy organization working to foster knowledge about cancer diagnosis and prevention, and is a scientific advisor to “Beat Cancer,” which works to help prevent cancer through lifestyle changes. Dr. Maddali also empowers students as a scientific educational mentor and helps them to successfully navigate their educational goals by staying committed to healthcare.

Dr. Maddali was the 2016 Healthcare Heroes Finalist Award for “Innovation-Individual” category at NJBIZ.

Dr. Maddali serves as a Vice Chair for the Women in Bio (WIB) Philadelphia chapter. The Women In Bio organization promotes careers, leadership, and entrepreneurship for women in the life sciences.

Dr. Maddali is very committed to save lives, to empower those affected by cancer, and to inspire younger generations to stay committed to healthcare education and be the future of global community health. She holds a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from University of Missouri-Columbia and a DVM Veterinary Medicine from Acharya N.G. Ranga Agricultural University in India. 

Chief of Staff, Global Digital and Analytics & Global Finance and Operations, Boston Consulting Group
Kelly has also led finance and planning, strategy development, plan execution and business operations for Boston Consulting Group’s North America region, where her duties included:

• Managing member of Americas Region executive leadership team, a partner-driven group that sets and leads BCG’s strategy and operations in the region
• Partners with global leadership, specialty functions, other operations and broader Partner group on business building, strategy and operations initiatives, including new business development and implementation
• Leads team encompassing Controller functions, Financial Planning and Analysis, Business Reporting, Payroll, Risk Management and other finance operations for North America
• Directs Americas’ region functions related to real estate, financial IT investment management, workplace management, compensation programs, travel operations and procurement/vendor management
• Develops and executes internal and executive communications programs

Previously, she was a Principal in client service, working in consumer goods, travel and tourism, energy, and non-profit, as well as for the US Government. Her experience includes strategy, process development, organizational design and change management.

In addition, Kelly spent 6 years with Northrop Grumman, a U.S. defense contractor, including extensive work on large-scale initiatives, including post merger integration, staff retention initiatives, and projects realigning employee skill-sets to new industry and organizational needs.

Prior to that, she worked with KPMG’s Corporate Finance practice and with a California-based manufacturer and distributor of industrial chemicals.

Ms. Nelson has a M.B.A. from the Smith School of Business (University of Maryland), where she was part of student team investing and managing a $1.2 million equity portfolio. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and Environmental Studies from Yale University.

Senior Advisor for Mental Health Services, Epidemiology, and Economics, National Institute of Mental Health
Dr. Schoenbaum directs a unit charged with conducting analyses of mental health burden, service use and costs, intervention opportunities, and other policy-related issues, in support of Institute decision-making; and with helping to strengthen NIMH’s relationships with outside stakeholders, to increase the public health impact of NIMH-supported research.

Dr. Schoenbaum’s research has focused particularly on the costs and benefits of interventions to improve health and health care, evaluated from the perspectives of patients, providers, payers and society. He has been a scientific principal in NIMH’s Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (http://www.armystarrs.org; now STARRS-LS); and has worked on initiatives with the Veterans Health Administration, the Social Security Administration, the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the National Business Group on Health, among others.

Prior to joining NIMH, Dr. Schoenbaum spent nine years at the RAND Corporation, where his work included studies of the feasibility and consequences of improving care for common mental disorders, particularly depression; studies of the social epidemiology and economic consequences of chronic illness and disability; design and evaluation of decision-support tools to help consumers make health benefits choices; and international health sector development projects.

Dr. Schoenbaum was a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar in health policy at the University of California, Berkeley, from 1995-1997. He holds a PhD in Economics from University of Michigan.

Chris has over 20 years of experience in advancing cutting-edge biomedical information technology. He is Founder, President & CEO of Systems Imagination, Inc., which offers advanced cognitive computing technology and artificial intelligence methodologies to translate big data into valuable insights. Chris was instrumental at IBM as Head of Strategy and Planning in the Information Based Medicine group, where he developed initiatives to target the growing field of personalized medicine as new molecular therapeutics were first being used to treat cancer. He has also held leadership positions at healthcare and technology companies including Systems Oncology, Cisco, Oracle, and Applied Biosystems.

