NCCS Staff
| Thomas P. Sellers, MPA | President & CEO | |
| Lisa Auslander | Director of Development | |
| Virgie Boone | Executive Assistant | |
| Melissa Glim | Director of Advocacy Relations | |
| Mark Gorman | Director of Survivorship Policy | |
| Colleen Hughes | Development Manager | |
| Roland King | Online Communications Manager | |
| Linah Lubin | Communications and Media Relations Manager | |
| Pamela Milberg | Manager of Survivorship Programs | |
| Woulita Seyoum | Director of Finance | |
| Ellen Stovall | Senior Health Policy Advisor | |
| Etsegenet Tekeste | Staff Accountant | |
| Nina Wendling | Senior Director of Operations | |
| Anne Willis | Director of Survivorship Programs |
Thomas P. Sellers, MPA
President & CEO
Tom Sellers is a ten-year cancer survivor whose life mission is to ensure the best possible quality of life for all cancer survivors. Since his mother’s death from lung cancer in 1980, he has spent the last 29 years relentlessly pursuing that mission in both his private and professional life.
Most recently, Mr. Sellers led the fundraising, community relations, and development activities for a $30 million American Cancer Society (ACS) project to build a 50,000 square foot Hope Lodge in Boston to provide free lodging and services to cancer patients in treatment. Opened in 2008, the facility provides free lodging to more than 1,000 cancer patients annually. While managing the Hope Lodge and other projects, Sellers also served as Chief Financial Officer for the Massachusetts and New England Divisions of ACS; a position he held from 1995 to 2009. From 1996-98 Sellers also served as Executive Director of the Greater Boston Regional Office of ACS, where he convened multiple constituencies spanning government, business and cancer centers to create the Boston Crusade Against Cancer.
Mr. Sellers came to the American Cancer Society with more than 20 years of experience in public service and non-profit management, including 13 years in senior positions in Massachusetts state government. He has been actively involved in the Massachusetts cancer community, as a board member of the Kenneth B. Schwartz Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, Health Law Advocates, and the Massachusetts Prostate Cancer Coalition. From 1989-1994, he served as a Vice President and then Senior Vice President of United Way of Massachusetts Bay, Inc. where he was responsible for finance and administration. Mr. Sellers attended Amherst College and graduated from the Harvard Kennedy School with a master's degree in public administration. He has served in the public sector as Assistant Commissioner for Finance, MA Department of Public Welfare, and Deputy Commissioner, MA Department of Correction.
In addition to his professional background, Mr. Sellers has been personally touched by cancer on many levels. His mother died of lung cancer less than a year after diagnosis, and his father was diagnosed with prostate cancer and later with inoperable brain cancer that took his life within five months. Mr. Sellers was a caregiver for his parents and was diagnosed with and successfully treated for prostate cancer in 1999.
As a cancer survivor and caregiver, Mr. Sellers brings his personal experience as well as his professional achievements to NCCS. In his new role as President & CEO, he will continue advocating for quality cancer care and the best possible quality of life for the millions of cancer survivors diagnosed each year.
Lisa Auslander
Director of Development
Lisa Auslander has been with NCCS since February 2006 and has been involved in fundraising efforts, including the organization of the biannual Cancer Policy Roundtable meetings, the coordination of the annual Rays of Hope Gala and ASCO Tribute events, grants writing, and fundraising appeal campaigns.
Prior to joining NCCS, Lisa worked as a legal clerk for Girardi & Keese law firm in Los Angeles and served as the Database and Events Manager on a Montgomery County political campaign. Lisa graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a bachelor's degree in Psychology, and a minor in Philosophy and Ethics and attended St. Thomas University School of Law.
Virgie Boone
Executive Assistant
As executive assistant, Virgie Boone is responsible for the general administrative management of the office and provides direct assistance to the President and CEO, Senior Director of Operations and Senior Health Policy Advisor. Prior to joining NCCS, Virgie worked for a national accounting firm as an office manager and administrative supervisor where she worked closely with firm leaders to meet office goals.
