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 Board 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 nearly fifteen years of executive leadership in the non-profit sector with an emphasis on consensus-building and collaboration. He has led numerous federal advocacy efforts on a range of issues both at the legislative and regulatory level over the years. He became…

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

Chief of Mission Delivery
Erin joined Patient Advocate Foundation just two years after the organization began in 1998, and has worked at nearly all levels of the organization from case manager to quality assurance analyst to operations management. Through her tenure, Erin has developed an in-depth skill set critical to assisting patients dealing with access to care issues, insurance navigation, employment retention, and debt…

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 Richardson

Executive Vice President for Strategic Patient Solutions
Alan Richardson joined PAF in January 2004 and currently serves as the Executive Vice President of Strategic Patient Solutions. He is responsible for working with internal and external stakeholders on case management-based solutions for patients experiencing access and affordability challenges. These include general case management services, MedCareLine, PAF’s disease-specific case management programming and Financial Aid Funds. He is also the…

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

Vice President for Patient Experience and Program 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…
The Patient Advocate Foundation Board of Directors and Scientific Board 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.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS 

David White

Community Outreach Specialist
Dreyfus Health Policy and Research Center, Brooklyn, New York

Reginald Tucker-Seeley, ScD, ScM

Assistant Professor of Gerontology
Edward L. Schneider Chair in Gerontology, USC – University of Southern California

Gabrielle Rocque, MD

Assistant Professor of Medicine
Hematology & Oncology and Gerontology, Geriatrics and Palliative Care, University of Alabama, Birmingham

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

Anaeze C. Offodile II, M.D., MPH

Executive Director for Clinical Transformation, Assistant Professor-Department of Plastic Surgery, MD Anderson Cancer Center

Maureen Culbertson

Managing Director, Deloitte’ Government and Public Services

Rolf Benirschke

CEO, Legacy Health Strategies, Former NFL Football Player, Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year, NFL Comeback Player of the Year, San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame

Larri Alexis Short

Board Secretary

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

Deborah Parham Hopson, PhD, RN, FAAN

Immediate Past President

Senior Vice President for Public Health Systems Innovation
and Senior Public Health Scientist – Maya Tech Corporation
Rear Admiral (Ret.) U.S. Public Health Service

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 Vice President

Associate General Counsel, United Healthcare

Edith Mitchell, MD, FACP

Clinical Professor of Medicine and Medical Oncology Program Leader, Gastrointestinal Oncology Department of Medical Oncology Director, Center to Eliminate Cancer Disparities, Associate Director Diversity Affairs

Pearl Moore, RN, MN, FAAN

Board President

CEO (Retired) Oncology Nursing Society

SCIENTIFIC 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

Paul J. Martin, MD

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Professor of Medicine University of Washington

Edith Mitchell, MD, FACP

Clinical Professor of Medicine and Medical Oncology Program Leader, Gastrointestinal Oncology Department of Medical Oncology Director, Center to Eliminate Cancer Disparities Associate Director, Diversity Affairs Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson

Deborah Morosini, MD

VP, Clinical Affairs & Patient Engagement Loxo Oncology, Inc.

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

Weinhaus & Potashnick