BETTER OUTCOMES
FOR BREAST CANCER & BEYOND

FOUNDER & CEO

Kristen Dahlgren is an award winning journalist turned Breast Cancer advocate and founder of the nonprofit, Cancer Vaccine Coalition.

For the first 30 years of her career, Kristen traveled the world, documenting some of the biggest news stories of our time. She reported for NBC Nightly News and NBC's Today show, was nominated for an Emmy award for leading the network's coverage of the Parkland School shooting, served as a backup anchor for Lester Holt, and won an Edward R. Murrow award for her feature reporting.

In 2019, she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and immediately decided to share her story to help other women to recognize the different ways their own cancers could present. Through her reporting, Kristen also learned about the research that was happening on Breast Cancer vaccines. After a conversation with UW Cancer Vaccine Institute's Dr. Nora Disis, Kristen realized that vaccines for breast cancer were no longer a "Pie in the sky" idea but something that was close and achievable.

She couldn't stand by and watch anyone else suffer. CVC is partnered with the nation’s top vaccine and cancer researchers with a goal of getting a safe, effective breast cancer vaccine to market in 5 to 10 years.

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SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD

  • Portrait of a woman with short red hair, glasses, smiling, wearing a houndstooth patterned blazer and a white turtleneck

    Dr. Nora Disis

    UW/CVI Director. American Cancer Society Clinical Research Professor. Editor-in-Chief for JAMA Oncology
    Pioneering investigator and expert in breast and ovarian cancer immunology.

  • Close-up of a smiling man wearing glasses, a dark suit, a light blue shirt, and a patterned yellow tie. Background is a gradient from gray to beige.

    Dr. Larry Norton

    Medical Director, Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering Renowned as a leader in the development of drug treatments for breast cancer. Founding Scientific Director, BCRF.

  • A smiling woman with brown hair wearing a red turtleneck and beige jacket against a gradient background.

    Dr. Beth Mittendorf

    Brigham and Women's Hospital Vice Chair for Research, Co-Leader, Breast Program, Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. Director, Breast Immuno-Oncology program. Co-Leader, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

  • A senior man with white hair and a beard, wearing a white lab coat and a light purple shirt with a patterned tie, standing against a gradient background transitioning from light blue to beige.

    Dr. G. Thomas Budd

    Cleveland Clinic. Recently presented positive data from Phase I Trial of alpha-lactalbumin vaccine in high-risk operable triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and patients at high genetic risk for TNBC

  • Portrait of a woman with short black hair, wearing a black sleeveless top and a pearl necklace, smiling against a plain white background.

    Dr. Julia Tchou

    Penn Medicine. Director of Breast Surgery Research. Professor of Clinical Surgery. Program Director, Breast Surgical Oncology Fellowship

  • Portrait of a woman with short brown hair, wearing glasses, gold earrings, a pearl necklace, and a white sleeveless top, smiling against a plain white background.

    Paula Pohlmann

    University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Associate Professor Breast Medical Oncology. Associate Professor, Investigational Cancer Therapeutics.

  • A professional headshot of a middle-aged man with blonde hair, wearing a dark suit and light blue shirt, smiling against a pastel-colored background.

    Dr. Powel Brown

    University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Molecular biologist and breast medical oncologist. Professor, Department of Clinical Cancer Prevention.

  • Portrait of a young woman with long dark hair, smiling, wearing a dark top, against a neutral background.

    Dr. Shipra Gandhi

    Medical oncologist, breast cancer expert. Emory University Medical Center

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

  • Portrait of a smiling woman with blonde hair, blue eyes, wearing a light blue blazer and gold earrings, against a neutral background.

    Cheryl Stamm, President

    Experienced sales executive with 30+ years in the software industry/Fortune 500 companies. Former Board Chair Aviatra Accelerators, a women’s business incubator. Breast cancer survivor.

  • Headshot of a young man with short brown hair, wearing a brown checkered blazer and white shirt, smiling against a gray background.

    Wesley Warren, J.D.

    Executive Director of Translational Research Strategy & Partnerships at City of Hope.  Identifies and secures collaborations with academia, pharma, & biotech to accelerate innovative cancer treatments.

  • A woman with long brown hair smiling against a white background.

    Hilary Jellison Simonds, MBA

    Founding board member of The Brian & Sheila Jellison Family Foundation. Directs legal and financial investment teams. Experienced strategic marketing executive for Fortune 500 companies including PepsiCo and The Walt Disney Company.

  • A woman with long red hair, blue eyes, and earrings, smiling at the camera, wearing a floral dress with red and pink flowers.

    Saranne Rothberg

    Stage IV survivor. CEO/Founder, The Comedy Cures Foundation Host, “Beating Cancer Daily” Ranked #1 cancer survivor podcast of 2024.

  • A woman with shoulder-length dark brown hair, wearing a pink top and a silver necklace, smiling against a plain white background.

    Heather McCue, CPA, Treasurer

     30+ years public and private accounting experience including KPMG Peat Marwick, LLP & Controller for Edison Mission Marketing and Trading (formally Citizens Power, LLC.

  • A woman with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a black top, pearl necklace, and hoop earrings, smiling at the camera against a light-colored background.

    Dr. Elizabeth Levick, MD Secretary

    Radiation Oncologist.  Recently retired from OHC where she served as Chairman of the Board & Chairman of the Commission on Cancer for a large hospital network.

ADVISORS

  • A woman with short dark hair, wearing makeup, earrings, and a black top, smiling at the camera.

    Kiran Dhillon, PhD

    Executive Director, Cancer Vaccine Institute University of Washington

  • A smiling woman with short brown hair wearing a dark blazer and striped shirt against a soft neutral background.

    Judy Lewent

    Former EVP & CFO, Merck & Co.

  • A woman with shoulder-length blonde hair, smiling, wearing a black top and a necklace, against a plain white background.

    Katie Hood

    Former CEO, One Love Foundation, & Michael J. Fox Foundation

  • Portrait of a smiling man with short brown hair wearing a black collared shirt against a plain light background.

    Glen Waters

    Head of Early Stage Tech & Life Sciences, HSBC Innovation Banking UK

  • A smiling middle-aged man wearing glasses, a dark suit, light blue shirt, and red polka dot tie.

    Andrew W. Lo

    Professor of Finance, and the Director of the Laboratory for Financial Engineering at the MIT Sloan School of Management

  • A woman with long blonde hair, smiling, wearing a pink blazer over a dark top, against a white background.

    Seanna Crosley

    Non-Profit development consultant who has worked with organizations like Michael J. Fox Foundation and Make-a-Wish.

  • A woman with dark brown hair, wearing a black blouse with red star patterns, smiling against a plain white background.

    Victoria Recaño

    Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist, media strategist, consultant, content creator and producer

  • Norma Lawrence Unser

    Norma Lawrence Unser

    President CCubed LLC, Development, event planning & marketing consultant

  • A woman with long, light brown hair smiling, wearing a dark patterned blazer and a pearl necklace.

    Jennifer Lescott

    Former managing director of strategy and operations at One Love Foundation, Finance, strategy, and operations at Morgan Stanley & Disney.

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