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Our Board of Directors
Of ficers
Steven J. Tedesco, chair
Pamela M. Hammer, vice chair
Michael J. Culcasi, secretary
Julianne Biagini, treasurer
Directors
Tiffani Anderson
Deborah Burke
Tanya Cecchin
Ellen Cirigliano
Kathy Doctor
Bob Hammer
Pat Lawson
James Moore
Martin Morici
Sean O'Kane
Jasan Zimmerman
Executive Director
Karen Storey
Tiffani Anderson is a pre-med student in biochemical engineering at Stanford University. She was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma her freshman year. She helped to start a Young Adults Support Group for those who are dealing with cancer and its effects. Since she learned about TWC, she has made it her goal to start up a site in Silicon Valley.
Julianne M. Biagini most recently served as the chief financial officer and corporate secretary of Endwave Corporation, a publicly traded company that designs, manufactures, and markets RF modules that enable the transmission, reception and processing of high-frequency signals in telecommunications networks, defense electronics and homeland security systems. Julie has strong family ties to the Santa Clara Valley. She received her bachelor's degree from San Jose State University and an MBA from Santa Clara University. She is a registered CPA, serves on the board of directors of Airspan Inc. (AIRN), and is treasurer and board member of Downtown College Prep, a charter high school in San Jose.
Deborah Burke is a training and organizational development consultant, working primarily with nonprofit and health care organizations. With a master's degree in public health, she has developed and taught health education classes and has facilitated many patient and family support groups. Most recently she worked on a Centers for Disease Control grant on public health preparedness and with the Medical Reserve Corps, a volunteer citizens group under the direction of the Department of Health and Human Servces. She brings to the board a thorough understanding of health-care delivery systems and nonprofit organization and fundraising.
Tanya Cecchin has been with The Health Trust for the past two years, serving as associate director of corporate and donor relations. In addition, she works to build awareness and raise funds for all The Health Trust programs, which include
Meals on Wheels, AIDS Services, and Children’s Dental and Family Health Insurance. Previously, Tanya worked for 12 years in media sales. She held director-level positions with dot coms and high tech publishers, and worked in advertising sales for Time Warner and the San Jose Mercury News. Tanya has lost several family members to cancer in the past few years and is committed to making a
difference in the lives of cancer patients and their families. Originally from Seattle, she has lived in the Bay Area for the past 14 years with her husband and their golden retrievers.
Ellen Cirigliano is a cancer activist in Silicon Valley. She has been involved in various advocacy, awareness and fundraising projects with the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. She received her bachelor's and master's degree in psychology from Santa Clara University and works as a marriage and family therapist specializing in cancer-related issues. Ellen joined the board in 2006, two moths after being diagnosed with anapalastic astrocytoma, a rare brain cancer. She is dedicated to cancer survivorship and to making TWCSV a reality.
Mike Culcasi is a lifelong resident of Silicon Valley. He has worked with high- technology companies for more than 30 years, from both technical and sales perspectives. Having been involved in product development and startups, he brings to TWCSV an excellent understanding of the processes involved in creating new ventures. In addition, his family’s experience with cancer brings a strong personal commitment to making this a successful project.
Kathy Doctor is a home-care RN case manager. She has a certificate in hospice and palliative-care nursing and serves as a team leader with the palliative-care team. In that role she provides and coordinates care for 10-to 15 patients, and serves as a resource for other providers. She has been an RN for 30 years and has worked in a variety of settings within hospitals and surgery centers.
Bob Hammer is a two-time cancer survivor and founder of the Have a Ball Foundation. With his Have a Ball Golf Tournament in Silicon Valley, Bob has raised more than $450,000 in the past four years and benefits 15 different cancer organizations. Bob also has created grants for oncology students and cancer awareness ads that have appeared on TV, radio and newspapers. He has sent more than 40 children with cancer to Camp Okizu, a camp for children with cancer. Bob and his wife, Kim, have two children, Shayna and Joshua.