As a serial entrepreneur, Chris has created value in new companies that accelerate the adoption of personalized medicine through genomics and cognitive computing. He has founded and successfully engineered the exit of startups including MedTrust Online, LLC, the world’s first largest online community of cancer doctors treating difficult cases with molecular medicine. He continues to create new value in innovative ventures at the intersection of Healthcare & Life Sciences and Information Technology.

Dr. Yoo is an Adjunct Faculty member of the Department of Biomedical Informatics of Arizona State University. He is a recipient of the Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Cancer Research Award for his postdoctoral fellowship at UC Berkeley, and he received his PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from Yale University.

Partner, WilmerHale
Daniel Zimmerman, has advised emerging companies and technology startups for more than 20 years, drawing on his extensive expertise in complex corporate transactions and venture technology issues. Zimmerman provides counsel on a variety of corporate governance and finance matters, as well as exit transactions such as public offerings and mergers and acquisitions. He further counsels Silicon Valley-based venture capital firms, as well as global venture and private equity funds in their portfolio investments in the US and abroad.

Zimmerman is co-chair of WilmerHale’s Diversity Committee. He has served as Chair of the Executive Committee of the International Law Section of the State Bar of California for the 2009-2010 term and as Chairman of the Board of the German American Business Association. He has also previously served as president and board member of Alto International School in Menlo Park and serves as primary pro bono counsel to the School.

Zimmerman holds an LLM from UCLA and was educated at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany.

I am a practicing physician and a proud volunteer in COLONTOWN.  I currently serve as the Community Leader for health care providers within COLONTOWN, including the neighborhood for both physician-patients and nurse-patients, as well as the neighborhood for consulting physicians.

COLONTOWN is a resource unlike any other that I have encountered in my professional career or personal life.  COLONTOWN is not just another support group—it is a transformational online community that educates and empowers its members with accurate, up to date, evidence-based information about the management of all forms of CRC.  With input from leading CRC experts around the country and constant oversight from its cabinet and community leaders, COLONTOWN is a one-stop shop for education, information, emotional support, and camaraderie for the newly diagnosed, seasoned CRC veterans, and caregivers.

In August of 2018, a couple of months after being diagnosed with stage 3b colorectal cancer, I started to reach out online to get additional support with my cancer diagnosis. I found COLONTOWN after hearing Charles Griffin Jr. talk about it on a podcast. After the podcast, I joined COLONTOWN and gained support from many of its groups. Charles was one of the first members who encouraged me to continue to ask for support and seek help. A few months ago I completed PALTOWN’s Empowered Patient Leaders program. In early 2021,  I had been NED (No Evidence of Disease) for a few months and wanted to find a way to give back to a community that had given so much to me. I am now serving as Community Leader for COLONTOWN Junior, serving the families of pediatric colorectal cancer patients.  I look forward to continuing to support COLONTOWN and its members in the future.

I found COLONTOWN when my husband was diagnosed in 2017 with stage 4 CRC.  It was the community I had no idea I needed, but it saved my life and my sanity so I could be the rock my husband needed me to be.

I am an 11-year, early-onset, stage IV colon cancer survivor.  I’m a former special education teacher and own my own event planning business. In addition to my career, I have served on non profit boards as alumni chair, fundraising chair and president. I joined COLONTOWN in 2016 and took on a leadership role in 2018.  In 2019, I attended an Empowered Patient Leader seminar and continue to take on more responsibilities to support new members of COLONTOWN.

I use my involvement to give back to the community for the support it has given me.  Since joining COLONTOWN, I have become a better advocate for myself and enjoy empowering others.

In my spare time, I enjoy crafting, kayaking, travel, and spending time making memories with my husband, four adult children and fur babies.

Susan has been an indomitable patient advocate and tireless researcher since the moment her 17-year-old daughter Jessica was diagnosed with Colorectal Cancer (CRC) in December 2016.

After Jessica’s death in 2018, Susan dedicated herself to advocacy and awareness of CRC, looking at the environmental and epigenetic factors that may have influenced Jessica’s early-onset cancer —From early exposures that increase the body burden of chemicals, to lesser known factors that may be quietly increasing the risks and incidence of inflammatory diseases affecting the microbiome.

After the positive response to her work, as the only non-medical professional invited to address international researchers and clinicians at the Early-Onset CRC conference, she was asked to present her research to the National Institutes of Environmental Studies, a division of NIH.

