The Speakers

Allie Bain, MPH, Cancer Control Strategic Partnerships Manager, American Cancer Society; Vice Chair, Colorado Cancer Coalition

Allie Bain has worked in comprehensive cancer control for nearly eight years in three different states across the country. Each of these roles included working closely with the state’s cancer programs and the state's cancer coalition giving her a unique, yet comprehensive perspective of the various ways cancer control strategies can be successfully implemented. These roles have included being a staff member for the coalition, managing federal grants, and implementing various programs. Allie is specifically passionate about addressing the needs of vulnerable and underserved communities including those in rural and frontier areas.

In her current role as a Cancer Control Strategic Partnerships Manager for the American Cancer Society, Allie works closely with partners across the state to implement the Colorado Cancer Plan and reduce the cancer burden in Colorado. Allie provides support for Federally Qualified Health Centers and safety-net providers throughout the state, along with integrated delivery systems across the Front Range to improve cancer prevention and screening activities based on evidence-based interventions and quality improvement strategies. Allie is also currently the Vice-Chair of the Colorado Cancer Coalition and actively participates in many of the Coalition’s Task Forces.

In addition to her diverse experience, Allie has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of Iowa, a Master’s in Public Health, and will complete a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from University of Colorado-Boulder in December 2020.

Anna Bauer, MS, CHES, CPT , Wellness Specialist, Penrose Hospital

Anna has a Master’s degree in Health Promotion from UCCS and a Bachelor’s in Community Health Education from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse. In addition, she is a Certified Health Education Specialist and a certified personal trainer. Anna has been working in the health and fitness field for over 7 years and continues learning and growing through her jobs as a Wellness Specialist at Penrose-St. Francis and a Health Coach for Children’s Hospital. Anna has a passion for igniting behavior change in individuals, young and old; it is never too early or late to make a change. She is a true believer of the power of prevention and will continue working towards promoting positive, healthy changes through various fields of health promotion and wellness.

Cody Belzley, Principal, Common Good Consulting

For more than 15 years, Cody Belzley has dedicated her professional endeavors to making public policy change in Colorado. In 2015 Cody founded Common Good Consulting, LLC, offering policy and organizational strategy services primarily to non-profit organizations and campaign committees. Her previous experience has included serving as Vice President for Health & Strategic Initiatives at the Colorado Children’s Campaign and as Senior Policy Analyst for Health for Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, Jr. Cody has played leadership roles in many state and local ballot measures and legislative initiatives. Cody has contributed her volunteer time and service to a number of community organizations, including Colorado Access, Mile High Early Learning, Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church and Rose Community Foundation.

Erin Buss, Patient Perspective

For more than 20 years, Erin has worked and volunteered in the healthcare setting in Wisconsin, Colorado, and internationally. With each position, her passion has been centered around patient education and advocacy. Having served on executive planning committees with Susan G. Komen, American Cancer Society, and the La Crosse International Health Partnership, Erin used these experiences to continue to understand the needs of patients in very diverse populations.

In 2019, under unexpected circumstances, Erin herself became the patient after being diagnosed with Triple Positive Breast Cancer at the age of 40. As she began to navigate through her own patient journey, it became even more evident how important this work is. Now, surviving her own cancer battle, she is armed with even more knowledge and passion to advocate not only for herself, but for those who are unable to do so.

In October of that same year, Erin was asked to share her patient story to the University of Colorado Breast Cancer Stakeholder meeting with the goal of creating positive change for newly diagnosed patients being treated in their clinic. In November 2019, she also sat on a panel at the National US Oncology Meeting to discuss “Evolutions of the Cancer Journey;” presenting in front of 200+ conference attendees on the importance of patient education throughout the treatment journey. In addition, she has served as a consultant to help create and revised patient education tools at local cancer centers in Denver.

In her free time, she is working to finish her Master’s in Public Health with a certification in Health Management and Policy. She also enjoys spending time in the mountains hiking and camping with her dogs!

