Meet the Team
Each member of the Promise Fund staff has been personally impacted by breast or cervical cancer. This fuels them to fight for access to care for women each and everyday.
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FOUNDER
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Nancy G. Brinker is three-time Ambassador and New York Times best-selling author who is regarded as the leader of the global breast cancer movement. Her journey began with a promise to her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, that she would do everything possible to end the shame, pain, fear and hopelessness caused by this disease. In one generation, the organization that bears Susan’s name has changed the world.. In 2009, President Barack Obama honored Nancy with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, for this work. The same year, she was named Goodwill Ambassador for Cancer Control for the United Nations’ World Health Organization, where she continues her mission to put cancer control at the top of the world health agenda. In 2010, Brinker released her New York Times best-selling memoir “Promise Me”, an inspirational story of her transformation from bereaved sister to the undisputed leader of the ongoing international movement to end breast cancer. From 2001-2003, Nancy served as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Hungary and served as U.S. Chief of Protocol from 2007-2009.
In 2018, Brinker spearheaded creation of the Promise Fund of Florida, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the outcomes and reduce deaths from breast and cervical cancers in Palm Beach County, where 80,000 women reside with no insurance and no medical home. The Promise Fund is utilizing partnerships, navigation, policy changes, and community awareness to build a model of care to be replicated throughout the country. In October 2020, the Promise Fund opened their inaugural Mammography Screening Center where over 1,000 women will be screened during the first year of the Center’s operation. The Promise Fund provides necessary education and screenings to prevent late stage diagnosis and improve community health for under-resourced women confronting health disparities.
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CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
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Prior to the Promise Fund of Florida, Ms. Patti served as Rehabilitation Manager at Bethesda Hospital East and Bethesda Hospital West, part of Baptist Health South Florida, a not-for-profit health care organization in the Southeast Florida area. Launching in the fall of 2016, Karen’s mission was to create the most comprehensive Outpatient Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing Outpatient Clinic in South Florida, which succeeded. Karen is responsible for facilitating the creation of many unique specialty programs within BHSF’s Outpatient Pediatric Rehabilitation suite of services including Jump to Health targeting childhood wellness, NICU Rehabilitation Team, NICU Graduate Program, Social Skills Groups, Preschool Screening Initiatives, Head, Neck and Cancer Speech-Language and Swallowing Therapy Program, Aphasia Support Groups, Virtual Educational Programming for New and Expecting Mothers, Implementation of FEES and Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Specialties Team.
She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and double- major in English and Spanish Literature from Denison University in Granville, Ohio and a master’s degree in science in Biobehavioral Studies and Speech-Language Pathology from Columbia University in New York, New York.
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DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS
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Lisa Hartstein has over 25 years’ experience in nonprofit grants management with a specialization in access to healthcare. In her current capacity as Director of Programs for the Promise Fund of Florida, she is responsible for overseeing all mission programming and initiatives to promote breast and cervical health education and patient navigation; early detection and screening; and the development of a continuum of care for screening, diagnostic, treatment, and survivorship services.
Ms. Hartstein holds a Master’s Degree in Health Finance and Management from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Ms. Hartstein has held research and grants leadership positions at Columbia University, the National Academy of Sciences, as well as locally at the Children’s Services Council, Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies Coalition, and the Maternal Child Family Health Alliance.
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DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND PATIENT NAVIGATION
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Lissette Lahoz, Patient Navigator Director/Director of Community Engagement has worked in public health leadership positions in university, clinics, and a variety of health care settings. She is an expert in team building, operations, and implementing administrative health care practices. As the manager of the Patient Navigator Network and point person for the Promise Fund’s Mammography Screening Center, she ensures that women are assisted with access to care barriers in order that screenings and any follow up care for breast and cervical health services are obtained.
Ms. Lahoz holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health. Her background includes opening a Federally Qualified Health Center in Pennsylvania in her capacity as Executive Director. In Florida she has been employed at the University of Miami where she developed medical provider training programs; and at the Health Care District of Palm Beach County at which she introduced policies and procedures to promote a patient-centered approach.
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DIRECTOR OF DONOR RELATIONS AND MAJOR GIFTS
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Donna Ross Dodson has an extensive career in development and major gifts. She has raised funds for numerous charitable events, including the Red Cross Ball, and has served as Event Chair for FoundCare’s annual fundraising event.