Susan spent most of her professional career in marketing and public relations as a VP of the global communications firm Hill and Knowlton, where she advised CEO’s, Fortune 500 companies and foreign governments. In the healthcare arena her clients included Bayer, SmithKline Beecham, Johnson & Johnson, DuPont Pharmaceuticals, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), and Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Susan led global multi-disciplinary teams, developed and executed national and international media and marketing campaigns, corporate communications and product launches.

Susan coordinated the media launch of the iconic U.S. Postal Service Breast Cancer Awareness stamp which has raised more than 87 million dollars since its inception. And on behalf of Bayer, she directed the original campaign to educate the public about the connection between aspirin and reducing the risk of both first and second heart attacks, something that is now widely accepted.

Susan has advised dignitaries and foreign governments including Botswana, Chile, China, Finland, Italy, Israel, Spain, Macedonia, and Indonesia on issues relating to tourism, biomedical research, technology transfer, trade policy and foreign direct investment.

She holds a B.A. from Middlebury College in Political Science and International Affairs and a Certificát from L’Université D’Aix en Provence Aix, France.

She started her career in publishing with Vogue & Vanity Fair, was a script writer for CNN and authored the book Winks from Heaven. Her work has been published in More, Glamour, Self, Pregnancy, Southern Living, Fitness, & Psychology Today.

I was diagnosed with Stage IV right-side colon cancer in January, 2007.  Recurrence in August, 2015, which I’m still dealing with.  I’m Lynch.  I’ve been with COLONTOWN since 2011.  Attended Call on Congress in the early days of COLONTOWN, and also attended the first Empowered Patient Workshop.  I am the Administrator for Sunshine State Crew, and Community Leader for all our local crews around the United States.  I love advocating, and helping others with their diagnosis.

I am living with a chronic disease known as Stage IV colorectal cancer. I am one of the growing many of early onset patients with no family history or typical risk factors trying to figure out how to juggle treatment, raise a toddler, and shift just about everything to coexist with cancer. I passionately believe that knowledge and compassion help increase positive outcomes for those with cancer in their lives. COLONTOWN provides both of these in such a unique way and I am thrilled to participate in and further that mission.

I am a Stage 4a colorectal cancer survivor.

I was diagnosed in 2018 at the age of 35 and this news sent my life into a tailspin. I was told I was inoperable due to the extent of cancer in my liver, would be on chemotherapy for my entire life, and that everything we were doing was to extend my life or for palliative reasons. Not what you want to hear ever, let alone when you are 35 and with 2 young children and another on the way. It affected my wife tremendously as well. We understand the emotional, mental, and physical stress that comes with a terminal cancer diagnosis and found COLONTOWN about 6 months after being diagnosed, with both my wife and I joining various neighborhoods within the community.

This turned out to be a game changer for me as I found a recommendation in COLONTOWN for a CRC liver surgeon. This led me to get a 2^nd opinion with this doctor, and eventually, surgery. It changed my life. I have been declared NED and no longer receive chemotherapy, but actively monitor with my oncology team with methods and tests I learned about first in COLONTOWN.

I have experienced many up and downs on the rollercoaster of cancer (chemotherapy, embolizations, ablations, ileostomy and reversal, mental health, fistulas, colonic stents and them failing, physical health, integrative medicine, surgeries, etc.) that I am not shy about sharing with others. I am an analyst by profession, GIS Analyst, and research extensively not only at my work but about my disease as well.  I believe my knowledge and perspective of cancer from someone who has lived it can benefit other patients in ways that doctors cannot grasp at times. While I am brutally honest in my approach, I also am very optimistic and positive and want to help others after finding my own voice after my cancer experiences and taking charge of my health. It has lit a fire in me that I have never felt before and I want to help others now if it is within my capabilities.

I am honored to be a part of COLONTOWN and to be able to help. I will continue to strive and advocate for our community and helping others in their own quest of taking control of their health and wellbeing and connecting with others within the community.

I am a single mom of 3 beautiful babies and I have stage IV colon cancer. I am a big city gal in rural Appalachia and strive to dedicate my energy towards colorectal cancer patient advocacy, education and support.

