Lauren Hamel, PhD

Assistant Professor, Wayne State University/Karmanos Cancer Institute

Lauren M. Hamel, PhD, is an assistant professor and scientific member of the Population Studies and Disparities Research Program at the Karmanos Cancer Institute and the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Hamel is an expert in patient-physician communication, cancer treatment disparities, and in building and testing interventions to improve patient-physician communication. She was PI of two recently completed NIH-funded studies assessing nonverbal synchrony and nonverbal communication that occurs between Black patients with cancer and their oncologists during clinical interactions. She is investigating aspects of nonverbal communication as potential markers of racial attitudes (e.g., physician unconscious bias, patient suspicion of medical care) and predictors of interaction outcomes (R21MD011766; R03CA195147). 

Currently, Dr. Hamel is PI of an American Cancer Society Research Scholar Health Equity Grant (R01 equivalent; RSG-20-026-01-CPHPS) to test the effectiveness of a patient-focused intervention, the Discussions of Cost (DISCO) App, on patient-provider treatment cost discussions and other patient financial toxicity-related outcomes.

David Dougherty, MD, MBA

Medical Director, DFCI Network

David W. Dougherty, MD, MBA is a board-certified medical oncologist with a clinical focus in lung cancer. Dr. Dougherty earned his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College and completed internship, residency and chief residency at Penn State Hershey Medical Center/Penn State College of Medicine. He completed fellowship in Medical Oncology at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and graduated with honors from the Executive Masters of Business Administration program at the University of Rochester’s Simon School of Business in 2013. Dougherty was on the faculty of the Wilmot Cancer Institute/URMC from 2011 through 2017 where he served as Chief Quality & Safety Officer for the Wilmot Cancer Institute, Vice Chair for Clinical Operations of the Department of Medicine at URMC, and Director of Regional Operations for Wilmot. He joined Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2017 to serve as Medical Director for the DFCI Network.

Angie Santiago, CRCS-I

Lead Financial Counselor - Oncology Thomas Jefferson University Health System, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center

Angie Santiago, CRCS-I, is the Lead Financial Counselor - Oncology, with the Thomas Jefferson University Health System, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center. She created and implemented the Oncology Patient Assistance Program that is utilized at the Thomas Jefferson University Health System. The program was initiated to assist patients with the acquisition of supplemental financial coverage, over and beyond what has been traditionally provided by the hospital’s business office. Angie has worked in healthcare for almost 16 years within patient access, revenue cycle and financial counseling. She has presented on financial toxicity and related topics at patient navigators networking meetings. She is a graduate of the ACCC Financial Advocacy Network Boot Camp.

Lacy Sheets, MBA

Manager, Revenue Cycle, St. Luke's Health System

Lacy Sheets is an experienced health care manager, leader and mentor. Lacy is driven by patient satisifaction and helping patients receive the best exprience possible. As a leader at the St. Luke's Regional Medical Center, Lacy has over 13 years exprience in healthcare. She has held roles in community outreach, mentorship, and leading cross functional teams across a large health system. Most recently, as a Revenue Cycle Manager, her goals include increasing patient assistance and accessiblity while developing high performing teams. Lacy entered the healthcare world to explore and expand her passion for patient care.

Rifeta Kajdic

Program Manager, Oncology Service Line, Saint Luke's Cancer Institute

Rifeta Kajdic is a program manager for the oncology service line at Saint Luke’s Cancer Institute in Boise, Idaho. In her role, Rifeta works on improving processes and programs that allow for patient centered care while simultaneously building security for the health system to prevent unnecessary revenue losses. Rifeta helps support oncology patient financial advocates across five Saint Luke’s sites supporting medical and radiation oncology, surgical oncology, pediatric oncology, bone marrow transplant, and hemophilia. Rifeta is passionate about the importance of patient financial advocate roles within oncology clinics, and as a member of the supportive oncology team, is working collaboratively to eliminate financial toxicity for the patients she serves. 

Gina Hampton

Revenue Application Specialist, St. Luke's Health System

Catherine Lowe, MBA, CPC-A

Oncology Revenue Integrity Analyst, Maine Medical Center Cancer Institute

Cathy has worked in health care for over twenty-five years with extensive experience in optimizing Revenue Cycle. Most recently, she spent several years at a critical access hospital in Montana as a lead biller and registration staff trainer before moving to Maine in 2019 to join the Maine Medical Center Cancer Institute. She completed her MBA in Healthcare Administration in 2018 with a capstone project to improve laboratory revenue for Medicare patients, and has transitioned into Revenue Integrity at Maine Med with a similar focus on preventing revenue loss.

