Board of Directors
Nancy Roach, Chair, Board of Directors
A cancer survivor and advocate, Nancy knows how to make a difference. Nancy has been involved with the colorectal cancer community since 1996 when her mother-in-law was diagnosed with rectal cancer, and was a co-founder of the Colon Cancer Alliance in 1999. She works with the gastrointestinal research community, government agencies, elected officials and corporations, always pushing on behalf of people touched by colorectal cancer. She is affiliated with the National Cancer Institute Clinical Trials Working Group GI Steering Committee and SPORE program, and serves on the editorial board of the American Association of Cancer Research’s consumer magazine. She founded C3 in 2005 in order to provide focus, infrastructure and support to the growing colorectal cancer advocacy movement.
Alan Balch, PhD, Vice Chair
Alan is the Vice President of the Preventive Health Partnership, a coalition effort of the American Cancer Society, the American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association. Prior to this, Alan was the Executive Director of Friends of Cancer Research. Alan became involved with public health advocacy after losing his grandmother to colorectal cancer in 2003.
Greg Crafts, Treasurer
Greg’s first career involved systems and software development, starting with scientific programming for the Viking Space Mission and ending with a five year stint at Microsoft running product test teams. He has since founded a successful for-profit development company in Oregon which focuses on supplying affordable housing in a small town environment. Greg came to C3 after his mother’s diagnosis indicated a probable genetic risk for colorectal cancer.
Robert Erwin, Secretary
Bob Erwin has been active in cancer advocacy since co-founding the Marti Nelson Cancer Foundation in 1994 with his late wife, Marti. Bob served on the California Breast Cancer Research Council from 1996 to 1999, where he acted as chair from 1997 to 1999. He has served on FDA panels examining the process of drug review and approval, and has spoken on these issues in numerous advocacy and industry forums. He currently sits on the Data Safety and Monitoring Committee for Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB), a national cancer cooperative group.
Steven W. Depp, Ph.D
As a survivor of stage IV colon cancer, Steve helped found a local cancer support group and is an active advocate of research in cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment. He brings a physicist’s perspective to cancer advocacy, having retired in 2004 from IBM Research where he spent 27 years performing and directing research in the areas of displays, printers, storage and personal computers. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and has served on academic advisory boards at the University of Michigan, Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of Colorado.
Andrew Giusti Ph.D.
Andy worked as a preclinical research scientist in the biotechnology industry until he was diagnosed with stage IV colorectal cancer in early 2005. As a research scientist, Andy was the project leader on the development of a DNA vaccine for colorectal cancer, and he was also the lead scientist on a project to develop a novel molecular diagnostic platform. Upon his diagnosis with cancer, Andy sought ways to use his research skills on behalf of other cancer patients and survivors. He joined C3 as a research advocate in May 2006, and he is currently a member of the Patient Advocacy Working Group for the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project cooperative group.
Medical Review Network
- Mace L. Rothenberg, MD (Chair) Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center
- Al B. Benson III, MD, FACP Northwestern University
- Nancy Baxter, MD, FRCSC St. Michael’s Hospital, University of Toronto
- Richard M. Goldberg, MD University of North Carolina School of Medicine
- Axel Grothey, MD Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
- Heinz-Joseph Lenz, MD, FACP University of Southern California
- John Marshall, MD Georgetown University Medical Center
- Howard McLeod, PharmD University of North Carolina
- Neal J. Meropol, MD Fox Chase Cancer Center
- Edith Mitchell, MD Thomas Jefferson University
- Daniel J. Sargent, PhD Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
- Joel E. Tepper, MD University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Last Update: May 7, 2008
