January 10, 2022 Danville, CA
Lazarex Cancer Foundation has selected Stephanie Rivera as CEO, who joined the foundation on January 3, 2022. Stephanie steps into the CEO position previously held by Lazarex Founder, Dana Dornsife, who has moved into a new position within the foundation. Her new title is Founder and Chief Mission and Strategy Officer.
As the CEO for Lazarex, Stephanie brings her long-standing dedication to address health care disparities in underserved communities and continues her commitment to increasing access to health care and clinical trials. In her previous leadership roles with John Muir Health, Public Health Institute, Planned Parenthood, La Clínica de la Raza, San Francisco General Hospital, and University of California, San Francisco, she developed the knowledge to identify health care needs and disparities of the community with the goal of creating positive outcomes.
Regarding her new role, Stephanie shared the following, “I am pleased to join the Lazarex Cancer Foundation and to work alongside such wonderful advocates. My goal is to increase access to clinical trials for all patients and increase prevention opportunities to all communities in a culturally appropriate manner. I am so humbled with the dedication of Dana and all of the Board, Staff and Volunteers who have been such a trailblazing team for cancer patients. I look forward to our new partnership and I am confident that 2022 will be a year of positive movement toward increasing our reach.”
Stephanie’s advocacy for the community continues with her volunteer services as a Board member for Center for Human Development, the Family Justice Center for Contra Costa County, and the Contra Costa County’s Workforce Development Board where she is currently co-chair of the subcommittee on Business and Economic Development.
Dana Dornsife, reflecting on the transition, remarked, “My last day as CEO for Lazarex Cancer Foundation was January 1, 2022. It has been my honor to lead the charge for the past 15 years and I welcome Stephanie Rivera as she steps into the CEO role to lead us in the next chapter of our journey. I truly believe that 2022 holds much promise for us and that Stephanie will guide us to fulfill our promise.”
In her new role as Chief Mission and Strategy Officer, Dana will continue to focus her efforts on multiple fronts, including but not limited to:
- Leading industry stakeholders in the cancer clinical trial arena to take responsibility to resolve the barriers to patient access to care with a focus on diversity in cancer clinical trial participation and the associated financial toxicity through the IMPACT (IMproving Patient Access to Cancer Clinical Trials) program.
- Establishing culturally appropriate and continuous presence within at-risk and uninsured communities to adequately address existing cancer health disparities through the Lazarex Cancer Wellness HUB program.
About Lazarex Cancer Foundation
The unique mission of Lazarex is to improve the outcome of cancer care—giving hope, dignity, and life to advanced stage cancer patients and the medically underserved by helping with costs for FDA clinical trial participation, identification of clinical trial options, community outreach and engagement. In 15 years Lazarex has assisted over 7,000 patients. Learn more at www.Lazarex.org. Follow us @LazarexCF.
