Tanisha Haltiwanger is the Senior Manager of Administrative Operations at Cancer Support Community, where she has served since 2015. With over 20 years of experience across both the corporate and nonprofit sectors, Tanisha is a skilled administrative professional recognized for her strong organizational leadership, discretion, and ability to manage high-level operational and administrative functions in fast-paced environments.

Tanisha began her career at the U.S. Department of State, where she developed a strong foundation in executive-level support and organizational operations. Prior to joining Cancer Support Community, she built extensive corporate experience at Fannie Mae in Washington, DC, holding progressive roles in both Human Resources and Financial Administration. As an HR Generalist, she supported employee lifecycle processes including onboarding, background checks, payroll and personnel updates, and new hire orientation. She later advanced to Stock Plan Administrator, where she managed stock plan operations, maintained and reconciled equity databases, coordinated transactions with cross-functional teams including financial reporting, tax, accounting, and payroll, and served as the primary relationship manager with UBS Financial Services, Fannie Mae’s stock plan vendor.

In this role, Tanisha also helped administer the organization’s $80M Corporate Retention Awards program, supporting documentation development, award tracking and reconciliation, and payroll processing.  

A lifelong native of Washington, DC, Tanisha enjoys gardening, cooking, and sightseeing. 

Erica E. Fortune, PhD, joined Cancer Support Community (CSC) in 2020 as the Director of Research at our Research and Training Institute (RTI). Holding a Ph.D. in Cognitive and Experimental Psychology from the University of Georgia (2013), Erica brings a wealth of academic and professional experience to her role. Prior to joining CSC, she served as a tenured Associate Professor of Psychology at Arcadia University in Glenside, PA.

Erica's research is deeply rooted in cognition, decision-making, and risk-taking, with a recent focus on patient experiences, outcomes, and communication within healthcare settings. Erica has experience with various clinical populations including cancer, HIV, and addictive disorders, and her expertise extends to psychometrics as well as advanced analytical techniques.

At CSC, Erica has been instrumental in several key initiatives. She spearheaded CSC’s longitudinal cohort study during the COVID-19 pandemic and played a pivotal role in the development and validation of the CancerSupportSource suite of tools and the VOICE measure. She also leads the Cancer Experience Registry and oversees program evaluation efforts, assessing the impact of CSC programming and support on individuals and communities. Additionally, Erica is deeply committed to addressing health disparities, particularly among Spanish-speaking Hispanic and Latino communities, and is interested in better understanding the intersection of technology and healthcare as it relates to patient perceptions and access to care.

Erica enjoys baking, exercising, reading, traveling, and meeting new people when she’s not spending time with her husband and cats. 

Elizabeth Franklin, PhD, MSW, is an advocate for people impacted by cancer and is passionate about ensuring that patient voices are the North Star in healthcare decision and policy making. Growing up in Kentucky, where cancer, cancer mortality, and poverty rates routinely rank among the highest in the country, Elizabeth was drawn to this work by witnessing people being left behind and systems that resulted in inequitable care. These values have driven her for almost two decades in oncology patient advocacy, public policy, research and executive positions in corporate and nonprofit settings.

Elizabeth currently serves as Head, U.S. Public Affairs and Patient Advocacy, Oncology with Sanofi, an innovative global healthcare company, where she partners with the U.S. advocacy community to advance innovation, ensure access, and improve health. Elizabeth previously held positions as President of the Cancer Support Community, Director of Policy and Engagement at the George Washington University Cancer Institute, Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy with the Prevent Cancer Foundation, and Special Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer at the headquarters of the National Association of Social Workers. 

Elizabeth is a recognized leader. She received the Association of Oncology Social Worker’s Quality of Life Award in 2022 and was named a 40 under 40 leader in oncology in 2020. Her research articles have appeared in publications such as the JCO Oncology Practice, Journal of Cancer Education, Journal of Clinical Pathways, Health and Social Work, Value in Health, and Conquer Cancer Magazine. She has co-authored 2 books on nonprofit leadership and co-edited 2 social work texts. In addition, she is a member and leader in various organizations and coalitions, including the Association of Oncology Social Work, Academy of Oncology Nurse and Patient Navigators, National Navigation Roundtable, and National Association of Social Workers.

Elizabeth earned her doctorate at the University of Maryland School of Social Work, where she focused her dissertation on the ways in which patients define value in the cancer care system and how those definitions can be incorporated into public policy and clinical practice. Elizabeth obtained her master's degree in social work from the University of Illinois at Chicago and her bachelor's degree in social work from the University of Kentucky. Elizabeth resides in Washington, D.C., and is an avid reader, aspiring banjo player, volunteer crisis counselor, and proud mother of pugs.

A native of Philadelphia who grew up in a close-knit family of 5 children, Kim Thiboldeaux graduated from American University with a bachelor’s degree in communications and a minor in Spanish. While at American, Thiboldeaux studied abroad in London and Buenos Aires, experiences that spurred her lifelong zest for travel.