Christi Cahill, Executive Director, Colorado Cancer Coalition

Christi Cahill has dedicated her professional career to working with cancer related nonprofits and organizations. Christi has been involved with the Colorado Cancer Coalition in a variety of capacities since 2009 and is now the Executive Director. Prior to becoming the Executive Director she was the Cancer Outreach Specialist at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and before that the Director of Program Services at MyLifeLine.org. Christi received a B.A. in Kinesiology from Rice University in Houston, TX and a Nonprofit Management Certificate from the Center for Nonprofit Management in Dallas, TX.

Suzanne Coleman, PhD, DHSc, FACHE, CRCP, RN, System Director of Research Operations and Cancer Registry, Centura Health

Dr. Coleman oversees the Research Operations and Cancer Registry departments at Centura Health. For Research Operations, her responsibilities include operational, regulatory, and grants and contracting oversight as well as providing strategic direction for the department. For Cancer Registry, Suzanne ensures compliance with the accurate reporting standards of the American College of Surgeons, Commission on Cancer and state and federal regulatory bodies. Dr. Coleman has been with Centura for nearly 6 years, prior to that she was the Director of Clinical Research and Innovation at Kettering Health Network in Ohio. She is a board-certified Fellow of the American College of Health Executives, with dual doctorate degrees, bringing over 30 years’ experience as a senior leader working for industry sponsors, a contract research organization and research sites. She has 49 peer-reviewed publications in various disease states with an emphasis on complications of high-risk pregnancy and critical care. She is a peer-reviewer for the Journal of Pediatrics and the Journal of Maternal, Fetal and Neonatal Medicine.

Tiffany Colvin, Director of Clinical Research Operations, University of Colorado Cancer Center

Tiffany Colvin is the Director of Clinical Research Operations at the University of Colorado (CU) Cancer Center. Tiffany is an encouraging, calm, and transparent leader who builds robust collaborations in a diplomatic way, creates solutions to challenging problems and moves projects and policies forward. Her strong understanding of highly complex, matrixed organizations allows her to think creatively and make informed decisions in a rapidly changing environment. She uses strong interpersonal skills to translate incredibly technical information and provide training to staff and physicians. She has been working in clinical trials for the past 16 years and has a profound respect for every patient. She recognizes the enormous challenge within clinical trials, but is inspired from her early years of working directly with cancer patients and their courage to fight.

Heather Deis, RN, Nurse Researcher, Children's Hospital Immunodeficiency Program, University of Colorado; Colorado Cancer Coalition HPV Vaccination Task Force Co-chair

Heather is a nurse researcher at the Children’s Hospital Immunodeficiency Program and the University of Colorado - Denver. Previously she was a local public health nurse for Denver Public Health and worked with Alliance for HPV Free Colorado. Additionally, she remains a co-chair for HPV Vaccination Task Force at the Colorado Cancer Coalition. Heather received a Master of Public Health at Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado – Denver. She enjoys the outdoors, yoga, and running with her dog Marley.

Andrea (Andi) Dwyer, Director, Colorado Cancer Screening Program, University of Colorado Cancer Center; Chair, Colorado Cancer Coalition

Ms. Andrea (Andi) Dwyer is the Director and one of the founding members of the Colorado Cancer Screening Program (CCSP) at the University of Colorado Cancer Center and implemented the country’s largest screening patient navigation program for preventive screening within the safety net clinics. CCSP is now growing the prevention and cancer control work to hereditary and lung cancer screening initiatives. As a co-chair of the National Colorectal Roundtable Evidence Based Health Promotion subcommittee and an executive committee member of the National Colorectal Roundtable, she has extensive partnerships at the state and national level for health promotion activities and partnerships in colorectal cancer. At the state level, Ms. Dwyer is on the Executive Committee of the Colorado Community Health Worker (CHW) and Patient Navigation (PN) Collaborative to help advance this work in Colorado and Vice Chair of the Colorado Cancer Coalition. On the national front, Andrea is the Vice Chair of the Patient Navigation Roundtable, supported by the American Cancer Society. Ms. Dwyer also advises Fight Colorectal, a national colorectal survivorship nonprofit, in their health promotion and research aims for the growing number of colorectal cancer survivors and advocates to bridge the public health, research and medical care for better programs.