I am a breast cancer survivor and a stage IV crc patient. I joined COLONTOWN in 2016 on the advice of a friend, and I have found it to be the best online group for support and education for colorectal cancer patients. The education and peer to peer medical advice I’ve received helped me make critical decisions in my treatment plans. The level of knowledge from members who are patients, caregivers, and medical professionals is superior and invaluable.

In 2019, after having to take medical leave from my job of 13 years, I took a step back into the professional world by joining PALTOWN’s first group of interns. I was able to use my prior experience in fundraising to help with the work of supporting our programs, and began to work with both CEO Erika Brown and COO Nancy Seybold on many other projects; in a small organization, everyone wears many hats! I attended one of PALTOWN’s Empowering Patient Leaders Workshops late in 2019 and have stepped up as an admin of our New Jersey and Pennsylvania local crews.

PALTOWN is growing, as our programs reach more patients and caregivers and our training initiatives. As part of that growth, I moved into a part-time staff position at the end of 2019, focused on development and program management.

For more than twenty years, Maia has been a book editor, working in the private and public sector. When a close friend was diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer in 2012, Maia employed her research and critical thinking skills to become a passionate patient advocate, promoting patient and carepartner education about clinical trials and helping others understand the emerging field of immunotherapy for CRC.

Maia believes that transforming information overload into practical, relevant knowledge helps patients have informed conversations with their doctors and contributes to advance the field so there are more cures, sooner.

Maia works with Fight CRC as Lead Curator of their CRC Trial Finder, and with PALTOWN in COLONTOWN’s clinical trials neighborhoods

She enjoys living in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with her husband, her daughter and their two dogs.

I was diagnosed in December 2011 with Stage I Rectal Cancer. After progressing to Stage IV four years later I needed to find support and information, which led me to COLONTOWN.   It was there that I made friendships and connected with people that have loved, supported and guided me through some of my toughest days.  And, to my surprise, also offered education and information from dealing with medication side effects to finding the most recent and innovated cancer treatments.

I found my voice with COLONTOWN and started to take charge of my care, working alongside my oncologist to figure out the best treatment plan that allowed for a better quality of life.  I felt the desire to give back and help others gain everything I had from such an amazing group of patients and caregivers.   After attending an Empowering Patient Leaders Workshop I got right to work starting a group local to me in Connecticut, helping to onboard and admin a large neighborhood for Rectal Cancer patients and get involved in organizing and planning future EPL meetings.  I am beyond grateful to be a small part of a huge blessing in the middle of a difficult disease.

I joined COLONTOWN because I was looking for support for myself and my husband, who had been diagnosed with Stage 2 colon cancer. I have enjoyed getting to meet everyone in COLONTOWN and especially liked attending my first Empowered Patient Leader Workshop this summer in Minneapolis. I’m now serving as the Deputy Mayor for our Spiritual Enclave. I’m married to Tim Basner and have 2 adult age kids, Rebecca and Jimmy. In my spare time I like to get together with friends, travel when I can and read books. I have a huge passion for helping people and helping animals. Our family volunteers for a local dog rescue helping pregnant mommas, puppies or dogs that have a medical issue that need special care. My family will tell you I love to meet people and talk to them. I look forward getting to know more people and helping out as I can.

I am Carepartner to my husbandm=, who was diagnosed with Stage 3b rectal  cancer in 2015. I was introduced to my COLONTOWN family four years ago and became a host to carepartners in 2016. I’m a Deputy Mayor for Carepartner Onboarding & a Neighborhood Host for several communities. I had the pleasure of becoming an Empowered Patient Leader at the first Empowered Patient Workshop in Washington DC. COLONTOWN has provided my family with education, connection and the tools needed to THRIVE in our new normal.

When I received the call telling me that yes, indeed I had cancer, I was not really surprised. With my history of Crohn’s Disease and family colorectal cancer it was basically inevitable. I was diagnosed in March of 2012 with Stage IV right sided colon cancer. Unfortunately, even though I was MSI-high, it was before the immunotherapies were being used. I underwent 14 months of chemo and 8 weeks of radiation and was lucky enough to be declared NED.