She has visited all 7 continents, all 50 states, and 50-plus countries around the world, and has no intention of slowing down her exploration of new countries and cultures.

Among her many adventures, Thiboldeaux counts a recent road trip as one of her most memorable. She was gifted last-minute tickets to Super Bowl LII. With all airlines booked, she drove her father, a retired Philadelphia city bus driver and lifelong Eagles fan, to Minneapolis where, together, they watched their beloved home team win their first Super Bowl title.

Thiboldeaux is an innovative, internationally recognized leader who has dedicated her career to improving the lives of cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers. As the former CEO of the Cancer Support Community (CSC), Thiboldeaux oversaw a global non-profit network of 196 locations, including 47 CSC and Gilda's Club centers, 8 health-care partnerships, and satellite locations that deliver more than $50 million in free support services to patients and families. In addition, CSC administers a toll-free helpline and produces award-winning educational resources that reach more than 1 million people each year. Most recently Thiboldeaux served as CSC's Executive Chair. 

The Cancer Support Community, formed in 2009 by the merger of The Wellness Community and Gilda’s Club, also conducts cutting-edge research on the emotional, psychological, and financial journey of cancer patients. In addition, CSC advocates in Washington, D.C., and at all levels of government for policies to help individuals whose lives have been disrupted by cancer.

As a testament to her drive to serve even more patients and families, in 2018 Thiboldeaux welcomed to the CSC network MyLifeLine, an innovative digital community that includes thousands of patients, caregivers, and their supporters. This exciting advancement has enabled CSC to scale its digital services in an innovative, groundbreaking way.

Thiboldeaux coauthored two full-length books, Reclaiming Your Life After Diagnosis and The Total Cancer Wellness Guide, and hosts the award-winning Frankly Speaking About Cancer podcasts. She also serves on multiple advisory boards, speaks at leading conferences, and frequently appears in national media outlets.

In June 2017, Vice President Joe Biden appointed Thiboldeaux to serve on the Biden Cancer Initiative’s Board of Directors.

Thiboldeaux is the author of Your Cancer Road Map: Navigating Life With Resilience, a comprehensive guide for cancer patients, their families, and caregivers. She also coauthored two full-length books, Reclaiming Your Life After Diagnosis and The Total Cancer Wellness Guide. She serves on multiple advisory boards, speaks at leading conferences, and frequently appears in national media outlets.

Helen Nichols, PhD, is the CPI Research Fellow. As a social worker, she has developed clinical expertise providing psychotherapy to adults with co-occurring disorders, having worked in outpatient mental health clinics and correctional facilities. Helen also has experience leading local service organizations, where she successfully secured grant funding to award college scholarships to local high school students. Prior to her career in social work, Helen had a successful practice in the financial services industry, where she was responsible for personal financial planning and investment management.

Helen researches patient-provider communication and associated outcomes, such as patient satisfaction, trust, and overall health. She is particularly interested in the delivery of patient-centered cancer care and healthcare value and quality. She has extensive expertise in advanced quantitative and qualitative analyses, research design, and survey development. Helen has published in multiple peer-reviewed healthcare journals, including Patient Education & Counseling, Journal of Hospital Administration, Health Care Manager, Annals of Global Health, Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, and Journal of Cancer Education. Helen received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Penn State University and her Master of Social Work degree from Salisbury University.

Libby Mullin graduated from Lawrence University in 1990 with a B.A. in political science. After eight years of legislative experience on Capitol Hill, Libby opened her own health care consulting practice in 1999.

Prior to Mullin Strategies, Libby worked as a health policy advisor, legislative director and Chief of Staff for several members of the U.S. House of Representatives who served on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Libby is the recipient of the National Children’s Hospital Award for Advocacy, the President Award for Leadership in Women’s Health from the Interstitial Cystitis Association and a policy leader of the year from the Cancer Support Community’s Policy Institute.

Over the last 20 years, Libby has consulted with health care organizations to help build and advance their policy and programmatic objectives. Libby works closely with clients to identify and commit to realistic policy priorities, form new partnerships, strengthen existing relationships and strategically advance a policy agenda consistent with the organization’s mission. Libby has extensive experience leading policy and advocacy workshops, running disease specific coalitions, organizing Congressional briefings and orchestrating visits with elected officials and regulators on behalf of clients. Most importantly, Libby helps organizations leverage their policy work strategically, in a manner that not only advances organizational goals but also attracts funder support. Highlights of Libby’s legislative successes include drafting and negotiating the inclusion of multiple provisions in a range of major health care laws the Affordable Care Act, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and multiple FDA reauthorization bills. Libby also works closely with her clients to navigate an increasing complex regulatory system to ensure appropriate input, oversight and communications with the agencies are consistent with the organization’s interests.

