Mentoring Minds That Matter

Since November 2020, Legacy of Hope has partnered with West Oak Lane Charter School to create a student leadership program that teaches middle school students skills in entrepreneurship, accounting, and communication, among other essential leadership skills. Eighth grader, Noah Hadaway, and seventh grader, Ajah Brown, are two students currently enrolled in the program. For the past two months, they’ve been working on a project that will bring assistance to a teacher at West Oak Lane who has been affected by cancer. As they help this teacher with grocery delivery and home repairs, the students will apply the skills in financial accounting, communication, and leadership that they’ve learned throughout their time in the mentorship program. Brown says of their work so far, “We’ve been trying to help the family of someone who has cancer. We’re getting repairs on their house, working with balances to figure out how to save money, and writing letters to people in the community to help us. We’ve also made shirts so that we can raise money to fund all of this.”

The students in the program are just as passionate and driven as they are hard working. Brown and Hadaway both agreed that the most rewarding part of the program is the experience and the skills they have gained through it. “I think the experience is the best part. I’ve never done anything like this before, it’s fun to know that you can help somebody. It helps with learning teamwork skills. You learn a lot about money and negotiating — overall the experience is very helpful,” explained Ajah. Noah added on, mentioning “My favorite thing about the program is the marketing and communication skills [I’ve gained]. I had poor communication skills before this, and I feel like I’ve gotten way better at communicating with others.” They both highlighted the impact the program has had in preparing them with skills to work effectively in professional environments and in leadership positions, paving the way for future opportunities they might find themselves in. Brown mentioned that she would like to be an oncologist when she grows up, stating that she always knew that she wanted to be some kind of doctor, while Noah would like to be a stock trader, taking a particular interest in the business decisions and planning aspects of the program.

The students of West Oak Lane in this mentorship program put these skills to practice as they network and connect with different partners in their surrounding community. Collaborating with them are various members of the Philadelphia community, most notably the Philadelphia Police Department and the local Shoprite. Noah and Ajah explained that with their monetary budgets, there were important decisions that had to be made regarding spending. When faced with the choice of hiring Shoprite workers to deliver groceries to their teacher in need or to coordinate a free drop-off by the Philadelphia Police Department, the students said that saving money by negotiating a free dropoff was the obvious solution. The students are also working on their negotiation skills by writing business letters to local businesses. Just this week, Noah, Ajah, and the rest of the students were able to waive $1700 worth of fees for their teacher’s house repairs by sending letters to their school’s CEO and director of development, asking them to offer free advertisement of ,Price Contracting’s business in the school newsletter in exchange for waiving labor costs on home repairs. When it comes to making decisions and negotiations like these, Noah and Ajah explained that it really is a group collaboration, that they brainstorm and make decisions as a group. Noah explained the dynamic when talking about their work with the police department by saying, “We set up Zoom meetings and we discuss how we can contact the police department, write our business letters, and also how to present ourselves, because [presentation] is a main part of the project.”

Just like most other organizations, Legacy of Hope’s mentorship program has had to adapt to a largely virtual environment in the past year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Noah and Ajah said that while this new way of communicating has posed some challenges, the group has been able to overcome and adapt to the online platforms. Ajah, Noah, and all the students involved in Legacy of Hope’s mentorship program will continue to transform lives for the better in the coming months and years. The hope is that this program will provide these students with the skills and lessons they need to grow into the leaders that strengthen the communities in which they live. Legacy of Hope helps them accomplish this by providing them with the real world experiences they need to utilize these skills by connecting them with projects that aid members of their community affected by cancer. You can help contribute to the ongoing success of this program too. If you’d like to make a contribution to their efforts, consider buying a t-shirt from the students of the mentorship program or donating money directly to their cause. For more information on donations, visit Legacy of Hope’s ,online store to purchase a shirt or donate directly to this program here.

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Elliott Sina

Elliott is a medical student at Thomas Jefferson University’s Sidney Kimmel Medical College, driven by a commitment to advancing care for cancer patients through clinical insight and research. He leads Legacy of Hope’s research initiative, evaluating the impact of the Emergency Patient Support Network on patients’ quality of life. Through his efforts, Elliott aims to amplify Legacy of Hope’s mission, combining patient-centered care with meaningful, data-driven advocacy.

Mike 2

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Dr. Claudia Capparelli, PhD

Affiliations: Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center

Education: PhD, University of Calabria, Cosenza, Italy – 2011

Focus & Impact:  Focus on the role of the SOX10 transcription factor with regard to tumor cell heterogeneity and plasticity across multiple genotypes in melanoma. Investigating how SOX10 plasticity/heterogeneity affects the response to MEKi and anti-ErbB3 combinations in WT BRAF melanoma patients. 

