25,000 Louisianians

Michael Dickerson

Florencetta Gibson

Dr. Florencetta Gibson is serving in her second year on the La. Cancer Foundation Board. Florencetta is the retired Director of the Kitty DeGree School of Nursing at ULM, and currently serves in a Professor Emeritus role. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Education, and Ph. D. from ULM, and Master of Science in Nursing from University of Mississippi. She currently works as a mental health professional in a local private practice. Dr. Gibson is a past member of the Living Well Foundation Board, and a current member of the United Way Board of Directors, while serving as a founding member and Co-Director of the Witness Project of Northeast Louisiana, a breast cancer support group. Florencetta is active in her church and is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. In her spare time, she serves as a volunteer in the community, and enjoys gardening and sewing.

LaWanna Gilbert-Bell, M.Ed.

LaWanna is currently and happily a staff member with the University of Louisiana Monroe with nearly 15 years of employment. She currently holds the position of Director of the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research. LaWanna earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 2013 and a Master of Education in 2018 from the University of Louisiana at Monroe. She is originally from Lake Providence but has called Monroe home for over 20 years. She is a new member of the Louisiana Cancer Foundation Board, having been privileged to be elected to serve in May 2023.

Angela Grubbs

Angela Grubbs, Community Liaison for Glenwood Regional Medical Center. A native of West Monroe, proud alumni of West Monroe High School, and graduate of University of Louisiana, Monroe with a degree in Marketing. A former board member of the Junior League of Monroe, member of the ACTS community, and an active member of St. Paschal Catholic Church. Angela is the proud police wife to her husband, Chad Grubbs, who is a detective with West Monroe Police and busy mom to Claire and Ryker. When not busy running kids around to dance, softball, football, or soccer, she enjoys spending time with her family and traveling.

Aimee Kane

Assistant Vice President of Corporate Communications for St. Francis Medical Center

Aimee was awarded the 2007 James M. Shipp, Jr. Memorial Young Business Leader of the Year and in 2010 was named one of the "Top 20 Under 40 Young Business Professionals" by Delta Business Magazine. She is a current member of CABL, Rotary, ULM Foundation and Athletic Association, Louisiana Hospital Association, and Monroe Chamber of Commerce. Aimee is certified as a Lean Six Sigma Quality Champion and a Louisiana State Quality Examiner. She is actively involved in numerous community activities and organizations.

Deborah Joy Hardy Sawyer

Debbie is the President and Owner of Sawyer Industrial Plastics and oversees the day-to-day operations. Debbie has worked with many volunteer organizations over the years and served on numerous boards. but recently, as instrumental in forming the Manufacturing Alliance in Northeast Louisiana called NELA-MAC and developed a Manufacturing Workforce Sustainability Pilot Program called SSWAG.

Debbie has a passion for helping cancer patients of our area and was a Charter Board Member of the Louisiana Cancer Foundation as well as a Charter member of the Cancer Foundation League. Chaired multiple CFL Committees; and Developed and Chaired the Angel Wings Charity Fundraising Project and now President of the Cancer Foundation League.

A longtime resident of Monroe, Debbie is married to William D. Sawyer, Jr. with three adult children and five grandchildren.

Nell Seegers

A native of Monroe and a graduate of Neville High School and Louisiana Tech University, Nell is a member of the Jesus the Good Shepherd Catholic Church where she has served as Secretary of the Parish Council, Eucharistic Minister, and Co-Chair of the Flower Guild. She is also a member of the Monroe Garden Study League (17 years) and board member of the St. Francis Medical Center Foundation. Active in the community, Nell has held various leadership roles in several community organizations through the years. She enjoys entertaining, travel, and family time.

Donald D. Simpson, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Don Simpson is an ASCP certified Cytologist who has served in higher education administration for more than two decades and has directed funded research across multiple health sciences disciplines.

He is Past-President of the American Society for Cytotechnology; Past-Chair of the Cytotechnology Programs Review Committee; Past-Chair of the BreastCare Quality Management Committee of the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program; and a volunteer laboratory inspector for the College of American Pathologists.

He served on the Board of Directors for five non-profit organizations in upstate New York, and continues to serve the Medical Technology Professional Standards Committee for the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing School (CGFNS) International. He is currently on the board of directors for Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine Alumni Association.

Don is with University of Louisiana Monroe as Professor of Medical Laboratory Sciences in the College of Health Sciences.

Annie Staten

Lives by her motto: "If I can help someone as I pass this way, then my living will not be in vain." Annie gives "God the Glory" as a twenty five year breast cancer survivor and founder of "Celebrating Life After Breast Cancer" support group. She has served over two decades as a volunteer with the American Cancer Society, presently active in the "Reach to Recovery" program. She is a former board member of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure - Northeast/Central Louisiana Affiliate, a retired educator, and member of the Mount Zion Baptist Church in Monroe.

Marion Smith Willson

Marion is a native of Monroe La., having attended St. Frederick HS and Northeast La University graduating with a BA in Elementary Education and a Master’s in Special Education. She has taught in the Monroe City School System for 20 years as a Special Education Inclusion Teacher. She is an active member of First United Methodist Church in Monroe. She has been a member of CFL for 10 years and has served on all committees and the Executive Board. She is married to Bill Willson, and has two incredible boys. Edmund works at CNB Bank in Shreveport, and Gordon is a junior at LSU in Mechanical Engineering. Her hobbies include traveling, scrap booking, running and fitness, having already run a marathon and numerous half marathons for St. Jude’s annual fundraising run in Memphis, as well as numerous mud races. She loves teaming Charis Retreats with her church.

James Adams

Executive Director of the Louisiana Cancer Foundation and the Northeast Louisiana Cancer Institute

He is a registered Radiation Therapist and received his Bachelor of Science degree and MBA from the University of Louisiana Monroe. He received his Radiation Therapy Certification from the Central Arkansas Radiation Therapy Institute. He is a member of the Society of Radiation Oncology Administrators, a lifetime member of Beta Gamma Sigma and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. James has served on numerous boards and is past President of the Northeast Louisiana Komen affiliate.

Susie Runkle

Director of Operations of the Louisiana Cancer Foundation

Susie is an experienced leader in public relations, organizational development, and project coordination with 10+ years of experience in government service, nonprofit leadership, and strategic planning. She has a strong background in building community capacity and fostering regional collaborations of cross-functional civic groups and nonprofit organizations. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Management from The University of Arizona’s Forbes School of Business, and is an alumnus of the Municipal Official’s Leadership Institute as well as the Corporation for National & Community Service (AmeriCorps). Susie has served on a variety of boards and committees and is the past Mayor of Alamogordo, New Mexico, as well as a proud former Lady Pirate from Hicks, Louisiana.