ATLANTA—November 16, 2012— The American Cancer Society, the nation’s largest voluntary health organization, installed 11 new officers to its volunteer 2012-2013 Board of Directors during its Nationwide Volunteer and Staff Leadership Summit in Atlanta today. The organization’s Board of Directors, the Society’s sole governing body, has been comprised of elected volunteers since the organization’s inception in 1913.
Leading the Board will be the newly installed Chair Gary M. Reedy, of Dresher, Pennsylvania, and President Vincent T. DeVita, Jr., M.D., of New Haven, Connecticut. Other officers installed were: Pamela K. Meyerhoffer, F.A.H.P., of Litchfield Park, Arizona, chair-elect; Tim E. Byers, M.D., M.P.H., of Arvada, Colorado, president-elect; Robert E. Youle, of Evergreen, Colorado, vice chair; Douglas K. Kelsey, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.P., of Zionsville, Indiana, first vice president; Enrique Hernandez, M.D. of Penn Valley, Pennsylvania, second vice president; Daniel P. Heist, C.P.A., of State College, Pennsylvania, treasurer; Robert R. Kugler, Esq. of Haddonfield, New Jersey, secretary; W. Phil Evans, M.D., F.A.C.R., of Dallas, Texas, immediate past president; and Cynthia M. LeBlanc, Ed.D., of Richmond, California, immediate past chair.
“We’ve made so much progress on so many fronts, and I am eager to contribute to setting the agenda for the Society to finish the fight against cancer,” said incoming chair Gary M. Reedy.
Mr. Reedy, the newly installed board chair, has been an active Society volunteer for twelve years. He is worldwide vice president of government affairs and policy at Johnson & Johnson, and has more than 30 years of domestic and international experience in the health care industry. Mr. Reedy began his volunteer career with the Society in 2000 as a member of the former ACS Foundation Board of Directors, where he served first as a trustee until 2004, and then as the ACS Foundation liaison to the ACS Board from 2004-2007. In 2007 Mr. Reedy became a director-at-large member of the ACS Board of Directors, before becoming an officer. He currently serves as chair of two board committees, and since 2005, he has also served on the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action NetworkSM (ACS CAN), the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society. He is immediate past chair of the ACS CAN Board, and currently serves as the chair of the ACS CAN Governance Committee.
"The scientific advances made in the American Cancer Society's first 100 years that have reduced suffering and death from cancer are myriad - everything we do that works was developed through research, and the Society has played a significant role in nearly every major discovery that has led to those advances," said incoming president Vincent T. DeVita, Jr., M.D. "But our work is not finished. As a volunteer leader, I look forward to guiding the Society's efforts to continue unraveling the mysteries of cancer and fulfilling the expectations of so many who support our mission to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays."
Dr. DeVita is the Amy and Joseph Perella Professor of Medicine, Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven, Yale School of Medicine, and Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale School of Medicine. Dr. DeVita spent the early part of his career at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health where, in 1980, he was appointed by the President Jimmy Carter as Director of NCI and the National Cancer Program. At NCI, he was instrumental in developing combination chemotherapy programs that ultimately led to an effective regimen of curative chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease and diffuse large cell lymphomas. Dr. DeVita has also served as Physician-In-Chief at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Professor of Medicine at Cornell University School of Medicine, returning to Yale in 1993.
In addition to his service on the Board of Directors since 2004, Dr. DeVita was appointed to the Society’s Elite Cancer Science Panel and served six years on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Society’s journal, CANCER. A recipient of the Society’s Medal of Honor, Dr. DeVita also received the Stanley G. Kay Memorial Award and The Presidential Award from the New England Division. Dr. DeVita also received the Albert and Mary Lasker medical research award in 1972.
Chair-elect Pamela K. Meyerhoffer, F.A.H.P., has been an active American Cancer Society volunteer for more than 40 years. In addition to her new role, she currently serves as a member of a number of Board committees, and previously served two years as Board chair of the former Great West Division affiliate. Ms. Meyerhoffer is President/CEO of PKM Consulting providing guidance to nonprofit organizations to generate philanthropic support and enhance board governance. She also offers consulting services related to marketing, public relations, communications and advocacy. For 27 years prior to 2010, she was President/Chief Executive Officer of Sun Health Foundation and Sun Health Auxiliary. She is a Fellow of the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy and also is an Accredited Business Communicator, bestowed by the International Association of Business Communicators.
Tim E. Byers, M.D., M.P.H., president-elect, is the associate director for cancer prevention and control at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, the associate dean for the Public Health Practice at the Colorado School for Public Health, and a nationally recognized epidemiologist. Originally serving as a peer reviewer in the Extramural Research Grants program and as a member of the epidemiology team planning for Cancer Prevention Study- II analyses, Dr. Byers has been an American Cancer Society volunteer for nearly 30 years. As a longtime member of the ends committee on incidence and mortality, Dr. Byers was instrumental in providing the scientific analysis and background necessary to develop the 2015 nationwide goals and objectives for the American Cancer Society.
