Board of Directors
Breast Cancer Action is led by a volunteer Board of Directors, a remarkable group of people who set the vision for BCA and lead the organization by determining organizational policy, assuring the organization's financial security, and representing BCA's views to the world at large. A small, hardworking, and incredibly able staff make the board's vision a reality.
We're recruiting new members now - find out about joining BCA's Board of Directors.
We would like you to meet them...
Vernal Branch
Vernal was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 45. Now, some ten years later, she is a knowledgeable and dedicated breast cancer advocate. Vernal began her advocacy work by joining the Y-ME Breast Cancer Organization and the National Breast Cancer Coalition. She has designed an outreach program for the African-American teen girls about breast changes and has participated in peer reviews for the Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program and for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. In addition to serving on the National Cancer Institute’s Director’s Consumer Liaison Group, Vernal is currently a minority recruitment consultant for the Sister Study, being conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation where she works on patient and legislative advocacy issues, and she serves on the Board of Directors for the California-based, HER2 Support.org. Vernal’s honors include: National Breast Cancer Coalition Outstanding Advocate – 1998; Susan G. Komen Honorary Chair “Race for the Cure”-1998; Susan G. Komen BMW Hero Award – 2000; and Companeras En Accion Community Leadership – 2000.
Claudia Cappio, President
With a background in urban planning and local government work in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 25 years, Claudia Cappio brings broad experience in how to manage change, navigate through complicated decisions and work with diverse groups. Previous to board membership, Claudia was a volunteer with BCA. Breast cancer has played a big part in her adult life as she struggled with family and friends who have lived with and died of the disease. Instead of remaining frustrated, angry and fearful, Claudia believes that increasing knowledge of the key issues, working for improvements to treatment, focusing on prevention and advocating for more research on environmental links are much better ways to spend her time and energy. She looks forward to implementing BCA's strategic plan.
Diane Carr
Diane Carr is currently the Director of Breast and Cervical Cancer Services for the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Diane has worked in women’s health care for thirty years as an activist, advocate and as a Nurse Practitioner. She is particularly proud of her work with the San Francisco Women’s Health Center/Collective and the Coalition for the Medical Rights of Women. The work of these organizations focused on empowering women in demanding and advocating for quality health care for themselves and their families. Diane is also proud of her seven-year involvement on the Hamilton Family Center Board of Directors during which time the board ran a capital campaign and built a transitional housing facility for homeless families. Diane’s life has been touched by breast cancer through family members and friends. She has been a registered nurse since 1967 and a nurse practitioner since 1981. She is currently a member of the State of California’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Advisory Council.
Lindsey Collins
Lindsey Collins is a PhD student in the History of Consciousness program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she is writing her dissertation on the history and politics of women's mountaineering climbs undertaken to recover from breast and ovarian cancer. Since she began her graduate studies six years ago, Lindsey has had three friends and relatives diagnosed with breast cancer. Lindsey is particularly interested in continuing to write and teach about the environmental and social justice aspects of who has access to quality health care.
Elaine Costello
Elaine Costello was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001. Elaine has found the experience of receiving cancer treatment and living with breast cancer to be frightening and physically difficult. And she considers herself lucky. Friends and members of her family have lost their lives to breast cancer. Ending this disease and helping those who are living with breast cancer is compelling work for Elaine. Elaine is on the BCA Board because she supports BCA’s mission to empower people to think for themselves and to take action to prevent breast cancer.
Elaine has been a city planner in the Bay Area for 30 years and is currently the Community Development Director for the City of Mountain View. She has focused her planning practice on helping local communities make progress on the tough planning issues, including environmental quality, affordable housing and creating a range of transportation choices. In 2006, the American Institute of Certified Planners elected Elaine as a Fellow in recognition of her contributions to the field of city planning. Elaine is also a member of the California Planning Roundtable.
Elaine has two daughters whose school experiences galvanized Elaine’s long engagement with educational issues. And her daughters inspire Elaine’s efforts to create healthier communities.
Tori Freeman
Tori Freeman graduated from Mills College in 1998 with a B.A. in Sociology. In April 1998, Mills College awarded its first Christine LaFia Leadership Award to Tori. She was inspired to do an internship with BCA during her junior year (she later joined BCA's Development Task Force), after her Professor, Christine LaFia, died of the disease in 1996. Christine was a BCA board member from 1995 until her death, at age 37.
Tori is a 4th generation San Franciscan who grew up in the Bayview and still lives in the community. She is on the board of the India Basin Neighborhood Association and is a single mom to an great little girl, named Zoe. She hosts an annual fundraiser for Breast Cancer Action. Learn more about this fun night for a great cause.
Dorothy Geoghegan
Dorothy A. Geoghegan is a breast cancer survivor since 1991. She has been a cancer coach to several friends that have been diagnosed with cancer and looks forward to being an advocate for Breast Cancer Action.
Dorothy has combined careers in both business and academic settings. She was the owner of her own service company and a consultant, speaker and workshop leader dedicated to helping organizations develop and sustain a competitive edge by fully utilizing and maximizing the effectiveness of their people. She is currently working as a teacher in the San Francisco School District and is dedicated to creating a positive learning environment, helping students become forward-looking citizens, and making a difference in students' lives.
Dorothy was CFO and Board Member of Light at the End of the Tunnel Foundation, an educational foundation focused on implementing significant changes in underachieving student populations, and has been a Big Sister since 1994.