A native Washingtonian, Libby lives with her husband and three children in Chevy Chase, Md. Libby is a competitive triathlete, serves on the advisory board of the U.S. Soccer Foundation and coaches soccer at the Washington School for Girls.

Ken Scalet spent 17-years at Accenture, working largely in the health care industry on large-scale, technology enabled programs. As a partner, Mr. Scalet launched Accenture’s Federal Health practice. Following his retirement from Accenture in 2004, Mr. Scalet established an independent health IT consultancy. He has also channeled his professional energy toward board service for local and national not-for-profit organizations. He has served on the Board of Directors of Cancer Support Community since 2003 and serves as the chair of the Technology Committee. Mr. Scalet received a BA in economics from Franklin & Marshall College in 1987. He is married with 3 children and lives in Rockville, Maryland.

Andy Sandler is an entrepreneur, business leader and advisor, lawyer, and philanthropist. He leads Temerity Capital Partners, the Sandler family office and private investment company, which invests in and advises early-stage companies developing new technologies in financial services and achieving positive social impact. Andy owns and operates Asurity Technologies which focuses on mortgage compliance technology and RiskExec, a leading fair lending analytics SaaS software provider. He is a senior partner at the Mitchell Sandler law firm and recently founded Asurity Advisors, a financial services industry consulting firm. Andy owns three professional baseball teams: the Greensboro Grasshoppers, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers and Lexington Legends. He is actively engaged in mixed use and hotel development projects in each of the communities where he owns a team.

Andy was named a Public Justice Trial Lawyer of the Year finalist for representing the Navajo Nation in its breach of trust litigation with the United States. Andy and his colleagues achieved a $554 million settlement for the Navajo Nation. HousingWire Vanguard recognized Andy as “one of the biggest names in the housing industry” and Legal Times has named him as a Legal Visionary for his law firm leadership.

Andy is the founder of The Sandler Family Foundation which focuses its philanthropy on health and welfare, social entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, and inclusive democracy. He holds J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Wharton School of Business, an M.A. from the University of Warwick (Rotary Foundation Fellow), and a B.A. from Union College.

Andy and his wife Andrea, managing partner of the Mitchell Sandler law firm, find their greatest joy spending time together with their family and friends at their Florida beach home and Virginia farm and traveling.

Rich Mutell is an accomplished business executive, health economist, and application developer with over 25 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical and healthcare industry.

Prior to starting Apex Health Innovations, Mr. Mutell served as Head of the Health Economic Modeling and Medical Informatics and Technology group at DaVita Clinical Research. In this role, he built a team of scientific, medical, and technology experts to create innovative, mobile platform solutions for real-world data from clinical, market access, and health economic studies. Prior to joining DaVita Clinical Research, Mr. Mutell spent more than ten years at Amgen, the world's largest biotechnology company. He served in different positions of increasing responsibilities, including as a health economist for EPOGEN, one of the first commercially successful biologics. He also served as the Operations Director for the Global Health Economics, Global Pricing and Payer Planning, and International Health Economics teams. He specialized in developing and deploying multiple web-enabled applications to manage product value strategies, product budgets, project research portfolios, and strategic publication plans. Mr. Mutell began his career at Oracle and the Department of Defense (Health Affairs), where he built technical solutions for data assessment and analysis.

Mr. Mutell works extensively with social workers in the dialysis and transplantation setting and is an advocate for the impact and benefit social workers have on patient outcomes. His desire to volunteer with Cancer Support Community stems from a profound sense of loss of two close friends to cancer – and he saw first hand how a meaningful support structure helped them and their families fight this terrible disease.

Mr. Mutell served for 13 years in the United States Army and is a graduate of the Defense Language Institute. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University, a Master of Arts in Public Policy and Program Evaluation from the University of Nebraska, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo.

Jonathan T. Marks, CPA, CFF, CITP, CGMA, CFE, and NACD Board Fellow, is a partner in BDO USA’s Forensic Services practice. He has more than 35 years of experience working closely with his clients, the board of directors, senior management, and law firms on global (cross-border) fraud and misconduct investigations, including bribery, corruption, and compliance matters.

Marks specializes in internal and regulatory investigations; governance matters; risk assessment, design, and implementation of compliance programs; global fraud risk management programs; and compliance coordination and monitoring services for the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors. He assists his clients in mitigating future issues by conducting root-cause analysis, developing remedial procedures, and designing or improving governance and compliance systems, as well as internal controls, policies and procedures, and customized training.

Marks is a well-regarded author and speaker who has gained international recognition for developing thought leadership that has enhanced the profession. He presents regularly on an array of fraud, ethics, and forensic accounting topics. Marks is a professor at West Virginia University’s master’s program and a lecturer for other professional organizations. He has previously held leadership positions at a national accounting firm and a global disputes and investigations professional services firm.

Jonathan is a member of the CSC executive committee and leads the organizations compliance initiatives.