TCCF Team

The Cancer Couch Foundation Team

Board Members

Thomas Scalera is President of The Cancer Couch Foundation, Treasurer of RYASAP (Regional Youth and Social Action Partnership), and CEO of Delticus Group. He is a CPA, MBA and the former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of ITT Corporation, a leading global manufacturer of highly engineered critical components and customized solutions for the transportation, energy and industrial markets. In his CFO position, he was responsible for all aspects of the Company’s financial performance and he also managed the Company’s Strategy, Information Technology and Management System functions. Mr. Scalera became CFO in 2011, as ITT was successfully completing the spin-offs of its defense and water businesses. Since then, he has provided strategic leadership for the company that has resulted in a track record of profitable investment and growth. Most notably Tom is the husband of TCCF Founder, Dr. Rebecca Timlin-Scalera, and he is honored to continue her mission to fund MBC research.

Liz Scott is the Co-Executive Director of Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer, but she is most proud of her title of “Mom” to her three sons, (Patrick, Eddie, and Joey) and her daughter Alex. Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation (ALSF) emerged from the front yard lemonade stand of Liz’s daughter, Alexandra “Alex” Scott (1996-2004) who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer, when she was just an infant. In 2000, 4-year-old Alex announced that she wanted to hold a lemonade stand to raise money to help find a cure for other children with cancer. In her lifetime, Alex would go on to raise over $1 million before she passed away in 2004 at the age of 8. Since that time, Liz and her husband Jay have worked alongside thousands of supporters across the country to carry on her legacy of hope. To date, Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation has raised more than $120 million toward fulfilling Alex’s dream of finding a cure, funding over 550 pediatric cancer research projects across North America. In addition to serving as the Co- Executive Director of ALSF, Liz also serves on the National Cancer Institute Pediatric Solid Tumor Steering Committee as well as the Editorial Advisory Board of Cancer Today.

Caryn Sullivan has been working in media for nearly two decades, ranging from promoting arena shows and sports teams to negotiating business development deals with Disney and ESPN Media Networks. After being diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer, she took her career from behind the scenes and created the award-winning blog PrettyWellness.com. Here she chronicles research, tips and stories on her overall journey embracing wellness. Caryn loves sharing the message about taking small steps toward optimal health to not only thrive but to also look and feel fabulous. She’s a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and has been interviewed on The Doctor Oz Show, HuffPostLive and local news outlets advocating for a healthy lifestyle. Her favorite job, though, is finding new green smoothies and fun fitness activities for her family.

Margaret Flynn-Khan is a founding partner of Mainspring Consulting, a national consulting firm that works with foundations, policymakers, and state and community leaders to design effective investments for families and communities. She has provided training and technical assistance to hundreds of public and private leaders around the country focused on financing and sustaining effective initiatives. She is a former Practice Group Leader for Vulnerable Children and Youth at The Finance Project, a national policy research and technical assistance organization. Margaret has conducted research and produced publications exploring funding sources and financing strategies to support education and child welfare initiatives. Margaret co-authored Adding it Up: A Guide to Mapping Public Resources for Children, Youth, and Families, which helps government and nonprofit leaders to make sense of the complicated landscape of public and private funding sources supporting services for children and families. Her recent research projects have emphasized evaluating systemic impacts, including examining the extent to which foundation investments effectively leverage resources and influence public policy and public agency practice. Margaret holds a Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Connecticut

Vivian M. Ciampi is a Principal and Founding Member at Professional Coaching LLC, an executive coaching firm in CT focussed on leadership, strategy and communications. She holds an MBA and is a PCC (Professional Certified Coach) with the International Coaching Federation. She is an adjunct professor in the graduate school at Fairfield University and also taught at CCSU and Quinnipiac University. Prior to joining these universities, she was a coach and facilitator in the Executive Education department at the Harvard Business School where she worked with executives all over the world to develop and implement strategy and hone their leadership styles. Before starting her coaching career, she worked as a Vice President at Travelers Property Casualty and JP Morgan Chase running various parts of their Product Management and Global Cash Management businesses. She has also served on the Board at Saint Vincent DePaul Mission of Waterbury, the largest homeless shelter and resource center in CT prior to joining the Cancer Couch Foundation. In addition to her role as a coach, mother and aunt, she is equally passionate about continuing her sister’s legacy to make Metastatic Breast Cancer a manageable disease. Vivian has been actively involved in the Cancer Couch Foundation since its inception alongside her late sister, Dr. Rebecca Timlin-Scalera.

Paula Cunningham is a Nurse Practitioner with over 25 years of experience in a wide variety of healthcare settings. Her early career focused in the acute care hospital setting, giving her experience in the ICU, PICU, trauma and oncology. In 2000, she began her career in the outpatient setting, where she utilized her love of research, her knowledge of cardiac care and focus on preventive care. Some of her more notable work included implementing non-invasive blood monitor systems throughout the private sector in Fairfield County and other researched-based programs aimed at improving the quality of life for patients with chronic heart conditions. In 2016, she broadened her focus to community-based healthcare, with a primary focus on the application of research and technology in the daily lives of those affected with chronic medical conditions. One of her more passionate research projects was the application of “cold cap” hair therapy for her late sister and founder, Rebecca Timlin-Scalera. In addition to being a close consultant and aid to Rebecca during her MBC treatment, Paula has been involved with the Cancer Couch since inception, organizing and leading various fundraising efforts. Currently, she works part-time with school systems in the management of diabetes, epilepsy and other chronic conditions. In addition, Paula is a mother of 4, an avid reader and lifelong researcher who enjoys skiing and hiking.

Research Advisors

Dr. George Stohr is an Interventional Radiologist with Radiology Associates of Hartford. While his career has focused on the diagnosis and treatment of many types of diseases, including cancer, his interest in breast cancer is largely a personal one. He is the surviving spouse of Samantha (Smith) Stohr, dear friend of both Vivian and Rebecca. Samantha died of metastatic breast cancer in 2010 at the age of 39. This was 13 years after her original diagnosis of Stage 2 disease when she was 26 years old. George is also the proud father of a 13 year old daughter, Alexandra.

George hopes to use both his medical knowledge and personal experiences in raising awareness of metastatic breast cancer and advancing the objectives of the Cancer Couch Foundation.

Dr. Catherine G. Takizawa PhD received her B.A. in Biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz. She completed her PhD in Molecular Biology at the University of California at San Diego under the direction of Dr. Jim Kadonaga where she studied transcriptional control of gene expression. She then completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of California at San Francisco in Dr. David Morgan’s lab where she examined the regulation of cyclin B-Cdk1 during cell division. Dr. Takizawa is an Assistant Teaching Professor at Quinnipiac University and Advising Coordinator for the dual degree BS/MS in Molecular and Cell Biology program where she educates and trains future scientists and health professionals.

Members of The Cancer Couch Outreach Team ...

Lisa Laudico

Sandra Tatroe

Kara Rizzardi