The time I have had dancing with NED has been spent trying to advocate and help others. COLONTOWN has given me the best outlet for my advocacy. I have taken a leadership role and have also helped train others. I onboard new members daily and the number of our members keeps growing even though we are continually losing our friends. COLONTOWN has given me the purpose to continue and work towards the day when COLONTOWN is no longer needed.

My name is Fernando Ruiz del Prado (but please call me Fer).

My favorite phrase is “Life is a Journey” because pretty much encapsulates the story of my life. Born and raised in Mexico City, when I turned 24, I grabbed two bags, my skateboard and my bass and headed to Boston, MA with enough savings to pay for my first year of college. I worked many jobs to pay for my education.  Fortunately upon graduation I was offered a job at WGBH 89.7 fm Boston’s NPR as a production audio engineer.

By 1994 I also started my own production business and in 1995 I landed a large corporate communications account. But in June 1996 at 33 yrs. old my life came to a complete halt because I was diagnosed with stage III Colorectal cancer. Because of my young age it took almost too long to get to proper attention to my symptoms. Finally they reacted and went under major surgery followed by nine months of chemo.

Fast forward to June of 2019 when I rang my 22^nd NED cancerversary!

My COLONTOWN journey: In 2010 Erika rang my phone, told me about COLONTOWN and invited me to March to DC two years in a row. I’ve continued to be involved with this wonderful organization.  In 2012 Life brought me Toronto, Canada and I moved full time in 2015.  Since 2017 I’ve taken on a deeper role because of my cultural and professional background experience. I started to work as an admin for several groups and helping as marketing & communications advisor for Erika and COLONTOWN.

In 2018 I attended the first EPL [Empowered Patient Leader] workshop in Washington DC.

Currently I am Community Leader for all the international groups [True North Crew in Canada, Straya group in Australia, Villa Colon group for worldwide Spanish Speakers, and Darmastad group for German speaking community.] I also help on the Beantown group (the Boston group).

I am also assist with branding, communications, marketing, fundraising, video production and serve as workshop producer & A/V guru. I’ve helped produced the Denver, Boston and Minneapolis workshop. I spend many hours a day and plenty every week tending to all these groups and all the branding and communications needs as well as working with PALTOWN staff on ways to fundraise and raise COLONTOWN’s profile in the outside world.

But if you know Erika and COLONTOWN’s story you’ll understand why!  If you don’t know either you’ll want to!  My journey with PALTOWN is a labor of love.

I am a Stage IV colorectal cancer survivor, diagnosed in 2013. I’ve been part of the COLONTOWN community for more than four years. After joining, I quickly took on leadership roles. I serve on the COLONTOWN Cabinet as a Deputy Mayor, am the Community Leader for our BLUE LIGHT SPECIAL COMMUNITY and am also a Neighborhood Host for numerous groups. I have attended and helped present at all of PALTOWN’s Empowered Patient Leader Workshops.

COLONTOWN has given me a voice and a purpose that I never dreamed possible. Helping others “Find their people” is a passion.

I am a Stage IV colorectal cancer patient (MSS, BRAF-mutated) who has been connected with COLONTOWN for about five years.

After participating as a regular member, I attended a workshop in October 2018 to become an “Empowered Patient Leader” in COLONTOWN. I helped build and lead our ten neighborhoods that are focused on clinical trials. We have 1,400+ in our MSS TRIALS neighborhood, and smaller numbers in others (MSI, RAS, BRAF, HER2+, CHEK2, Anal, CAR-T, and NIH). In this role I oversee discussions about clinical trials and treatment options, and act as a liaison between members and several top CRC oncologists to help answer patients’ questions.

In the spring of 2020, I worked to facilitate the transition of COLONTOWN to a member-led model as PALTOWN expands. I am currently Community Leader for our Clinical Trials neighborhoods.  I also lead PALTOWN’s Clinical Trials Navigator program, which trains community members to help fellow patients learn about clinical trials and navigate the process of making decisions and enrolling in those trials. My day job is Professor of Communication Studies and Director of the Climate Change Studies Program at The University of Montana in Missoula, MT.

I am a stage II colorectal cancer survivor diagnosed in 2016. I have been with COLONTOWN for 3 years. I am Community Leader for the AGES AND STAGES groups. In this role, I oversee these groups, making sure that they are running smoothly, help to onboard new members and am in contact with the admins if there are any questions or issues. I also admin for the 2^NDAVE. (stage II group) and MOTOR CITY CREW. In these groups, I make sure all posts receive responses, fire up important discussions and post current scientific articles pertaining to these groups.  I have attended 2 Empowered Patient Leader Workshops.