Robert E. Youle, who was elected vice chair, has been an American Cancer Society volunteer for 25 years, is a cancer survivor and a member of the Board of Directors for five years, and a member of the former Great West Division Board since 2003. Mr. Youle is a past winner of the Society’s St. George National Award, and served as chair of the Great West Division Board of Directors from 2005 to 2007, the former Rocky Mountain Division Board of Directors from 2002 to 2003, and the former Colorado Division Board of Directors from 1997 to 1998. Mr. Youle has been a member of the Board of Directors of ACS CAN since 2005, serving as Board chair from 2008 to 2010. He is an attorney and partner at Sherman &Howard, LLC who specializes in complex commercial litigation.
Incoming first vice president Douglas K. Kelsey, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.A.P., has been an active Society volunteer for nearly 20 years. He is a Medical Fellow at Eli Lilly and Company, where he specializes in clinical research, especially in the area of ADHD in children, adolescents, and adults. His other areas of expertise include pediatrics, infectious diseases, immunology, and microbiology. He was an inaugural member of the former Great Lakes Division’s Board of Directors, and has served as both its vice president and president/chief medical officer. Dr. Kelsey joined the Board of Directors in 2005. He was presented with the American Cancer Society’s St. George National Award in 2003 for his distinguished service in achieving the Society’s strategic goals.
Enrique Hernandez, M.D., second vice president, is professor and chairman of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences at Temple University School of Medicine. Dr. Hernandez has been an American Cancer Society volunteer for 24 years, and a member of the Board of Directors since 2009. He is a recipient of the St. George National Award, and has been a member of the former East Central Division Board of Directors since 2010 and a member of the former Pennsylvania Division from 2002 to 2010. Dr. Hernandez was president of the former Pennsylvania Division from 2008 to 2010. He is committed to eliminating disparities in healthcare.
Daniel P. Heist, C.P.A. will continue to serve in his role as treasurer and bring more than 25 years of auditing and accounting experience. He is director of internal audit at Pennsylvania State University. Mr. Heist has been active with the Society since 1988, and has served in numerous capacities both with the former East Central Division affiliate and on a nationwide level. Prior to joining Penn State, he was senior manager with Deloitte & Touche, LLP.
Secretary Robert R. Kugler, Esq. is a shareholder in the regional, full-service law firm, Archer & Greiner, P.C., where he is a member of the Firm’s Real Estate Department, which he chaired for a number of years. His professional activities and interests include real estate and banking matters, community association and non-profit corporation law. In addition to serving both the American Cancer Society Board of Directors and the former Eastern Division of the Society in a number and range of capacities since 1973, Mr. Kugler is active in several youth- and arts-focused community organizations, including Symphony in C, the Community Foundation of South Jersey, and New Jersey MasterChorale in addition to service to Dartmouth College. He has served on the Society’s Board of Directors since 2002, and served as chair, secretary, treasurer, and member of several workgroups and committees at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network since 2007. Mr. Kugler served as chair of the former New Jersey Division from 1985 to 1987, and as President of the former Eastern Division from 2000 to 2002.
W. Phil Evans, M.D., F.A.C.R., remains on the Board as immediate past president. Dr. Evans is a board certified diagnostic radiologist specializing in breast imaging, and serves as director of the Center for Breast Care and professor of radiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. He is a Fellow of both the American College of Radiology and the Society of Breast Imaging. As a leader in breast imaging and a past president of the Society of Breast Imaging, he is a major advocate for breast cancer screening with mammography. As an American Cancer Society volunteer for more than 25 years, Dr. Evans has served in numerous capacities in the Society’s former High Plains Division and nationwide, including as president of both the Greater Dallas Board and the former Texas Division. He is a recipient of the St. George National Award, and has served on the Board of Directors since 2004.
Cynthia M. LeBlanc, Ed.D., will remain on the board as immediate past chair. Dr. LeBlanc has more than 30 years of experience in administration in several school districts in California, for which she has received numerous recognitions and awards for outstanding leadership. A Society volunteer for 25 years, LeBlanc has served in various capacities at all levels of the Society. She was instrumental in encouraging the inclusion of youth in the work of the Society and strategic planning addressing the impact of cancer in diverse communities. A St. George National Award winner, Dr. LeBlanc is a Road to Recovery volunteer, Legislative Ambassador, and ACS National Leadership Development Program coach. She is the first African American woman to serve as the highest ranking volunteer of the American Cancer Society.
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The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end cancer for good. As a global grassroots force of three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping you stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early, helping you get well by being there for you during and after a diagnosis, by finding cures through groundbreaking discovery and fighting back through public policy. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.8 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, an estimated 13.7 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.