Meet Our Team

As a breast cancer survivor Susie has a passionate commitment to supporting research aimed at ending this devastating disease. For almost 15 years she has worked as a dedicated patient advocate serving on various research and survivorship committees for local and national advocacy organizations.

Susie is interested in scientific studies that examine ways to enable women to reduce their risk of breast cancer, and in clinical trials that offer effective and less harmful treatment options.

Susie has participated in several breast cancer-related observational studies and regards it as a key component of her patient and research advocacy work that she understands current clinical trial issues and research trends that impact individuals and their families.

As a WISDOM advocate, Susie is motivated to end the confusion women feel on how often they should get a mammogram.  She is hoping this nationwide study will provide the scientific answers needed so that women will have a better understanding of their personal risk for breast cancer and will know whether they need to be screened more frequently or not.

Sandra (Sandy) Finestone, Psy.D., is a 30 year breast cancer survivor and research advocate who has been a volunteer for Susan G. Komen for over 25 years. Sandy is the Past President and Treasurer of the Susan G. Komen Inland Empire Affiliate, Past President and Race Chair of the Orange County Affiliate and serves on the Advocates in Science (AIS) Steering Committee and chairs the AIS Training Working Group.

A long-time advocate, Dr. Finestone organized a support group for husbands of breast cancer survivors. She also founded the Orange County Breast Cancer Coalition and opened the Hope Wellness Center to meet the needs of breast cancer survivors. Her advocacy knows no borders; in 2009, Dr. Finestone went to Jordan to facilitate a meeting that taught healthcare providers about support groups for women with breast cancer, and later that year, returned to the middle-east to train women in Kuwait and Egypt about support groups. She has been recognized for her work, receiving the 2002 National Komen Outstanding Volunteer of the Year for Lifetime Achievement.  She is currently on the steering committee of Komen Advocates in Science and serves as the chair of the Education and Training Working Group. Dr. Finestone reviews research grants for Komen as well as the Department of Defense, Cochrane, Avon, PCORI and the states of New York and California. She is an Ambassador for PCORI.

Diane Heditsian’s work as a patient, policy and research breast cancer advocate is informed and driven by her experiences as a four-time breast cancer patient and survivor. As a trained and engaged advocate of 18 years, she serves as a liaison among patient, advocate, research and clinician communities and as a resource to the public. She educates and empowers women on how to advocate for their own health and healthcare. Working with clinicians, researchers and legislators, she advances quality of care, participation in clinical trials, and medical science discovery. She is a frequent speaker at medical conferences, including several with Laura Esserman, MD, MBA on the WISDOM Study.  She was also the sole advocate speaker at ASCO’s inaugural Cancer Survivorship Symposium, presenting An Advocate’s Prescription for Survivorship Care.

To the WISOM Study she brings her background and skills in website and video design and creation, writing, and participant outreach, as well as her knowledge of clinical trials and health systems. She is founder and CEO of deClarity, a global life science communications consultancy which she has grown over the past 38 years. Her goal for the WISDOM Study is inclusivity so that its participants reflect the diversity of the population. She wants all women to be able to benefit from the important results of this trial.  In 2009 she joined the University of California, San Francisco, Breast Oncology Program’s SPORE (now Breast Science Advocacy Core) to help researchers bring advances to breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and prevention to the clinic. In addition to her work on WISDOM, she serves as a research advocate for the multi-center, innovative I-SPY 2 Clinical Trial, helps guide the National Coalition of Cancer Survivorship, supports academic and industry researchers through Susan G. Komen’s Advocates in Science, and is a Director of the Armenian Healthcare Association of the Bay Area, working to improve breast healthcare for the women of her ancestral home. She is a Consumer Reviewer for various grant funding mechanisms including the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Breast Cancer Research Program and Susan G. Komen. Her advocacy is fortified by trainings through National Breast Cancer Coalition Project LEAD and Research Advocacy Network, among others.

Jo Ellen currently owns her own business working as a Pilates Rehabilitation Specialist and Medical Ombudsman and Advocate.  Her past professional life has included positions as a non-medical administrator at hospitals and medical societies as well as a grant writer for funding of several outpatient psychiatric services.  Additionally, she has served as an administrator of HR departments in businesses, school districts, brokerage houses, and advertising agencies.  She has experience and expertise as an architectural and graphic designer and medical illustrator.

Her interests and volunteer time have been demonstrated in her longtime positions of leadership in local and national organizations raising funds for cancer research and education, tumor boards, arthritis boards.   As well as with organizations supporting the arts, museums, and organizations and broads which support the ethical treatment of humans and animals.

Dolores Moorehead is the Lead Client Navigator/Multicultural Client Support Clinician for the Women’s Cancer Resource Center (WCRC), a non-profit organization in Berkeley that is dedicated to assisting women with cancer in navigating the complex health care system and improve their quality of life through education and supportive services. Dolores began her tenure with WCRC as a volunteer and board member and has been on staff for 18 years. Previously, Dolores was employed for almost 13 years at the American Cancer Society as a Patient Services Manager.  She has worked with diverse populations including LGBTQIA+, African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Pacific Islanders. She is committed to improving the communication between doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals about the medical needs and access to care for diverse populations.

Dolores is involved with WISDOM because she believes in their dedication to improving breast cancer screening for all women — knowing that one-size does not work.