Melissa Glim
Director of Advocacy Relations
Melissa joined NCCS in 2008 to lead the organization's grassroots network and campaigns. Prior to coming to NCCS, she worked as a policy associate at Hadassah in New York City, where she wrote the organization's domestic policy papers and curricula, and helped lead their grassroots campaigns, including their effort to pass positive stem cell research legislation in all 50 states.
Melissa started her career as a medical journalist and editor, working for such publications as Diabetes Self-Management and Physician’s Weekly. She has won three National Health Information awards for her articles. She earned her Masters in Public Health from Hunter College of the City University of New York in 2005 and she received her bachelor’s degree in science journalism and biology from Cornell University.
Mark Gorman
Director of Survivorship Policy
Mark Gorman joined NCCS as a part time volunteer in late 2000, following two years of treatment and recovery for metastatic melanoma. In mid 2001 he transitioned to a part time staff position and eventually into a full time position on the staff. During his time at NCCS he has managed membership and donor records, directed online advocacy activities, and since mid 2007 has held his current position as Director of Survivorship Policy. In this position he brings his personal experience as a cancer survivor and his professional training in law in support of NCCS's mission of advocating for quality cancer care for all Americans.
Mark's prior lives have included work as a civil legal services attorney in rural southeast Georgia, at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the National Legal Aid & Defender Association and the Takoma Park-Silver Spring Food Coop.
Colleen Hughes
Development Manager
Colleen Hughes’ responsibilities at NCCS include maintaining the constituent database, coordinating NCCS outreach events, and assisting in grant writing. Prior to joining NCCS, Colleen worked at a local medical clinic that primarily serves the Hispanic immigrant population, where she dealt specifically with the individual donor population, and played a major role in the creation of the quarterly newsletter and launch of the clinic’s new Web site. Colleen graduated magna cum laude from Bryn Mawr College in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature and a minor in Spanish.
Roland King
Online Communications Manager
Roland is responsible for managing NCCS’s Web site content and online communications efforts. He is also responsible for all Web and design vendor relations, as well as constituent database management and e-mail marketing. Prior to joining NCCS, Roland was the communications / Web site coordinator for the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) and handled all content management for its Web sites, as well as general communications and public relations support.
Roland has also worked as publications specialist for the American Red Cross Greater Chesapeake & Potomac Blood Services Region where he developed design and copy for five internal and external newsletters, as well as artistic support for all Red Cross marketing campaigns.
Roland graduated from Towson University with a bachelor's degree in mass communications.
Linah Lubin
Communications and Media Relations Manager
Linah joined NCCS in 2008 to manage the organization's communications efforts. She engages in media outreach and development of written and online communications pieces in addition to maintaining and updating website content. Prior to joining NCCS, Linah was an associate account executive working with non-profit, pharmaceutical and consumer health clients at Ketchum Public Relations in Washington, D.C.
Linah graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, with a bachelor's degree in communication.
Pamela Milberg
Manager of Survivorship Programs
Pam Milberg joined NCCS in 2009 and oversees the Cancer Survivors Toolbox®, represents the organization at various programs and community events, and supports the development of other survivorship programs. Prior to this position, she coordinated education and outreach programs for Suburban Hospital Cancer Care, initiating the hospital’s first Survivor's Day celebration and leading the organization in implementing its tobacco-free policy.
Because her mother is a survivor of ovarian and breast cancer, Pam finds both personal and professional meaning in providing effective and relevant self-advocacy tools to survivors.
Pam received her BA in studio art from Western Washington University.
Woulita Seyoum
Director of Finance
Woulita joined NCCS in 2007 as Director of Finance. She works closely with the President & CEO and Senior Director of Operations. Having lost her father to colon cancer three years ago, her connection to cancer is very personal.