Louise Baca, MSN, RN

Senior Director, Oncology, Maine Medical Center Cancer Institute

Louise Baca has been in the healthcare field for over 35 years, an oncology nurse for the past 20 years and has been in Oncology Administration for over 10 years. Her current position is Senior Director Oncology at Maine Medical Center/MaineHealth. Her responsibilities include oversight of the Oncology Revenue Integrity department as well as providing business and financial support/management to oncology services/departments throughout MMC including Oncology Information Services, Oncology Administration, Breast Surgery, Thoracic Oncology, Genetics, Radiation Oncology, Outpatient IV Therapy, Physics and the Hemophilia and Bleeding Disorders Center of Maine.. She also works closely with Oncology Service Line leadership on annual service line budgets. Over the last several years, her focus has been in revenue integrity specific to Oncology and how to refine and improve processes within the Oncology Service Line ultimately impacting oncology revenue.

Wendi Waugh, BS, RT(R)(T), CMD, CTR

Administrative Director of Cancer Services & Community Health and Wellness

Wendi Waugh, BS, RT(R)(T), CMD, CTR, is Administrative Director of Cancer Services & Community Health and Wellness at Southern Ohio Medical Center in Portsmouth, Ohio. She brings more than 30 years of experience in healthcare to this role. She began her career in medical imaging but has spent the last 28 years in oncology. Her passion for community health and community development led her to assume a larger leadership role at Southern Ohio Medical Center in 2013, when she assumed leadership of the Community Health and Wellness teams. A 13-year survivor of breast cancer, Wendi special interests include community development, public speaking, leadership, dance, fitness, hiking, and biking, and spending time with her family. She is a graduate of the Radiologic Technology Program at Shawnee State University and received her training for radiation therapy at Weber State University. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Health Administration and Health Informatics from Kennedy Western Reserve. Wendi is also a Certified Cancer Registrar and Certified Medical Dosimetrist.

Francinna Scott-Jones

Financial Coordinator, Northside Hospital

Francinna Scott-Jones is a knowledgeable professional specializing in Healthcare Revenue Cycle. For the past 25 years, she has worked specifically in the Radiation Oncology sector, for both freestanding radiation oncology centers as well as outpatient hospital-based facilities.  Accomplishments include, obtaining two certifications, one as a Certified Radiation Oncology Coder (ROCC) and another as a HFMA Certified Patient Account Representative (CPAR).   Previously she has worked as a Billing and Reimbursement Director for the CBO of a large Radiation Oncology Practice Management Company which managed 24 practices located all over the US.  Currently she serves as the Financial Coordinator for the Radiation Oncology Department at Northside Hospital Cancer Institute in Atlanta, GA.  Closing the disparity in healthcare has been an area of focus for her; she believes quality healthcare is a right that should be afforded to all people regardless of their race and/ or social economic background.

Dan Sherman, MA, LPC

Financial Navigator/Consultant, The NaVectis Group

Dan E. Sherman, MA, LPC, has been in the field of financial navigation services for oncology patients since 2008, and is the founder and president of the NaVectis Group, a consulting company that assists oncology providers in the implementation of financial navigation programs. In 2009, he created and implemented the Financial Navigation Program at the Lacks Cancer Center, and has since been recognized by the Oncology Roundtable, Access Management, and the Association of Community Cancer Centers’ Oncology Issues for his expertise in clinical financial navigation. He has also been published in the Journal of Access Management, ACCC’s Oncology Issues journal, the American Journal of Managed Care, and ASCO’s Journal of Oncology Practice. 
Dan has a degree in accounting, psychology, and a master’s in counseling.

Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD

Executive Director, Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance

Karen Winkfield is a Radiation Oncologist at Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center (WFBCCC) whose research aims to identify and overcome sociocultural barriers to cancer care in underserved populations. Through community-engaged research, she partners with communities to develop programming focused on disseminating accurate and timely cancer health care information in a culturally sensitive manner. As the Associate Director for Cancer Health Equity and Director of the Office of Cancer Health Equity at the WFBCCC, Dr. Winkfield has the unique charge to help structure programming and build research collaborations that will help ensure equitable access to care along the entire cancer continuum for all patients regardless of race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geography, or sexual/gender identity. 

Dr. Winkfield is a graduate of Duke University's Medical Scientist Training program and was the 2nd black woman to graduate from this dual degree program. Her PhD in the Departments of Pharmacology & Pathology, focused on understanding radiation-induced G2-checkpoint regulation in breast cancer via analysis of changes in the phosphoproteome following γ-irradiation. This work resulted in the identification of phosphorylation sites that regulate the location, oligomerization and enzymatic activity of zipper-interacting protein kinase, a death-domain kinase involved in apoptosis, autophagy and inflammatory responses.Over the past decade, she has shifted her research lens to focus on population health science with the goal of reducing cancer health disparities She is a nationally recognized leader in health disparities and workforce diversity and is the Immediate Past Chair of ASCO's Health Disparities Committee.