My goal is to make an impact on the CRC community by helping to improve screening rates, providing much needed support and connections, helping guide people to critical and potentially life-saving information they need in finding clinical trials or information on neuropathy etc. I am also currently a panel member of CRAN (Colorectal Awareness Network). This group is part of the American Cancer Society and its sole purpose is to raise the screening rate to 80%.

Helping others is my passion and I would like to share an amazing analogy that a friend, Charles, who I met at the 1^st Empowered Patient Leader Workshop, shared with us at the workshop. He compared us to glowsticks. He held up a glowstick and said, after snapping the stick, a glowstick needs to be broken to shine. Just like us when we receive the cancer diagnosis, we feel broken but it also gives us an opportunity to shine by helping others and making a difference. COLONTOWN gave me support when I needed it the most and I hope that I can give that back to those who may feel lost in their diagnosis and are searching for help.

Stacey has had the bittersweet opportunity to watch COLONTOWN grow almost from the very beginning. She joined the town while her husband Rick was in treatment for stage IV adenocarcinoma of unknown primary, and has been involved ever since.
Sadly, Rick died of his disease in 2014. Currently Stacey oversees the caregiver neighborhoods of COLONTOWN which include private areas for teen children of CRC patients, primary caregivers of patients, parents of adult patients, a grief group for “former caregivers” and several more. She works with an incredible group of administrators who keep the carepartner neighborhoods going strong daily.
Stacey is particularly proud of starting the private group reserved for Stage IV caregivers only, as well as starting the group PALLIATIVE PATHWAYS for both caregivers and patients. She has made strong friendships with patients and caregivers alike during her time in COLONTOWN, and has had the absolute honor of talking several of those friends through their own, or their partner’s end-of-life.
Outside of COLONTOWN, Stacey owns and runs a group of small businesses. She attempts to play golf (Rick’s favorite sport!), she is a tap dancer, and a (begrudging) beginner runner.

Scott Kopetz, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, GI Medical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Dr. Scott Kopetz graduated Summa Cum Laude from Vanderbilt University with a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering/Electrical and received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He obtained his residency training in Internal Medicine at Duke University Medical Center, followed by a medical oncology fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Kopetz joined MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2006 as an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology. He subsequently completed a Ph.D. at MD Anderson in cancer biology with thesis focus on mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance in colorectal cancer. Dr. Kopetz is board-certified in Internal Medicine and in Medical Oncology. He has authored over 100peer-reviewed articles in respected scientific journals such as Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lancet,Cancer Research, Cancer, Clinical Cancer Research, and JAMA, and is a senior editor for Clinical Cancer Research, and editorial board member on Journal of Clinical Oncology and JNCI.  He is vice chair for colon cancer research in the NSABP/RTOG cooperative group, and member of the NIH Gastrointestinal Oncology Steering Committee. In addition, he was a recipient of peer-reviewed grants from American Society of Clinical Oncology and the National Institute of Health, among others. He is the principal investigator of several Phase I and II clinical trials, including the Assessment of Targeted Therapies Against Colorectal Cancer (ATTACC) study, a novel biomarker enrichment program for colorectal cancer. His research interests include the biology of refractory colorectal cancer and the development of novel therapeutics for molecularly distinct subsets of colorectal cancer patients.

Director, Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology, University of Colorado School of Medicine

Deputy Associate Director for Clinical Research, University of Colorado School of Medicine

Dr. Lieu joined the University of Colorado School of Medicine faculty as an Assistant Professor of Medicine in July 2011.  He trained in internal medicine at the University of Colorado, where he also served as a Chief Medical Resident.  He completed his fellowship training in medical oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and served as the Chief Medical Oncology Fellow in 2010.  He currently serves as the Director of GI Medical Oncology at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, is a member of the National Cancer Institute Colon Cancer Task Force, and serves on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Panel for Neuroendocrine Cancers.