She began her career in Palm Beach County as Executive Director and Director of Admission at The Academy of the Palm Beaches, which she helped to grow extensively prior to its merger with Palm Beach Day School. Ms. Dodson has also served as Major Gifts Manager for Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Director of Development for the Palm Beach Zoo and the Boy Scouts of America.
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ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
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Amy Tatum, Director of Provider Recruitment, leads the Promise Fund of Florida’s initiative to create a continuum of care model by identifying physicians and medical facilities that can provide affordable breast and cervical health care services to uninsured and underinsured women in South Florida.
Mrs. Tatum holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration. She came to the Promise Fund most recently from Baptist Health of South Florida and has over 17 years of healthcare experience in provider relations and healthcare business development. She also worked for many years for Tenet Healthcare as a Practice Development and Physician Relations Manager. In her current capacity as Director of Provider Recruitment for the Promise Fund of Florida, she is responsible for building quality, long term partnerships in the interest of promoting breast and cervical health care, early detection and screening.
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PHILANTHROPY MANAGER
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Julie Thayer graduated from Florida State University with a degree in Information, Communication, and Technology. She has extensive experience in social media management, web design, and leadership development. Julie has facilitated transformative fundraising through the Alpha Phi International Fraternity for women’s heart health and has had a direct role in managing and running philanthropic events. Additionally, her previous work as the Media Director for the YMCA of Metropolitan Atlanta has given her proficient skills in media content production.
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NAVIGATION SERVICES MANAGER
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Mariselly joined Promise Fund of Florida on July 5, 2022. She has a master’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resources. Mariselly’s experience in the health care field includes compliance, licensing, training, administration as well as credentialing and provider enrollment. She has two sons and has been a resident of the city of Boca Raton for the last 18 years.
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CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
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Bob Bloom has been serving the Promise Fund as CFO since May 2023 and the not-for-profit industry for over 20 years in various roles, as auditor, outsourced CFO and as a consultant-advisor to the industry. Bob’s clients have included community-based organizations, foundations, think tanks, specialized healthcare and mental health organizations, many of which have received federal funding. He has also served as VP Finance for a pharmacy benefit manager, a software development and government contractor involving drug adverse outcomes.
Bob is a CPA and a member of the American International Certified Professional Accountants. Bob holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, majoring in Accounting from George Washington University.
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MARKETING MANAGER
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Monica is a Palm Beach County Native, with 20+ years of Sales and Project Management experience. She holds a BBA with a minor in marketing and has worked with Fortune 500 companies to build their base, expand their offering, and grow their team. She has Entreprenurial skills running her own real estate and administrative services business. As a cancer survivor she is dedicated to the mission of the Promise Fund and expanding our reach.
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COMMUNITY HEALTH NAVIGATOR
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Barbara Molina joined the Promise Fund Of Florida in May of 2023. She is currently a Health Administration undergrad student at the University of Central Florida. She has a broad experience in the health care field which includes administration, development, coding, training, and outreach. Barbara has assisted women with access to female care by assisting in opening a women's health center in her previous work endeavors and has also had a role coordinating the mammography screening centers. She is a born and raised Florida resident and is the daughter of Venezuelan immigrants.
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GRANT WRITER
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Lauren Koff has a decade of experience as a social entrepreneur and non-profit consultant. Ms. Koff holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Florida. She has a background in grants management with a specialization in healthcare. In her current role as a part-time Grant Writer for the Promise Fund of Florida, she is responsible for researching and writing grants for PFF along with assisting in the management of PFF’s grantees.
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COMMUNITY HEALTH EDUCATOR
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Chanoukah Jerome, an educator and women's health advocate joined the team as a community health educator. With over 15 years of experience in serving underserved communities in the nonprofit realm, she is excited to serve the women of Palm Beach with the Promise Fund as we continue to bridge the gap in health inequalities.
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DATA ADMINISTRATOR & ANALYST
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Nafiseh Faghihi has a PhD in Psychology along with several years of hands-on experience with administrating and analyzing diverse data sets. She collaborated on medium-sized to large data projects that required her statistical and analytical expertise. Nafiseh joined the Promise Fund of Florida on Feb 5 of 2024 to help the organization launch its new data-capture platform in REDCap. She is also working on the improvement of data communication and data-driven decisions throughout the organization.
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