Prior to joining NCCS, Woulita was the Director of Finance at POPAI , a trade association dedicated to the advancement of marketing at retail medium.
Woulita graduated from Old Dominion University with a degree in accounting.
Ellen Stovall
Senior Health Policy Advisor
Ellen L. Stovall is a 37-year survivor of three bouts with cancer and has been advocating for more than 30 years to improve cancer care in America.
Ms. Stovall is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies' National Cancer Policy Forum, established in May 2005 to succeed the National Cancer Policy Board (NCPB). The Forum allows government, industry, academic and survivor advocacy representatives to meet and privately discuss public policy issues that arise in the prevention, control, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
Prior to the establishment of the Forum, Stovall was vice-chair of the National Cancer Policy Board Committee on Cancer Survivorship. In that capacity, she co-edited the Institute of Medicine's report "From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition," which addressed the issues adult cancer survivors face.
Ms. Stovall serves as vice-chair of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's National Advisory Committee to Promote Excellence in Care at the End of Life, and as the vice-chair of the Foundation's National Advisory Committee for Pursuing Perfection: Raising the Bar for Health Care Performance.
Ms. Stovall currently serves on the Boards of Directors of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and The Leapfrog Group, and she participates on a steering committee of the National Quality Forum (NQF) to establish consensus around cancer care quality measures. She also sits on several advisory panels, working groups and committees of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
In 1997, Ms. Stovall founded and served as president of THE MARCH… Coming Together to Conquer Cancer(SM). Through her leadership, this national public awareness campaign focused both national and regional media attention on the issues of cancer research and quality cancer care for all Americans.
Recognizing a need for the voice of cancer survivors to be heard during the national debate over health care reform, the Cancer Leadership Council (CLC) was convened in 1993 under her direction.
Ms. Stovall also served a six-year term on the National Cancer Institute's National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB), an appointment she received in 1992 from President Bill Clinton.
Today, Ms. Stovall is frequently called upon to work with administration and congressional staff on a variety of cancer-related policy issues, most notably access to quality cancer care.
Etsegenet Tekeste
Staff Accountant
Etsegenet joined NCCS in March 2008. Her responsibilities at NCCS include processing all account payable invoices and account receivable transactions, performing General Ledger reconciliations and providing administrative support. Prior to NCCS, Etsegenet worked at the Ministry of Health in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in the finance department.
Etsegenet is a graduate of Addis Ababa University, College of Commerce, Ethiopia.
Nina Wendling
Sr. Director of Operations
Nina Wendling joined NCCS in 2006 and as the Senior Director of Operations provides leadership and oversight for the organization’s day-to-day operations and management. Nina works closely with the President and CEO and the Senior Health Policy Advisor with special programs and projects of the organization such as the Cancer Policy Roundtables.
Having served for more than two years as a primary caregiver to a friend who lost her life to breast cancer, Nina’s experience with cancer is deeply personal. Prior to coming to NCCS, she worked as the strategic planning director at Education Access Strategies, Inc., and as the assistant to the president at the National Park Trust.
Nina received her BS in Information Technology and Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland.
Anne Willis
Director of Survivorship Programs
Anne Willis joined NCCS in 2006 and oversees NCCS's programs, manages the organization's publications and represents NCCS as a member of the Livestrong Young Adult Alliance and the Alliance for Childhood Cancer. A 12-year Ewing’s Sarcoma survivor, Anne oversees the organization’s patient education resources, including the award-winning Cancer Survival Toolbox®. Her focus is on developing programs and resources to empower survivors to be more involved in the decision-making process throughout the cancer experience, from diagnosis through end of life. Previous to her NCCS position she worked in the National Cancer Institute’s Office of Advocacy Relations and planned, promoted, and executed the institute’s first-ever summit for the patient advocate community.
In 2005, Anne received her MA in communication from Auburn University after graduating summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in radio/tv/film from the University of Texas.