Pamela M. Hammer received her training as a medical assistant and worked at Kaiser Hospital for seven year. She has a degree in health science. Over the last 30 years, she has held a variety of professional and voluntary positions in schools, community organizations, and business development and management. Pamela was her husband Rusty’s full-time caregiver for five years before he lost his battle with leukemia in January. She credits her experience with TWC in Pasadena as an essential part of her ability to deal with the many issues and challenges of care giving. As a board member she plans to apply those lessons to help the medical profession and others learn how cancer patients can be treated with greater respect and dignity.
Pat Lawson has spent the last 30 years as an educator in physical education, home economics and special education. She has served as a classroom teacher, athletic director, coach, department chair, mentor teacher, and club adviser. While Pat has always assisted individuals in need in a variety of ways, now that her two daughters are grown she is dedicated to volunteering her time to help make TWCSV a success.
James (Jim) Moore is a civil litigation attorney in the downtown San Jose office of Thelen Reid Brown Raysman and Steiner, LLP. He and his partner of 11 years, Clark Williams, live in the Willow Glen neighborhood of San Jose with their four-year-old daughter Caroline. At the age of 29, Jim was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. His treatment included chemotherapy, radiation and, finally, a stem-cell transplant, which is credited with saving his life. Jim has been cancer-free for 12 years. Following his cancer treatment, Jim volunteered with Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, where he helped cancer patients and their families prepare for treatment.
Sean O’Kane, a Bay Area native, has a broad range of experience in both the entertainment business and high tech. He’s worked as a stand-up comic and voice-over talent (with Jay Leno, Dana Carvey and Neil Sedaka, among others) and in made-for-TV movies (with Dustin Hoffman, Alan Alda and John Travolta). He also has worked in computer animation and in chip design automation, which he does now for Cadence Design Systems. He also has experience in strategic planning and product launches for top semiconductor companies, corporate presentations for trade shows, and coordinating events with major Bay Area sports franchises for nonprofit organizations. Sean has voiced numerous animated characters that have co-hosted corporate, film and video award ceremonies, including the 1996 Emmy Awards. In 1998, Sean’s face was computer mapped and pixillated into the first interactive virtual newscaster covering the Design Automation Conference in San Francisco. He has performed the ultimate animated character from All Planet TV, the interactive virtual newscaster called "Brash Landau." This animated character threw his hat in the ring in March 2000 and ran for VP (virtual president) of the United States. As Brash Landau he attended the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, receiving lots of attention from radio and television reporters.
Karen Storey has a wide variety of corporate and non-profit experience in training and development, sales and marketing, and public relations. After working more than 20 years at the San Jose Mercury News, she has spent the past 10 years running her own consulting business focused on assisting people and organizations through major changes and transitions. Her work has included strategic planning, leadership development, off-site retreat planning and facilitation, and project management. She is a certified facilitator for “Respecting Choices,” educating doctors, nurses, social workers, and clergy to encourage individuals to have advance care planning conversations with family members and to complete advance directives. She has co-founded and served on numerous non-profit boards, and her goal is to raise the money to open TWCSV as soon as possible.
Steve Tedesco has been a friend of TWCSV co-founder Rusty Hammer since grade school. After seeing what Rusty and his wife Pamela, as primary caregiver, have gone through battling cancer, Steve is dedicated to leading the efforts to open TWCSV as soon as possible. A life-long resident of San Jose, he brings to the board more than 30 years of community service experience. Formerly executive director of the Boys and Girls Clubs, president of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce and currently the president of Junior Achievment of Silicon Valley and Monterey Bay, he has served on many non-profit boards, including Joint Venture: Silicon Valley, Christmas in the Park, and San Jose State President's Advisory Council. He was a co-founder of the Silicon Valley Charity Ball Foundation and a member of the Campbell Union High School Board of Trustees.
Jasan Zimmerman is a molecular biologist at Genencor International, a biotechnology company in Palo Alto. He has a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's degree in microbiology and molecular genetics. As a cancer survivor, Jasan is particularly interested in cancer advocacy, especially for childhood/ young adult cancer survivors and long-term survivors. After being diagnosed and treated for neuroblastoma at 6 months, he had thyroid cancer at ages 15 and 21. Now healthy, he looks forward to making a positive contribution as a cancer survivor.