Linda Blount, MPH

National Vice President, Office of Health Disparities, Office of the Chief Medical Officer

Linda Blount, MPH was named National Vice President, for Health Disparities in April 2007. She has the responsibility for leading the effort to develop the overall health disparities strategic direction for the Society. Prior to her current role she was the Director, Strategy and Business Operations in the Office of the Chief Medical Officer (OCMO) from 2005 – 2007. In that position she was responsible for the strategic, tactical, and operational direction of the office and developed and implemented short- and long-term strategic plans for OCMO. Linda also focused on the integration of research and program and policy development within the Society to develop, deliver and sustain effective evidence-based programs and policy positions that directly support the American Cancer Society Leadership Roles, Focus Areas and Pillars.

Linda has also served as Director, Planning and Development for the International Affairs Department. Prior to coming to American Cancer Society, Linda spent ten years with Coca Cola, where she was responsible for strategic planning for Global IT in the formula management, innovation, and procurement departments. Linda has 12 years experience in international program planning and evaluation including 5 years at CDC in the office of the Director, HIV/AIDS, where she was responsible for global decision support strategies. She has consulted with the ministries of health in Germany, Jamaica, Aruba, Zimbabwe, Malawi, South Africa, and Trinidad and Tobago where she lived for 4 years.

Linda holds a Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of Michigan.

Durado Brooks MD

Director, Prostate and Colorectal Cancers, Cancer Control Science

As director of prostate and colorectal cancers at the American Cancer Society’s National Home Office, Durado is involved in creating strategies to improve the prevention and early detection of these diseases. He is also actively engaged in on-going American Cancer Society initiatives designed to eliminate disparities in cancer prevention, detection and outcomes.

An internist by training, he has spent much of his career working to enhance the role of prevention in primary care and to improve care for medically underserved populations. In addition to practicing primary care medicine for more than 15 years he has served in several administrative roles, including that of health center medical director. Prior to his current position, Dr. Brooks completed the Commonwealth Fund/Harvard University Fellowship in minority health policy, followed by a one-year term as a senior health policy intern in the Health Resources and Services Administration of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Dr. Brooks received his medical degree from Wright State University School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio, where he completed his internal medicine residency and served as chief resident. He also holds a master’s degree in Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health.

Shila Burney

Program Coordinator, Office of Health Disparities

Shila Nieves Burney has been the program coordinator for the Office of Health Disparities for the American Cancer Society since August 2007. Shila is responsible for overall planning, development and implementation of strategic projects and disparities reducing activities for the department.

For the past two years, she has focused on major initiatives such as the Lunch & Learn program where the PBS series Unnatural Causes was screened for the staff and leadership of the American Cancer Society. Shila was also responsible for the American Cancer Society cancer survivor – Heisman Trophy winner activation during the Atlanta Football Classic and the Circle City Classic football games, gaining the American Cancer Society over 10 million media impressions among the minority market. Shila has an extensive background in print media having worked and written for the Atlanta Journal Constitution for five years.

Shila attended Florida A&M University studying Business Administration and Nova University studying Elementary Education for her undergraduate studies. Shila is currently pursuing a degree in Sociology.

Carolina Casares MD, MPH

Program Director, Health Initiatives

Carolina Casares was born in Bogota, Colombia and raised in New York. She obtained her medical degree and a certificate in health administration in Colombia, and returned to the U.S. to get her Master degree in Public Health from Harvard University. She worked as a research associate on issues of organizational culture and health care reform. She has also been involved with several other public health programs and projects. Before relocating to Atlanta, she worked for the Department of Public Health in Massachusetts at the Division of Health Care Quality as program specialist and engaged in consulting work in Ecuador for USAID.

Prior to coming to American Cancer Society, Carolina was a health policy analyst at Morehouse School of Medicine’s National Center for Primary Care with the community voices program and most recently worked for the Atlanta Regional Commission in health and wellness. In 2004 she was a fellow in “Multicultural Health” at the Salzburg Seminar, in Austria She is currently a board member of People to People International. In 2005, she rode in the Tour of Hope with Lance Armstrong from San Diego, CA to Washington, DC bringing awareness to the importance of cancer clinical research and the inclusion of diverse populations.

Dionne Christopher

Project Assistant for Director of Prostate & Colorectal Cancers
and Director of Cancer Screening

Dionne S. Christopher is the project assistant for the Director of Prostate and Colorectal Cancers and the Director of Cancer Screening at the American Cancer Society. She has provided support for several guidelines during her four years with Cancer Control Science Department at the American Cancer Society.

Prior to accepting the position within the Cancer Control Science, Mrs. Christopher was the executive assistant at Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Pharmaceutical Company in the southeastern region for Abilify and Plavix medications. She has strong ties family ties in the research and development of resources towards the elimination of cancer.

In her spare time, she is a community activist along with volunteering for the Making Strides of Breast Cancer and Relay for Life events. Mrs. Christopher received her bachelor degree from Saint Leo University in Atlanta, Georgia and will be obtaining her masters in Public Health.

Stephen P. Jiang ACSW

Director for Mission Delivery

Stephen P. Jiang is a Director for Mission Delivery at the American Cancer Society, California Division, with primary responsibilities of measuring mission delivery performance and program evaluation. In addition, Stephen has responsibility for the Division’s efforts to make programs and materials more culturally and linguistically appropriate for the diverse population in California. Prior to joining the California Division, Stephen served as the Director for Health Initiatives at the American Cancer Society, Hawaii Pacific, Inc., with responsibilities of all mission delivery activities in Hawaii and Guam.

Stephen has over 20 years of experience working in the areas of public policy, program development and implementation, organizational management, and strategic planning in settings ranging from federal and state governments, as well as local, national and international not-for-profits. In the for-profit arena, Stephen has served as an organizational consultant to universities, civil rights organizations, and rural hospitals. Stephen also served as adjunct faculty at the University of Hawaii School of Social Work teaching courses on social service management and planning, and social welfare policy. In addition to his professional experience, Stephen has served on a numerous boards, including Susan G. Komen (Hawai‘i Affiliate) and the Intercultural Cancer Council, both having served a term as Chair of the Board.

Stephen received is BA and MSW from the University of California at Berkeley, and has qualified for the National Association of Social Worker’s Academy of Certified Social Workers (ACSW).

Barbara Powe PhD, RN

Director of Underserved Populations Research

Barbara D. Powe, PhD, RN is the Director of Underserved Populations Research in the Behavioral Research Center (BRC) of the American Cancer Society and an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.

In her clinical nursing practice, Dr. Powe was a critical care nurse and a nurse manager and has seen the results of disparities in care first hand.

Prior to accepting the position within the BRC, Dr. Powe held the position of Associate Professor in the College of Nursing at the Medical University of South Carolina and the funded position of researcher at the Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Administration Medical Center. Her research program began with a focus on the role of cancer fatalism and other barriers in participation in cancer screening among African American and medically underserved populations.

She has expanded her program of research to explore interactions between patient, provider, and systems barriers to care for the medically underserved. She has developed and tested culturally appropriate interventions and is interested in further exploring the role of multimedia approaches in enhancing knowledge and screening for this population. She has disseminated her work through peer-reviewed scientific publications and presentations.