Lisa James
Lisa R. James has been treated for breast cancer twice since 2007; her mother was diagnosed with DCIS in 2009. Serving on the Breast Cancer Action Board offers a way to thank the many people who are helping Lisa and her family and the means to fight to help other families avoid the same challenges. Over the last 26 years, Lisa’s career in nonprofit organizations has spanned from the arts to environmental organizations, medical research and now higher education and includes fundraising, development of international projects and administration.
JoAnn Loulan
JoAnn Loulan has been an activist in a number of movements from anti-war (all of them), women's rights and lesbian rights. She has been active in raising money for many organizations including the Lyon/Martin Women's Health Center focusing on needs of underserved women. She is a breast cancer survivor since 1993. Her mother, aunt and great aunt all had breast cancer and her mother died of it at age 53. JoAnn has long been an advocate for women with breast cancer and has counseled many women with the disease for more than twenty-five years. JoAnn is a marriage and family therapist, author of four books, a national speaker on issues of women's health, sexuality, and empowerment. She is also the mother of one grown son. She is pleased to be on the board of BCA and to help in the movement to find and change the root of this disease.
Bhavna Shamasunder
Bhavna Shamasunder is a doctoral student in the Environmental Science, Policy, and Management Department at the University of California, Berkeley. Bhavna has been active in the environnmental justice movement. She served as coordinator of the Environmental Health and Justice Program at Urban Habitat in San Francisco. Previously, Bhavna researched corporate financial ties and conflicts of interest at the Institute for Health Policy Studies at the University of California, San Francisco, and taught courses on environmental justice at San Francisco State University. She published "Financial Ties and Conflict of Interest Between Pharmaceutical and Tobacco Companies" in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Bhavna has a master's degree in Environmental Studies from Yale University. She serves on the board of the Science and Environmental Health Network and is currently a fellow with the Environmental Leadership Program.
Belle Shayer, Emeritus
Belle Shayer turned from breast cancer patient to breast cancer advocate after her second bout with breast cancer in 1988. She is a founder of BCA, was the organization's first treasurer, and has served on the board of the National Breast Cancer Coalition. Belle is an active member of BCA's Speakers' Bureau, and currently serves as well on the Board of the State of California Women's Health Council. Belle is self-employed as a bookkeeper/accountant and private conservator.
Lee Ann Slinkard
Lee Ann is a senior vice president, services, for Accela, a company that provides software solutions to government agencies, in San Ramon. She has a B.A. in psychology from Stanford University.
Jane Sprague Zones, Vice President
Jane Sprague Zones is a medical sociologist and long-time women's health advocate. She has been on the BCA board off and on since 1996, and served as its Chair from 2000 to 2003. In addition, Jane was a board member of the National Women's Health Network between 1988 and 2008, and is a member of the California Women's Health Council, which is an advisory board to the State Department of Health Services' Office of Women's Health. She came to BCA’s board at the request of board member Margi Stuart, a graduate student of Jane’s at UCSF, when Margi’s breast cancer recurred. Jane’s primary interests are access to care, integrity in the health system, and drug and device regulation.
Marla Stein
Five years ago, at the age of 32, Marla was diagnosed with breast cancer. In addition to undergoing chemotherapy and having a bilateral mastectomy performed, she faced many medical errors throughout her course of treatment. Her sister, now 34, has just undergone the same diagnosis and medical care. Her mother and grandmother also underwent treatment for breast cancer. These experiences compelled Marla to join the BCA Board of Directors.
In addition to being a survivor, Marla is a seasoned development fundraising professional with experience working in organizations focused on women’s issues and health advocacy. She holds a Master’s Degree in International and Intercultural Management from the School for International Training and has traveled and lived in the Middle East, Europe and parts of Southern Africa. San Francisco is now her home.
Adrienne Torf, Treasurer
Adrienne Torf comes to the BCA Board with a background in both for-profit and nonprofit management, as well as cultural activism. She and the late poet, essayist and teacher June Jordan shared an artistic collaboration, writing and performing together for nearly 20 years until Jordan's death from breast cancer in 2002. Adrienne's compositions for piano and synthesizers have been released on two solo albums, and for a number of years she toured and recorded as accompanist for Holly Near, Linda Tillery and many other women's music artists. With an MBA from UC Berkeley, Adrienne currently works in the nonprofit sector at Rubicon Programs Inc in Richmond, California. She has been a BCA volunteer since 2000.
Marilyn Zivian
Marilyn Zivian was first diagnosed with breast cancer 22 years ago. Ten years later the breast cancer metastasized to her bones. For the past twelve years she has been living with active cancer that has been stabilized with anti-estrogen drug therapy. Soon after moving to San Francisco five years ago, she began working as a volunteer for Breast Cancer Action. She helped analyze the data from Breast Cancer Action's online survey of the side effects experienced by women being treated with aromatase inhibitors and contributed to two publications reporting the survey results.
Before retiring and moving to San Francisco, she led the life of a typical university academic: teaching, doing research, and serving as an administrator. Her teaching specialty was developmental psychology. Her research focused on how the media ideal of the female body, social context and eating values affected the body image and the eating choices of young women, how patient age affected the preferences of clinical psychologists, and how working in either male-dominated or female-dominated workplaces affected the women and men in those professions. As an administrator she served as Chair of her Psychology Department, as Director of the Graduate Program in Psychology, and as Associate Dean, Student Affairs, in the Graduate Faculty. She hopes that her academic skills and knowledge and her experience of living with breast cancer will be useful in helping to further Breast Cancer Action's recent victories:in increasing the degree of the current drug approval process's focus onto the lives and needs of patients and decreasing exposure to environmental contaminants that increase the risk of breast cancer.