Colorectal Cancer Coalition

Colorectal Cancer Coalition Staff

You may contact any Coalition staff member by sending an email to FirstName.LastName@FightColorectalCancer.org.

Carlea Bauman, President: Carlea brings over 15 years of experience in communications, politics and advocacy to the Coalition. As the National Director of Grassroots Advocacy for the American Diabetes Association (ADA), she directed ADA’s “Call to Congress: Conquer Diabetes,” which brought hundreds of diabetes advocates to Capitol Hill each election year. Prior to that, she was the Press Secretary for the groundbreaking Florida “Truth” Campaign, an initiative that resulted in a 10 percent drop in teen smoking within a single year. Her passion for health advocacy is personal: she lost her mother to diabetes and her father to cancer. Carlea got her start in politics working for the late Florida Governor Lawton Chiles and later at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in Washington, DC. She sits on the Board of Directors for the Education Network to Advance Cancer Clinical Trials and the Advocacy Board for the Ruesch Center for Gastrointestinal Cancers at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. Carlea is a proud graduate of Florida State University and resides in Northern Virginia with her husband and daughter.

Judi Sohn, Vice President of Operations: Before joining the Coalition, Judi was using her BFA in Graphic Design from the Savannah College of Art & Design to help small neighborhood nonprofit organizations with their visual and technology challenges. The work became a personal passion when her father died of colon cancer, and she accepted a full-time position to help start the organization in 2005. Under Judi’s leadership, while keeping the organization’s operating budget low, she manages and supports a wide variety of cloud-based tools that help the organization better communicate and operate. Judi enthusiastically shares her honest, real-world experience working with these emerging platforms with the broader nonprofit technology community through social media, as co-moderator of the Nonprofit Salesforce online listserv, and as a presenter at conferences. Judi serves on the Board of Directors of the Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network (NTEN).

Ben Basloe, Director of Development: Ben brings over eight years of experience in the nonprofit field.  Most recently, he spent four years with the American Diabetes Association as a special events fundraiser; responsible for the America’s Walk for Diabetes, Annual Golf Outing and the Father of the Year Awards Dinner.  Prior to the ADA, Ben worked for more than four years with the NFL Players Association’s legal department. In 2001, Ben participated in the Washington, DC Light the Night Walk benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, in honor of his father whom he lost to cancer in September 1998.  He was the largest individual fundraiser, raising more than $10,000.  He was then asked to sit on the Leukemia & Lymphoma’s Light the Night Committee for the 2002 Light the Night Walk.  Ben graduated from American University in Washington, DC in 1998 and currently resides in Arlington, VA with his wife, Mary Elise, teenage stepson Grayson and his 4-year-old son Aidan.

Kate Murphy, Director of Research Communication: Kate Murphy is a 25-year colorectal cancer survivor committed to providing easily understood information for colorectal cancer patients and their families. As an advocate, she provides a voice for patients in many national settings. Knowledge, she says, can break the desperate cycle of helplessness and hopelessness. She currently serves as listmom on ACOR.org’s colon cancer discussion list and writes and edits the Coalition’s popular Research News & Events Updates at www.FightColorectalCancer.org/news. As a research advocate, Kate sits on numerous patient advocate committees, has participated in AACR’s Scientist<->Survivor program, and represents the Coalition at meetings across the globe.

Kim Ryan, Director of Patient Information Services: Kim’s 15 plus years of experience within the pharmaceutical industry makes her an incredible asset to the Coalition team and to the development and management of Coalition’s Answer Line at 877-4CRC-111 (877-427-2111). Her expertise ranges from patient advocacy to sales and marketing to product distribution and communications – primarily within the oncology arena. The Coalition welcomes her breadth of knowledge regarding colorectal cancer as well as her personal passion for helping patients gain valuable information about their diagnoses and treatment options. Her commitment to the Coalition stems from not only her previous work experience, but from personal loss: Kim’s father, Lt. General Martin J. Ryan, Jr. (USAF, Ret), died from colon cancer in 2005.

Catherine Knowles, Director of Policy: Catherine manages the Coalition’s policy outreach on Capitol Hill and its grassroots advocacy program. She is also responsible for coordinating the Coalition’s annual Call-in Congress grassroots training and lobby day. Prior to joining the Coalition, Catherine served as a Congressional aide; first to Congressman Zach Wamp (R-TN) and subsequently to Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-TX) who is the author and primary sponsor of the Colorectal Cancer Prevention, Early Detection, and Treatment Act which would put in place a national colorectal cancer screening and treatment program. In addition to her Hill experience, Catherine has worked for the Federal Communications Commission, the National Telecommunications & Information Administration as well as two DC law firms. A native of Washington, DC, she has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and psychology from Boston University and a law degree from Indiana University-Bloomington.

Jerri Lyn Mooney, Office Manager:  Jerri Lyn brings more than eight years of experience as an office manager to the Coalition and her background and expertise make her a valuable resource in handling the day-to-day activities of the organization. She is also well aware of the impact of cancer having lost her father in December 1999 to liver cancer. Most recently, she served as the office manager of TD Promotions and was with CSC Scientific Company before that, both based in Northern Virginia. Her current responsibilities include processing all financial transactions, maintaining the Coalition’s database and ensuring data accuracy, fulfilling constituent product orders and numerous other responsibilities to make sure the office runs smoothly. Outside of work, Jerri Lyn is an active member of Society for Creative Anachronism and resides in Fairfax, VA with her 17-year old son Jacob and 2-year old son Ben.

Last Update: August 1, 2010