Publications: Publications Link

Honors & Awards:

  • Legacy of Hope Merit Award

  • Outrun the Sun Melanoma Research Scholar Award

  • Unical Fellowship Visiting Scholar

  • International Pigment Cell Conference Travel Award

  • Best Poster Presentation, Ninth Annual Jefferson Post-doctoral Research

  • INPDAP Fellowship for Student Merit 

  • University of Calabria Fellowships for Student Merit 

Dr. Qing Chen, M.D., Ph.D.

Affiliations: The Wistar Institute, The Chen Laboratory, University of Maryland

Education: PhD,Immunology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, State University of New York at Buffalo (Dean’s Award for outstanding dissertation) – 2006

Focus & Impact:  Focus is on the molecular mechanisms of brain metastasis originating from primary tumors like breast cancer, and the interplay between cancer cells and the stromal cells that populate the brain microenvironment. 

Publications: Publications Link

Honors & Awards​:

  • Legacy of Hope Merit Award

  • Jayne Koskinas Ted Giovanis Foundation for Health and Policy Award

  • Susan G. Komen, CCR Basic/Translational and Clinical application

  • The V Foundation for Cancer Research Award

  • Dissertation Research Award, Susan Komen Breast Cancer Foundation 

Nia Andrews

Bio Coming Soon

Rebecca Blinn

Bio Coming Soon

Carol Sollenberger

Bio Coming Soon

Maree Lavo

Bio Coming Soon

Bryan Lathrop

Bio Coming Soon

Kimberly S. Reed

An award winning international speaker, author, corporate trainer and diversity, equality and inclusion executive, nationally recognized thought leader, expert, strategist and advisor to some of the world’s most influential organizations in global professional services, health care, financial services, consumer products and pharmaceutical industries.

Kimberly is a seasoned leader in transforming organizations into high-performing enterprises and challenging leaders to live without limits, with more than 20 years of HR, talent acquisition, and diversity & inclusion experience; successfully turning around troubled diversity practices by designing, building, leading, and shaping high-performing cultures at global organizations with robust strategies, global employee development programs and enterprise-wide initiatives that have increased revenue growth and organizational brand eminence.

Michele Redrow

Michele is a Director on the Legacy of Hope board and also serves on the Executive Committee.

mary chicorelli

Professional:  Mary is a certified city planner for Philadelphia, a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association as well as the Philadelphia Bar Association, and the Pro Bono Honor Roll First Judicial District of Philadelphia.

Bio: Mary’s insight into the legal world is invaluable to Legacy of Hope, both in keeping our daily operations moving fluidly as well as making connections for our patients and their families when needed.

“Michael reached out to me about 2 years ago through mutual friends. We worked together to help a woman with stage 4 cancer get her electricity turned back on after it was shut off during the winter. I’ve been 100% supportive of Mike’s vision since then.”

joseph ruggieri, jr

Education: Bachelor’s of Science from West Chester University in Management and Finance

Bio: As a member of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.’s upper management team, Joseph brings a wealth of knowledge regarding finances, management, team-building and planning to the Legacy of Hope board. Joseph linked up with Michael, our President, and Wells Fargo began supporting Legacy of Hope annually.

“My father passed away from what started as Colon Cancer in 2015. Cancer is horrible and if there is something I can do to help others impacted I would want to be a part of it.”

David April

David is the founder of the Fishtown Beer Runners, an organization with chapters all over the world based here in Philadelphia.

dr. kevin kelly

Dr. Kevin Kelly leads Legacy of Hope’s Scientific Review Board to seek out and support the most promising cancer research in Philadelphia using a merit-based system.  He is Jefferson’s Director of Solid Tumor Oncology.

greg garber

Greg Garber is the director of Oncology Support Services at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center.

Gina Mancuso

Gina’s experience as the very successful co-owner of CoreFitness, LLC coupled with her expertise in planning special events makes her the perfect Vice President for Legacy of Hope. With energy, passion, and drive that makes her seem superhuman, Gina’s connection to our mission is a personal one.

“Both my father and my dear childhood friend were diagnosed with cancer within 3 months of one another. They were surrounded and supported by friends and family throughout their battle and until their passing. No one should suffer through a diagnosis alone and, without Legacy of Hope, some people would do just that.”

Michael Rowe

Awards:

Volatile Media Management’s Mover, Shaker, Changemaker Award – February 2017

Miles Mack Community Services & Leadership Honorable Mention – 2016 TJUH Emergency Department Technician of the Year, Physicians Choice Award – 2015

TJUH Emergency Department Technician of the Year, Physicians Choice Award – 2014

Bio:

With his free time so limited, Michael manages to fuse his work with his other passion: running. Whether it is with the Fishtown Beer Runners, our own Team Relentless Hope, or his closest friends, Michael can often be spotted on the streets of Philadelphia keeping himself fit and active.