Joshua Ewing, MPA,Vice President of Legislative Affairs, Colorado Hospital Association

Joshua is a health policy professional with more than a decade of experience in research, policy analysis, regulatory and legislative affairs. He is currently the Vice President of Legislative Affairs for the Colorado Hospital Association. In this role he serves as liaison to the general assembly, state regulatory agencies and the broader health care community for Colorado’s 100+ hospitals and health systems. Joshua is responsible for advancing policy objectives that strengthen Colorado hospitals and improve the health care system in Colorado. He’s led the organization’s legislative lobbying efforts since the 2018 legislative session.

Prior to joining the Association, Joshua worked as a health policy specialist with the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) serving the legislators and staffs of the nation's 50 states, its commonwealths and territories. He was responsible for facilitating and speaking at national policy meetings, conducting timely research, producing publications and responding legislative and media requests. Joshua also served as the organization’s liaison to the Missouri General Assembly.

Originally from “Show-Me State,” Joshua holds a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Colorado Denver and a bachelor’s degree in social work from Missouri State University. He now lives in the Washington Park neighborhood of Denver and enjoys hiking, snowboarding and traveling with his wife, Molly; son, Jack; and their dog, Henry.

James J. Fenton, MD, Clinical Associate Professor, Pulmonary Medicine. National Jewish Health-South Denver; Colorado Cancer Coalition Lung Cancer Task Force Co-chair

As the co-chair of the Lung Cancer Task Force of the Colorado Cancer Coalition and the director of the lung cancer program at Swedish Medical Center, I have been interested in reducing the impact of lung cancer for years.

I am involved in the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer in my practice but have become particularly interested in prevention efforts since joining the lung cancer task force. The task force is actively involved in the promotion of lung cancer screening efforts in the state--including trying to improve education of providers and patients as well as reducing barriers to screening. I am pleased to be able to participate in this important seminar series and hope it will go along way to improve the adoption of lung cancer screening in the state.

Yuri Fesko, MD, Medical Director of Oncology, Quest Diagnostics

As a leading oncologist, Dr. Fesko plays a key role in helping Quest advance the field of precision medicine and give new hope to people with cancer.

Prior to joining Quest in 2017, Dr. Fesko was Director of Medical Oncology at the Duke Cancer Institute in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he was responsible for the oncology service line and development of inpatient oncology, multiple network sites and infusion centers. He also was responsible for strategies including the determination of appropriate clinical trials for population and resource utilization.

Dr. Fesko received his bachelor’s degree and medical degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in hematology and medical oncology.

Sara Froelich, Executive Director, Chronic Care Collaborative

Sara Froelich has roughly 20 years of experience in government and politics. Sara is the Executive Director of the Chronic Care Collaborative, a coalition of about 40 voluntary health organizations that advocates for all Coloradans living with chronic conditions and their caregivers. Previously, Sara was a Senior Account Executive for a public affairs firm specializing in federal government relations, as well as state-level health policy advocacy in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. Before moving to Colorado, Sara spent ten years serving as Deputy Downstate Director for U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, specializing in community outreach, local economic development, special projects, transportation, health care and appropriations. Sara is also a veteran campaign strategist having managed or been a top advisor for candidates for U.S. Senate, Governor,Congress, and Mayor. As a volunteer, Sara enjoys coaching young soccer players, serving on the boards of several Colorado nonprofits, and is a founding member of the Council for IWU Women, which mentors young women.

