FOUNDATION LEADERSHIP

President
Mahesh K. Shetty MD;FRCR;FACR;FAIUM
Clinical Professor
Baylor College of Medicine
Medical Director
Woman's Clinic for Breast
and Gynecological Imaging & Pink Door Imaging Center

Patron
Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
Chairman & Managing Director
Biocon Limited
Bangalore, India

Board of Trustees
Ron Somers
President
US-India Business Council
Washington D.C.

Jennifer Garza
CEO Edinburg Regional Medical Center/Edinburg Children's Hospital
Edinburg, Texas

Mrs. Mona Parikh PHR, MBA
Sr. Human Resources Business
Partner

Mr Andrew Novarini
CEO, Cypress Station Branch
Bank of Houston

Kelli Cohen MD
General and Pediatric Radiologist

Eric S. Greisel J.D.
General Legal Counsel


PROGRAM ADVISOR

Loretta A. Hanser
Director of Imaging Services
Mammography, CHP Radiology
Harris County Hospital District

Regional Directors
Mrs. Trishna Dey [Asia]
Ms. Esther Biira [Africa]
Dr Adhmer Longatto [S.America]
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MEDICAL ADVISORY COUNCIL

Chair
Mahesh Shetty MD;FRCR;FACR;FAIUM
Clinical Professor of Radiology
Baylor College of Medicine

Members
Dr. Steve Sener
Former President
American Cancer Society

R. Sankaranarayanan
Chief of Cancer Screening Group
International Agency for Research on Cancer,
WHO
Lyon, France

Saraswati Sukumar MD
Barbara B.Rubenstein Professor of Oncology
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Britt-Marie Ljung, MD
Professor of Clinical Pathology,
Director of Cytopathology
UCSF, California

Dr Usha Menon MD; FRCOG
Professor and Director
Gynecological Cancer Research Center
UCL Elizabeth Garrett Institute of Women's Health
University College London

Dr Edmundo Mauad
Director
Barretos Cancer Hospital,
Sao Paulo, Brazil

Peter Dempsey MD; FACR
Professor of Radiology
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Terri Pustilnik MD
Gynecology Oncology of Houston

Dr Diljeet K. Singh, MD, DrPH
Co Chair of MAC

Dr Wei Yang, M.B.B.S., F.R.C.R.
Professor
Deputy Chairman, Department of Diagnostic Radiology
The University of Texas, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Co-Chair and Director of Clinical Research

Dr Neerja Bhatla MD, FICOG
A/Professor, Dept of Ob-Gyn, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India,
Vice President, AOGIN,
Inaugural President, AOGIN-India,
Organising Chairperson, AOGIN 2010

Dr Jill Donnelly
Consultant Breast Surgeon
Herford Hospital, UK

Dr Martin M. Matzuk M.D., Ph.D.
Stuart A. Wallace Chair
Professor of Pathology and Immunology

------------------------------

PUBLIC AWARENESS COUNCIL

Mrs. Susan Rafte
Chair of the PAC

Mrs. Sathya Saran
Co-chair,
Editor DNA,
Former Editor, Femina,
Mumbai, India

Ms. Lucy Noland
Co-chair,
News Anchor,
KNBC,
Los Angeles

Sharda Cherwoo
Partner
Ernst & Young

 
 

Susan Rafte
Chair of the PAC

 
 
     
 

Susan Rafte is the Survivor Founder of Pink Ribbons Project, in motion against breast cancer® and is an almost 16 year cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994 at the age of 30, 8 ½ months after giving birth to her daughter Marika. Soon after, Pink Ribbons Project® was co-founded by Susan's sister, Jane Weiner, and three other dancers in New York City in 1995. After her recovery from a stem cell transplant in 1998, the sisters brought the project to Houston. Pink Ribbons Project is the first arts and dance initiative founded solely to promote awareness about breast cancer and help raise funding for breast cancer advocacy and education. Since the Project's inception, they have raised more than &$4,000,000 for the cause.

Susan spends most of her waking hours as a volunteer. Many of these hours are spent volunteering for Pink Ribbons Project. Susan served as the Executive Director of Pink Ribbons Project from 2005 - 09. Pink Ribbons Project operates several outreach programs promoting early detection and breast health awareness in the Greater Houston Community. In addition, Pink Ribbons Project funds Pink Power, a program sponsoring medically uninsured or underinsured women (and men) receive proper breast care.

M. D. Anderson’s Cancer Center has benefited from Susan’s tireless activities in breast cancer advocacy by her help in initiating a breast cancer survivor’s desk at its facility.  This centralized location provides Susan and other survivors a place to meet and visit with newly diagnosed patients -- giving hope to those with a similar diagnosis. Susan is always ready and on hand to help the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in a variety of ways.  Most recently she has become involved as a survivor advocate with Team Oncology – collaboration between Japan’s cancer community and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center to share good medical practices.

Her involvements also include dividing volunteer hours with the Anderson Network and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Susan is also a patient advocate for Lester and Sue Smith Baylor Breast Center S.P.O.R.E. committee and is a patient advocate for many of its research studies. She is an active member of the Breast Health Collaborative of Texas. She is also a community advisor for Health Global Connect as well as Voices of Survivors. Susan also serves as a founding board member of Purple Songs Can Fly – children’s cancer project creating and recording young cancer patients’ songs.

In the time leftover, Susan likes to stay in touch with her teenage daughter’s world and is a parent volunteer for Lamar High School.

Recently Susan received the honor of being named one of Houston’s 50 Most Influential Women of 2009. Rafte received the 2004 Carpe Diem Spirit of Survivorship Award from the Lance Armstrong Foundation and served on the Foundation’s 2004-2005 Carpe Diem Award Review Committee. She also received the 2002 Shining Star Award from the American Cancer Society.

Susan is married to Alan and has a 16 year old daughter, Marika. She loves yoga, dance, Pilates, music, skiing, hiking, relaxing at her family’s country place in Brenham and hanging out with her family and dogs. Most importantly, Susan is grateful to be alive!  


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