Our Board Members
Our Board is made up of experienced leaders and advocates in healthcare, research, policy, and patient engagement. They bring with them diverse expertise from clinical research, public health, communications, nonprofit management, and patient advocacy. United by a commitment to protecting and restoring cancer research funding, our Board helps guide Patient Action for Cancer Research's strategic vision, ensure effective governance, and foster collaborative partnerships across the cancer care ecosystem.
Patient Action for Cancer Research
Katie Goldberg
President
Katie Goldberg, MFA, MBA, serves as Director of Operations at The Cancer Letter, overseeing operations and business development, and as Managing Editor of the Cancer History Project. She brings deep expertise in oncology news and strategic communications.
Matthew Huesser
Treasurer
Matthew Huesser is a cancer center executive with 15 years of experience in oncology administration and business strategy. He now consults with organizations to expand care models and address health equity, leveraging data and policy insights to transform cancer care delivery.
Kelly Cuvar
Board Member
Diagnosed with a rare sarcoma in 1999, Kelly Cuvar has participated in multiple clinical trials and remains deeply engaged in cancer advocacy. She has also worked as a congressional finance consultant, raising support for leaders advancing cancer research funding and healthcare access.
Laurie McGinley
Board Member
Laurie McGinley is an award-winning journalist who covered cancer research, health care policy, and the Food and Drug Administration for The Washington Post. A former health and science editor at The Post, she also worked for The Wall Street Journal, where she was part of a team awarded the Pulitzer Prize for reporting on AIDS.
Barbara M. McGarey, RN, JD
Board Member
Barbara M. McGarey is a health law expert and former Deputy General Counsel at HHS, where she oversaw public health and biomedical research legal issues including COVID-19 response. Previously chief counsel at NIH, she has extensive experience in intellectual property, public-private partnerships, and biomedical research policy.
Norman E. Sharpless, MD
Board Member
Dr. Norman Sharpless is a physician-scientist, entrepreneur, and policy leader who served as Director of the National Cancer Institute (2017–2022) and Acting FDA Commissioner (2019). He is Professor of Cancer Policy and Innovation at UNC, co-founder of Jupiter BioVentures, and a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
PACR Alliance
Luca Vallada
President
Luca Vallada is PAC Manager at the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers, where he supports government affairs and administers CouncilPAC, the seventh largest business political action committee in Washington. A Washington, D.C. native, he holds degrees in economics, geography, and environmental politics from the University of St Andrews and University College London.
Anne Davis Burns
Board Member
Anne Davis Burns has over three decades of experience in strategic communications. A breast cancer and melanoma survivor who also participated in a three-year clinical trial, she is a founding Board Member and Vice Chair of Runway to the Cure, a nonprofit that stages an annual fashion show fundraiser with all-survivor models to benefit breast cancer research and fund services to current warriors.
Nelvis Castro
Board Member
Nelvis Castro is a strategic communications leader with over 35 years of experience advancing cancer research and policy. She served as Deputy Director of the NCI Office of Communications and Public Liaison and as a senior advisor to NCI Directors, as well as counseling the White House on key initiatives.
Ben Colmery
Board Member
Ben Colmery is an executive communications strategist and story architect dedicated to helping leaders in science, healthcare, and government engage audiences and improve the well-being of people from all backgrounds. In oncology, he has supported influential voices that include three National Cancer Institute directors and the CEO of an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Maggie Kavalaris
Treasurer
Maggie Kavalaris is a corporate and intellectual property attorney with two decades of experience in venture financings, mergers, acquisitions, and public offerings. A serial entrepreneur and co-founder of PayMo (now Boku), she also co-founded Terviva, a plant genetics company focused on climate change. Maggie has held executive roles at leading law firms and serves on nonprofit boards supporting women in politics and entrepreneurship.
We’re here to shape the future of cancer research funding
Patient Action for Cancer Research was founded to bring together patients, caregivers, and researchers to defend the science that saves lives. We work to protect federal science policy and funding wherever cancer research happens, across every agency that fuels discovery.
We are committed to working in partnership with patients and the research community. We work with the people most affected by federal decisions to champion policies that accelerate discovery and protect access to prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and clinical trials. Our mission is clear and urgent: keep life-saving cancer research moving forward so patients and families are never forced to wait for progress.
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