“Along my prostate cancer recovery journey, I gained many great friends at the Abramson Cancer Center. They have connected with me and Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church to educate the community about disparities associated with cancers. Together, Abramson and Enon are passionately on a mission to save lives and heal families.” - Reverend Blane J. Newberry, prostate cancer survivor
The role of the Advisory Board
The Community Advisory Board’s roles are to identify and address catchment area needs as seen from the community’s perspective, to help guide the Abramson Cancer Center research agenda and to advise Abramson Cancer Center leadership. The 20-member Community Advisory Board consists of community leaders and stakeholders representing cancer patients, survivors and community organizations across the catchment area.
Community Advisory Board meetings focus on understanding how community members view the catchment area burden, discussing new priorities and reviewing progress.
The Board meets quarterly to address the following:
- Identify and develop new community-engaged research initiatives
- Disseminate research findings and evidence-based cancer prevention strategies in the diverse communities
- Identify and inform new strategies for reducing cancer disparities
Ad hoc workgroups of the Board meet between quarterly meetings.
Additionally, Abramson Cancer Center invests resources in a project selected and driven by our Community Advisory Board that aims to reduce cancer disparities in our catchment area.
Abramson Cancer Center Community Advisory Board members
| Name | Title, Organization |
|---|---|
| Angela D. Moore | Patient Navigator, Oncology, Special Needs – Penn Medicine |
| Carol Watcher | Retired- Volunteer Community Outreach Coordinator at BRCSJ (Bayard Rustin Center for Social Justice) |
| Christine Ivery | Founder/CEO – Public Health Jawn LLC Consulting |
| Christopher Womack | Health Policy Strategy (Oncology) – Johnson & Johnson |
| Cornelia Dimalanta | Native American House Alliance Inc |
| Eric R. Teel | Retired Biochemist, Board Secretary – Bridge Builder Foundation of NJ |
| Gerard Kots | Assistant Health Plan Administrator (Retired Firefighter) – Local 22 Health Plan |
| Herbert Campbell | Patient Engagement Specialist – Oak Street Health |
| Col. James E. Williams, Jr. | Chairman – Pennsylvania Prostate Cancer Coalition (PPCC) |
| Jermaine Bromell | Private consultant |
| Kai Howard | Chief Information Officer & Accreditation Liaison Officer – Bryn Athyn College |
| Kate Mastalski | Associate Director – American Cancer Society |
| Kim Hall Jackson | Event Manager – Philabundance |
| Lakeesha Bair-Myers | School Social Worker – School District of Lancaster |
| Laura Kim | Manager, Community Relations – Penn Medicine |
| Laurie Herrick | Health Educator – Middlesex County Office of Health Services |
| Lynette Morales | Participant Engagement Supervisor – UNITE HERE HEALTH |
| Maurice Davis | President, Willow Grove NAACP |
| Michael A. Richey | Deputy Fire Chief – Philadelphia Fire Department |
| Michael Decker | President/CEO – Eden Autism Services |
| Nicole McGruder | Chief Executive Officer – Community Hero Action Group |
| Paulette Moore | Police Chaplain – 12th District |
| Rajarshi Sengupta | Director, Scientific Research Analysis and Dissemination – American Association for Cancer Research |
| Richelle Foreman Gunter | Minister Staff – St. Paul’s Baptist Church / Associate Minister |
| Robin Whaley | Logistics Customer Service Division Chief – Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support |
| Spring Williams | Founder – Inspiring Life Together / HS Biology & Environmental Science Teacher |
| Stacy Davis | Associate Director – Johnson & Johnson |
| Susan Post | CEO – Federally Qualified Health Center (Primary Care) |
| Tene Darby | Former City Councilmember |
| Vincent Smith | Business Service Consultant – PA CareerLink |
Community Outreach and Engagement leadership
Carmen E. Guerra, MD, MSCE, FACP is Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement at Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center.Guerra is a general internist trained in epidemiology and a cancer equity researcher. Her research focuses on reducing cancer disparities, specifically by increasing access to cancer screenings and cancer clinical trial participation for underserved populations.
Under Guerra’s leadership, the Abramson Cancer Center has established partnerships with community organizations to design, implement, and evaluate strategies and interventions to increase the participation of underrepresented minorities in cancer screening, treatment, and research at Penn Medicine. In addition, these partnerships have allowed for the dissemination and implementation of cancer research and evidence-based cancer risk and screening strategies to reduce the burden of cancer in the catchment area.