Dr. Lieu is a member of the Developmental Therapeutics (phase I clinical trials) and Gastrointestinal (GI) Medical Oncology Program.   These comprehensive programs include multidisciplinary cancer clinics, tumor boards, and research endeavors.  Dr. Lieu is interested in resistance mechanisms to targeted therapy in GI cancers, and he was awarded the Conquer Cancer Foundation Career Development Award and a NIH K23 grant to study targeted therapies in colorectal cancer.  Dr. Lieu is also investigating novel therapeutic strategies to more effectively treat and prevent colorectal cancer in young adults.

Professor, Laboratory of Cellular Immunology
La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology
Director of Translational Science, San Diego Center for Cancer
Immunotherapy
Head of Cancer Vaccines, Human Longevity, Inc

Dr. Schoenberger is a Professor in the Laboratory of Cellular Immunology and Co-Director of the San Diego Center for Personalized Cancer Immunotherapy, as well as Adjunct Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the UCSD Moores Cancer Center. He received his Ph.D. in Microbiology and Molecular Genetics from UCLA in 1993 and completed postdoctoral training in Immunohematology and Tumor Immunology at the University of Leiden in The Netherlands. Dr. Schoenberger was appointed to LIAI’s faculty in 1998 as an Assistant Professor, was promoted to
Associate Professor in 2002, gained Tenure in 2005, and became a Professor in 2007. He is a recipient of Scholar Awards from both the American Cancer Society and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and is on the editorial advisory board of the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

Dr. Schoenberger is a leader in understanding the immunobiology of CD4 +  and CD8 +  Tcell responses with particular expertise on the generation and maintenance of immune memory by these subsets and in the key role of antigen-presenting cells (APC) in mediating antigen-specific tolerance versus immunity. His research has revealed a new mechanism for how CD4 +  T cells provide the ‘help’ necessary for optimal CD8 +  T cell responses via APC activation and his laboratory was the first to demonstrate the role of T cell programming in guiding the development of CD8 +  T cells. More recently, he has
sought to translate his laboratory’s insights into T cell and APC biology for the personalized immunotherapy of cancer. He and his team have developed a range of novel tools and approaches for the identification of personalized tumor neoantigen targets for immunotherapeutic intervention in solid cancers including personalized cancer vaccines and adoptive cellular therapy. Clinical trials based on applying these discoveries are scheduled to begin at the UCSD Moores Cancer Center in 2018.

T.J. Sharpe is a Stage IV melanoma survivor, writer, advocate, and patient expert who began sharing his journey through cancer in the Patient #1 Blog on http://www.philly.com/patient1/.  He was diagnosed in August 2012 with melanoma tumors in multiple organs; since then, he has undergone six surgeries and four immunotherapy treatments over two different clinical trials.  He remains on his second trial, for the anti-PD-1 drug pembrolizumab, with no detectable active cancer.  The initial failures, and subsequent response, have been chronicled in his blog posts since December 2012. 

He attends research conferences, reporting on the latest melanoma and oncology research breakthroughs through his blog to help others avoid, detect, or educate themselves on cancer.  He also partners with advocacy and patient organizations to bring awareness to cancer research and developments, and support those living with cancer and their families.

Now a speaker, writer, and patient expert consultant to the biopharma and clinical research industries, his efforts have been recognized by several organizations across the clinical and cancer research landscape; in December 2014, he shared his story on Capitol Hill in a special session promoting immunotherapy research to lawmakers.  As a speaker and consultant, he has presented to or worked with many of the top pharmaceutical companies and industry trade organizations, and his story has influenced an initiative to bring clarity and common language to clinical trial contracts. As a writer, he contributes to www.NovartisOncology.com, his Patient #1 blog, and www.SkinCancer.net on a regular basis, along with ad-hoc online and printed contributions to multiple outlets.  He also serves on the Board of Directors of A Prom to Remember, a 501(c)3 charity providing pediatric oncology teens with the ultimate Prom experience.

A South Jersey native, T.J. lives in Fort Lauderdale with his wife Jennifer and two children, Josie and Tommy. He is active in health initiatives, including melanoma/cancer awareness runs and cycling rides, and is an avid yoga participant – when not coaching his kids’ soccer and baseball teams or being Dance Dad.  Throughout his journey, he has, and still does, consider himself the luckiest person on the planet with cancer.

