Our Leaders

To fulfill its mission, PAF is supported day-to-day by its leadership team and patient services are carried out by a stable force of full time professionals with a variety of degrees and specialties. Professional staff who assist patients every day are primarily located in our headquarters location in Hampton, VA, with virtual and satellite offices in various locations around the United States.

The Patient Advocate Foundation Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Committee is comprised of a network of research and community oncologists, attorneys, legislators, healthcare industry representatives, and case managers committed to the goal of offering support to patients, and who provide necessary guidance and direction to be fiscally and structurally sound.

PAF EXECUTIVE STAFF LEADERSHIP

Alan Balch, PhD

Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Balch is the Chief Executive Officer of Patient Advocate Foundation and National Patient Advocate Foundation. Dr. Balch has more than 20 years of executive leadership in the non-profit sector spanning multiple advocacy areas including access and affordability, health equity, prevention and early detection, and cancer research, He became the CEO of both PAF and NPAF in 2013 and has…

Fran Castellow, MSEd

President

Ms. Castellow has served as an executive for many years, joining Patient Advocate Foundation in 2000. She currently serves the organization as its President of Operations, a position she has held since 2006. As President, Ms. Castellow holds top executive management responsibility for the effective and efficient delivery of Mission focused patient programming and partnerships including Case Management Services, PAF’s…

Bill Nason, MBA

Chief Financial Officer

Bill Nason joined the Patient Advocate Foundation in February 2009 with over 26 years of experience in finance, marketing, and hospitality. He served in various roles with Richfield Hotel Management to include Property Controller and Regional Controller before joining Kingsmill Resort, one of the Anheuser-Busch Companies, as the Vice President of Finance and Assistant General Manager. During Bill's 16 years…

Erin Bradshaw

Executive Vice President for the Advancement of Patient Services and Navigation

Erin Bradshaw has been an integral part of Patient Advocate Foundation’s journey since joining just two years after its inception in 1998. With over 25 years of dedicated experience within the organization, Erin has played a pivotal role in shaping its growth and impact with a commitment to advancing PAF's mission. Throughout her tenure at PAF, she has held various…

Angela Walker, SPHR

Chief of Talent Management

Angela Walker joined the Patient Advocate Foundation in 2010 with over 14 years of experience in operations and human resources. As Chief of Talent Management, Mrs. Walker has responsibility for all areas of Human Resource for the organization. She provides strategic direction and operational support to the Talent Management team and leaders of the organization to ensure all recruitment, retention,…

Shonta Chambers, MSW

Executive Vice President of Health Equity Initiatives & Community Engagement

Shonta transitioned back to the non-profit sector in 2014 by joining PAF. She leads the development and execution of strategic initiatives to expand PAF’s approach to achieve health equity through community and national level partnership engagement and mobilization. These initiatives are designed to link limited income communities to resources to abate financial, logistical and social access to care barriers. She…

Gwen Darien

Executive Vice President for Patient Advocacy

Gwen Darien is a longtime patient advocate who has played leadership roles in some of the country’s preeminent nonprofit organizations. As executive vice president for patient advocacy, Gwen leads programs that link PAF’s patient service programs to NPAF initiatives, with the goal of improving access to affordable, quality health care. Called “a bit of a renegade” by People magazine, Gwen…

Beth Moore

Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications

Since joining PAF in 2000, Ms. Moore has served in many roles, providing leadership that has resulted in the substantial growth of patient programs, educational initiatives, external partnerships and internal infrastructure. She currently serves as Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications, where she is responsible for developing and executing a consistent and standardized set of messages, data, and information that…

Alan Wood

Executive Vice President for Business Development and Operations

As the EVP of Business Development and Operations for the Co-Pay Relief Program (CPR), Alan plays a key role in managing the creation and promotion of compliant Co-Pay Relief funds, as well as designing and implementing competitive market strategies supporting the continual expansion and evolution of the program. He facilitates continual internal and external analysis of the patient support needs…

Rebekah Angove, PhD

Executive Vice President Research & Evaluation

Drawing from her expertise in patient engagement, Dr. Angove is responsible for the design and management of PAF’s comprehensive evaluation and patient experience program. In her role she helps PAF to identify patient needs, translate those needs to direct services and policy recommendations, and evaluate the impact of these programs and services on patients and the patient community. Her work…

Christine Wilson

Vice President of Advocacy Communications and Marketing

Christine manages the overall communications strategy for NPAF, providing key insight into special projects and development for PAF as well. She brings a long career in health care advocacy, communications, and marketing to NPAF and PAF. Christine served as vice president for communications and marketing at Fox Chase Cancer Center, where she built and directed a full-service 35 person department.…

Jennifer Brewster, MBA

Senior Director of Financial Support Programs

Jennifer joined PAF in April of 2010. She currently serves as the Senior Director of Financial Support Programs where she is responsible for providing direct, daily oversight and support for patient programs within PAF’s Financial Support Division, which includes the PAF’s Copay Relief Program and Financial Aid and Small Grants program. Jennifer lives in Newport News, Virginia with her husband…