Kristi Grems, MA, LPC, LAC, Mental Health Counselor, Shaw Cancer Center

Kristi Grems is a licensed professional counselor and licensed addiction counselor whom worked in community mental health for 12 years. During this time, she worked with children, adults, couples and families with a diverse range of mental health diagnosis and help the position of Program Director. In 2018, Kristi transitioned from community mental health counseling to be honored to work with individuals and families with a cancer diagnosis at the Shaw Cancer Center in Edwards Co. Kristi earned her bachelor’s degree of Family and Child Development at the Ohio State University in 1995. She worked as a preschool director in Vail, Co. from 1995 to 2001. Kristi than received her master’s degree in Counseling Psychology in 2002 from the University of Colorado. Kristi enjoys many outdoor activities with her husband, and two teenage children.

I-Zu Huang, MD, Sr. Group Medical Director, Medical Affairs, GRAIL

I-Zu Huang, MD is Sr. Group Medical Director, Medical Affairs at GRAIL, where she is responsible for overseeing Medical Affairs field, publication, medical education, medical information, and investigator initiated trial efforts in support of the broad use of GRAIL's multi-cancer early detection products. Her two decades of industry experience encompasses Medical Affairs, Clinical Development, Clinical Operations, Medical Information, and Drug Safety, advancing innovative therapies for treating serious diseases with high unmet medical need. Prior to GRAIL, I-Zu served as Executive Medical Director, Medical Affairs at Jazz Pharmaceuticals and Affymax Inc. and as VP of Clinical Development and Operations at Relypsa Inc. I-Zu holds a BS in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a MD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

Ian Kahn, MPH, Integration Coordinator, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and Management, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment; Colorado Cancer Coalition Colorectal Cancer Task Force Co-chair

Ian Kahn is part the Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease Unit at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment focused on integrating pharmacists into the patient care process to help manage these chronic diseases. Additionally, he is investigating barriers to participation in cardiac rehab programs. Previously, Ian worked with health plans, state departments of health, local health departments and quality improvement organizations to reduce the burden of cancer in Colorado through improving cancer screening and HPV vaccinations rates with provider trainings and other evidence based interventions at the American Cancer Society. Ian is an active member of the Colorado Cancer Coalition and co-chair of the Colorectal Cancer Task Force.

Emily Kinsella, MSPH, Section Manager, Women's Wellness Connection, Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment

Emily Kinsella is the Section Manager for Colorado’s breast and cervical cancer screening program, the Women’s Wellness Connection (WWC). She has worked at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for 15 years, managing the Women's Wellness Connection program for the last 8. She formerly worked in the Title X Family Planning Program. Emily has a Master of Science in Public Health from the University of Colorado.

Jenni Lansing, RDH, MPH, MBA, Oral Health Workforce Coordinator, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment; Colorado Cancer Coalition HPV Vaccination Task Force Co-chair

Jenni is the Oral Health Workforce Coordinator at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and works to support oral public health workforce strategies to improve health outcomes. She is also the Dental Hygienist Liaison for Colorado serving to support and promote Head Start oral health efforts. Additionally, Jenni helps support and promote chronic disease and oral health integration initiatives, interprofessional collaborations for comprehensive healthcare approaches, and HPV vaccination education and outreach efforts. She currently serves as the co-chair of the Colorado Cancer Coalition HPV Vaccination Task Force. In her free time Jenni enjoys spending time outdoors, being with family and friends and her 12 year old Golden Retriever, Roddick.

Morgan Mortazavi, MS, Clinical Information Specialist, Emmes; Colorado Cancer Coalition Lung Cancer Task Force Co-chair

Morgan is an oncology clinical trial professional that specializes in thoracic malignancies. She currently provides support to the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Cancer Therapy and Evaluation Program (CTEP). She helps manage the NCI’s Thoracic Malignancy Steering Committee as well as two active non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) protocols. She is also co-chair of the Colorado Cancer Coalition’s Lung Cancer Task Force as well as a co-chair of the Maryland Lung Cancer Collaborative.