Dr. Tom Marsilje was a 20-year oncology drug discovery scientist, including being a co-inventor of the non-small cell lung cancer drug “ceritinib.” He was a co-author on 25 scientific publications and was co-inventor of 19 Issued US Patents.

He was diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC) in 2012, and quickly realized that he had a unique viewpoint as both a Stage IV patient and as an oncology drug discovery scientist. He recognized that this unique dichotomy could be a powerful tool for CRC patient advocacy.  He could see and articulate both viewpoints of cancer: the patient viewpoint and the scientific viewpoint.  His advocacy was kicked off by being a Colon Club featured survivor in their 2016 Colondar 2.0 annual magazine, bringing national-level awareness to early-onset CRC.

Since that advocacy start, highlights included helping to create and run as lead scientist the COLONTOWN CLINICS CRC Clinical Trial online communities recently featured on NBC Evening News with Lester Holt and MSNBC and the release of a MSS-CRC curated clinical trial finder as featured by STAT News.

As a prolific writer, he wrote a personal blog on life at the intersection of being both a cancer patient and researcher with regular readership in 150 countries, “Adventures in Living Terminally Optimistic”, a science column for Fight Colorectal Cancer “The Currently Incurable Scientist“, and numerous columns on Stage IV cancer life and issues for the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper and website.

Dr. Tom Marsilje passed away in the fall of 2017. His legacy of patient empowerment and the relentless search for better treatments – both as researcher and patient – remains at the core of the work of PALTOWN.

Senior Vice President, Spectrum Science Communications
Larry James Thompson has written about science and medicine for more than 30 years, first as a journalist and later as a communications professional, including 19 years at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

In February 2017, Thompson joined Spectrum Science Communications as a senior vice president. Previously, he was senior director of communications in the Johnson & Johnson Office of the Chief Medical Officer, which he joined in May 2014. For the previous 13 years, he was the communications director for the National Human Genome Research Institute, one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health. He entered federal service in 1995 as a science policy analyst and speechwriter for the FDA commissioner and served on the FDA team that sought to regulate tobacco in the 1990s, among other assignments at FDA.

Thompson began his career as a journalist, working in a wide range of media, including newspapers, magazines, books and broadcast. He co-founded the Health Section of The Washington Post, founded the Science and Medicine Section of The San Jose Mercury News, and served as the first medical editor of The Call-Chronicle Newspapers in Allentown, Pa. He was a broadcast correspondent for Medical News Network and was an on-air panelist on WETA’s Science Journal. He has written two books, including Correcting the Code: Inventing the Genetic Cure for the Human Body, published by Simon & Schuster, and has worked as a freelance writer and freelance television producer. He also has coauthor of several peer-reviewed papers and won numerous awards for writing and producing.

Thompson holds an undergraduate degree in biology, a master of science in molecular biology from Lehigh University, and a master of fine arts in film and electronic media from American University, Washington, D.C. He also received the first Dorothy Rider Pool Health Care Trust Fellowship in public health at the Yale University School of Medicine.

Business Consultant
Teah Bennett brings over 20 years of leadership know-how to her business consulting practice to include executive/team coaching and facilitation. Her success as a business consultant /coach is based on a unique combination of hands-on practical experiences in key leadership roles and a passion for helping executives and their teams become exceptional leaders who make a difference in their organizations.

Teah is known for delivering honest, direct feedback that leads to powerful outcomes. During her career, Teah has successfully performed in Executive Leadership roles in Technology Consulting, Commercial Software and Professional Services reaching the executive suite as Vice President of Implementix, CEO of I*Level and President of InnerCircle, respectively.

Ms. Bennett’’s current consulting efforts focuses on small businesses turn around, executive coaching and executive teams developing their leadership to meet the needs of the business. Working with companies of all sizes, spanning a wide range of industries and disciplines, Teah is often called upon to help organizations transform through enhanced leadership behaviors.
In the past, she has participated on several advisory boards, hrQ, a national executive search, interim and HR consulting firm, Saligent, a marketing automation company, ”DBA Board”- Denver Business Advisors, which coaches(pro-bono) the leadership of small businesses in the Denver area and Companion Arts, a 501C organization that supports caregivers.

She is also a past winner of the “Trailblazer Award” for Women in Communication and a finalist for CSIA Entrepreneur of the Year.