Kathleen Gallagher, MPH

Vice President of Health Services Research

In her role, Kathleen manages the research, data and reporting team and is responsible for health services research and data reporting activities for PAF. In addition, she leads the designing, developing and executing of quantitative and qualitative research and survey work to support advocacy and policy initiatives conducted by PAF's sister organization, National Patient Advocate Foundation. Kathleen is an epidemiologist,…

Courtney Jones

Senior Director of Case Management

Courtney joined PAF in 2004 with multiple years of social work experience. She has grown with the foundation and worked in many different levels of the organization from case manager to quality assurance to Senior Director. Through her tenure, Courtney has made it a mission to see that every patient has adequate access to care, as well as to provide…

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Robert Winn, MD

Director and Lipman Chair in Oncology
Virginia Commonwealth University
Massey Cancer Center
Senior Associate Dean for Cancer Innovation and Professor of
Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine
VCU School of Medicine
Richmond, Virginia

Loretta A. Williams (Lori), PhD, APRN, MSN, BA

Department of Symptom Research, Division of Internal Medicine
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, Texas

David White

Lead Proofreader, Debevoise Plimpton, LLP
Patient Partner, National Committee for Quality Assurance
Patient Representative, NIIH Heal Initiative, New York

Reginald Tucker-Seeley, MA, ScM, ScD

Board Vice President

Principal/Owner – Health Equity Strategies and Solutions, Los Angeles, California
Former Vice President of Health Equity
ZERO – The End of Prostate Cancer
Los Angeles, California

Daniel Press, PhD

Dean of Arts and Sciences, Santa Clara University, California
Former Professor of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz

Veena Shankaran, M.D.

Assistant Professor, Medical Oncology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Assistant Member Clinical Research – Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Maureen Culbertson

Board Secretary

Conexio Services Group, Managing Partner

Larri Alexis Short

Former Partner, Arent Fox LLP

Aaron J. Lyss, MBA

Director of Strategic Payer Relations, OneOncology

David Jackman, MD

Medical Director of Clinical Pathways, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Senior Physician, Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology

Norm Hubbard, MBA

Chief Business Officer at the Office of Health Sciences, Michigan State University, Former Executive Vice President, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance

Alan J. Balch, PhD

Chief Executive Officer
Patient Advocate Foundation
Non-Voting Member

Nancy Davenport-Ennis

Founder, Chair Emerita
Non-Voting Member

John L. Murphy

Finance & Audit Committee Chair

Retired Partner & Head of Research, Saguenay Strathmore Capital

Al Benson III, MD, FACP

Professor of Medicine, Associate Director for Clinical Investigations, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University

John H. “Jack” Ennis

Co-founder
Non-Voting Member

Otis Maynard, Esq.

Board President

Senior Associate General Counsel, United Healthcare

SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Pamela S. Becker, MD, PhD

Associate Professor of Medicine/Hematology Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, University of Washington

Al Benson III, MD, FACP

Chair, Scientific Advisory Committee

Professor of Medicine Associate Director for Clinical Investigations Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University

David Brizel, MD, FASTRO

Leonard R. Prosnitz Professor of Radiation Oncology Professor in Head & Neck Surgery, Co-Director Head & Neck Cancer Program, Duke University Medical Center

Pamela Douglas, MD, MACC, FASE, FAHA

Ursula Geller Professor of Research in Cardiovascular Diseases Director of Imaging Program at DCRI Duke University Medical Center

Jean G. Ford, MD

Albert Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Paul J. Martin, MD

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Professor of Medicine University of Washington

Deborah Morosini, MD

Executive Vice President and Chief of Clinical Affairs-Prelude Therapeutics

Robert M. Rifkin, MD, FACP

Attending Physician Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers

Lori Williams, PhD, MSN, RN

Assistant Professor, Department of Symptom Research University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

Dr. Sandra L. Wong, MD, MS

Chair of Surgery Dartmouth-Hitchcock & Geisel School of Medicine

HONORARY BOARD

Bruce Avery, MD, FACP

(1938-2016)

Hematology-Oncology Knoxville

Richard D. Carter, Esquire

Richard D. Carter, PLLC

The Honorable Mary T. Christian

(1924-2019)

Virginia House of Delegates

Edward G. Connette, Esquire

Essex Richards, PA

The Honorable Pat Dougherty

Missouri State Senate (Retired) Senior Director of Advocacy Catholic Charities of St. Louis

Martha E. “Meg” Gaines, JD, LLM

Clinical Professor of Law Center for Patient Partnership University of Wisconsin - Madison

Leah Locke-Arnett, RN, BSN, MHCA

NCSU Student Health Center

William T. “Bill” McGivney, PhD

Jonathan B. Perlin, MD, PhD, MSHA, FACP, FACMI

President, Clinical Services and Chief Medical Officer HCA, Inc. (Hospital Corporation of America)

Roy Ramthun, MSPH

Paula Trahan Rieger, RN, MSN, CAE, FAAN

Former Chief Executive Officer Oncology Nursing Society

Leo Sands

Executive VP & Chief Administrative Officer, US Oncology

Doris Simonson

Mother of Cheryl Grimmel

Sheldon Weinhaus, Esquire

(1931 - 2021)

Weinhaus & Potashnick