Prior to her work in thoracic oncology, Morgan worked as a health education professional and founded a health coaching practice that consulted both individual and corporate clients in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. She holds a Master of Science in Nutrition Education from American University.

Erin Perejda, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C, Clinical Social Worker, Shaw Cancer Center

Erin Perejda has been a licensed clinical social worker practicing within the realm of health care for 16 years. Throughout her career, she has worked with pediatric, young adult, and adult populations facing chronic illness and cancer both domestically and abroad. She is currently employed at the Shaw Cancer Center where she is honored to provide individual and family counseling, support group facilitation, and palliative care consultations to patients and their loved ones coping with a cancer diagnosis. She is also the Survivorship Program Coordinator of the Shaw Cancer Center’s Spirit of Survival survivorship program which incorporates integrative care services to survivors and caregivers throughout the continuum of care. Erin received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Lake Forest College. She received her Master’s in Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis and maintains her oncology social work certification (OSW-C). In her down-time, Erin she enjoys skiing, biking, hiking, and traveling with her husband and two young daughters.

Magen Phillips, MPH, Cancer Health Systems Specialist, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment; Colorado Cancer Coalition Colorectal Cancer Task Force Co-chair

Magen Phillips, MPH is the Cancer Health Systems Specialist for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). She is the Quality Improvement Strategy lead within the Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Grant Program, a program that works with various types of partners and health systems across the state to implement evidence-based interventions to increase cancer screening. Before moving to Colorado in 2017, Magen worked at the University of Vermont Medical Center doing various types of research and quality improvement. Most notably, Magen was in a leadership position with ImproveCareNow, an international Learning Health Network that used quality improvement and research data to improve the care of children with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). She was also one of the only research personnel conducting pediatric cancer clinical trials for the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) in the whole state of Vermont.

Magen is originally from Missoula, MT and loves to fly fish, hike, and spend time with her spouse, Jarrod, and fluffy dog, Rudy. She also is on an Associate Board of Director with the Colorado Haiti Project, a non-profit that works in rural Haiti. Magen is on the Medical Committee and conducts disease surveillance for the local hospital in the community of Petit-Trou-de-Nippes, Haiti.

Jamie L Studts, PhD, Professor of Medical Oncology and Scientific Director of Behavioral Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine; Interim Program Leader, Cancer Prevention and Control, University of Colorado Cancer Center

Dr. Jamie L. Studts is a Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Scientific Director of Behavioral Oncology. Dr. Studts also serves as the Program Co-Leader for Cancer Prevention and Control and Co-Director of the Population Health Shared Resource at the University of Colorado Cancer Center. Prior to joining the University of Colorado, Dr. Studts served as Professor of Behavioral Science at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Assistant Director for Cancer Prevention and Control, and Director of the Behavioral and Community-Based Research Shared Resource Facility at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center.

Dr. Studts is a licensed clinical health psychologist, and his interests address behavioral aspects of tobacco-related malignancies. His research develops and tests interventions to promote informed/shared decision making and behavior change among patients and clinicians regarding prevention, screening, and survivorship of lung and head/neck cancer. His research has been funded by NCI, NIDCR, NIDA, NIEHS, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, and the Kentucky Lung Cancer Research Program. Dr. Studts is the Principal Investigator of the Kentucky LEADS Collaborative, and he previously served on the Institute of Medicine National Cancer Policy Forum addressing Implementation of Lung Cancer Screening. He is a Fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, a member of the Scientific Leadership Board for the GO₂ Foundation for Lung Cancer, and he recently joined the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s Lung Cancer Screening and Smoking Cessation Panels. Dr. Studts also serves on the Steering Committee and as the Chair of American Cancer Society National Lung Cancer Roundtable’s Survivorship, Stigma, and Nihilism Task Group. Recently, Dr. Studts received the Centerstone Healthcare Advocacy award in recognition of his efforts to reduce the burden of lung cancer in Kentucky.