National Staff
Kim Thiboldeaux
President & CEO
Kim Thiboldeaux joined The Wellness Community in the summer of 2000 as President and CEO. Formerly the Director of Patient Relations for Oncology & Transplant at Hoffmann-LaRoche, Inc., she brings to this position a wealth of experience in patient education and national patient advocacy. Kim serves in numerous leadership roles in the cancer and health care communities including Co-Chair of the Patient Education and Communication Committee of the National Clinical Trials Summit, member of the National Advisory Board of the American Psycho-Oncology Society (APOS), and member of the Caregiving in America Advisory Group of the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Human Development. Prior to joining Roche, Kim served as the Director of Corporate Relations at Whitman-Walker Clinic, a Washington, DC-based clinic that provides comprehensive services to people with HIV and AIDS.
 |
Susan Michelson Brown, MBA, MSSW
Chief Operating Officer
Susan Michelson Brown joined The Wellness Community as Chief Operating Officer in February 2007. In this position, Susan oversees all financial, administrative and operating processes for the national headquarters and works closely with the local TWC communities. Susan has more than 25 years in nonprofit management experience, having served in program development, management, marketing, and development capacities for several health, human service and economic development organizations. These have included state, regional and national nonprofits, including the United Way and the American Cancer Society. Susan holds two Masters' degrees, including a Masters in Social Services from the Boston University School of Social Work, and a Masters in Business Administration from the Stern School of Business at New York University.
Mitch Golant, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President, Research & Training
Mitch Golant is a health psychologist and Senior VP Research & Training for The Wellness Community (TWC). He, along with Dr. Harold Benjamin, TWC’s founder, traveled throughout the world introducing TWC’s Patient Active Concept to international thought-leaders and psychosocial oncologists. He has been with TWC for over 22 years where he supervised and trained TWC’s professional clinical staff. He has facilitated over 4,500 support groups for people with cancer and trained over 350 professionals in TWC's Patient Active Support Group model. Dr. Golant is widely recognized as a pioneer in the use of information technology in cancer education and support through the delivery of online support groups. He was central to the launch of the award-winning Virtual Wellness Community in both English and Spanish and Group Loop: Teens. Talk. Cancer. Online. He has presented nationally and internationally on TWC’s Patient Active programs and evidence-based research. He is the contributing editor to the Essentials of Psychosocial Oncology Handbook 2006). In the fall 2005 he, along with two colleagues from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Calvary Hospital/Hospice, were selected to train forty psychologists and psychiatrists from Poland’s National Psychosocial Oncology Society. He has served for the past 4 years on the Board of Directors for the American Psychosocial Oncology Society. He is also the author of six books including What To Do When Someone You Love is Depressed (Holt).
Victoria Kennedy, LCSW
Vice President, Program Development & Quality Assurance
Vicki Kennedy is the Vice President of Program Development & Quality Assurance at The Wellness Community, responsible for the development, management and evaluation of The Wellness Community clinical programs nationwide. A licensed oncology social worker for the past 18 years, Vicki most recently served seven years as Executive Director and co-Founder of The Wellness Community-Central Indiana. Prior to that, Vicki served as a Research Associate at the Walther Cancer Institute and as oncology social worker at the Bone Marrow Transplant/Hematology services at Indiana University Cancer Center. A Past President of the Association of Oncology Social Work, Vicki received her Master's Degree in social work from Indiana University and has received additional training in fund development and non-profit management from the Indiana University Fund Raising School.
Mark Meinke
Director of Finance and Administration
Mark Meinke joined the staff of The Wellness Community in October 2002 as the National Administrator. He is currently Director of Finance and Administration of The Wellness Community. Prior to joining The Wellness Community, Mark served as general manager of an Arabic software development and marketing company, Digitek, in the metropolitan Washington, DC area. Previously, Mark served as a foreign service specialist in the US Information Agency and as Treasury Manager and Foreign Exchange Trader at Commercial Bank of Kuwait. Mark lived in the Middle East for 17 years and is currently the chair and founder of the Rainbow History Project, a local historical and archival group in Washington, DC.
Lynn Ryker
Director of Online Initiatives
Lynn Ryker is currently the Director of Online Initiatives at The Wellness Community. From 1997-2002 she served as the National Administrator at TWC. In her present position, she is responsible for administration and management of the national website, The Virtual Wellness Community, Group Loop, and resultsplus! database software. Prior to joining The Wellness Community, Lynn was the Regional Administrator for Jobs for Ohio's Graduates-Southwest, a program devoted to preparing non-college bound, at-risk high school students for the transition from school to work. Lynn is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati.
 |
Natalie Haskins
Patient Education and Awareness Manager
Natalie Haskins joined The Wellness Community in the spring of 2007 as the Patient Education and Awareness Manager. She works on various national public awareness campaigns including The Star Campaign and helps raise awareness of TWC's national patient education programs. She most recently worked for Teach for America, where she taught st graders at a charter school in Washington, DC. She previously was Director of Distribution and Educational Outreach/Producer for Right Quick Productions in Baton Rouge, LA, where she was responsible for the distribution and promotion of a documentary film, Expecting Men, and its educational version, The Youth Documentary Project. Natalie holds a Masters in the Art of Teaching from American University and a Bachelor's Degree in Communication with a minor in African-American Studies from Boston University.
Shannon Pao
Marketing and Events Manager
Shannon Pao joined The Wellness Community (TWC) national headquarters staff in the summer of 2005 as the Marketing and Events Manager. She formerly worked for The Princeton Review Test Preparation company and managed the Washington, DC local marketing department. Her responsibilities included the organization and implementation of all local and national marketing events, which has given her a strong background in events management. In her current position with TWC, she supports the Director of Marketing and Development by coordinating national events. Shannon graduated from Wesleyan University with a Bachelor’s Degree in American Studies.
Megan Taylor-Ford
Manager of Patient Education and Outreach
Megan Taylor-Ford joined The Wellness Community in 2005 as the Manager of Patient Education and Outreach. In this position she supports the Director of Patient Education and Outreach, aiding in the preparation and scheduling of National programs, analyzing and evaluating the statistical information collected from these programs, attending conferences, and supporting new program development. Megan is a recent graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in Interpersonal Communication Studies and an emphasis in Psychology. During her time at UCLA she performed several research studies with the Psychology Department. One of these studies investigated the effects of self-affirmations on the psychological and physical health of breast cancer patients - an experience that roused Megan's interest in the psychosocial effects of cancer and eventually lead her to The Wellness Community.
