We are pleased to announce the election of eight new members and re-election of two to the Public Affairs & Marketing Network (PAMN) Steering Committee. They join the others on our board in helping to shape our organization, including our year-round and 2021 annual conference programming. Our thanks go out to them and their sponsoring cancer centers for their willingness to invest in PAMN’s future. We appreciate their commitment.
Candace E. Botnick, MS, Assistant Vice President, Oncology Service Line Marketing and Communications, RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey
Candace Botnick is a seasoned healthcare marketing and communications professional with more than eighteen years of experience in the oncology field. Following a long tenure as the Director of Communications at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey Candace was appointed to an expanded role as the Assistant Vice President, Oncology Service Line Marketing and Communications at RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute in January 2020. In this position, she is responsible for the development, implementation and oversight of all oncology-related communications and marketing efforts for the health system, the 11 individual hospitals, and Rutgers Cancer Institute, advancing the mission of New Jersey’s only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. Candace works closely with key health system executives and hospital marketing directors to develop and execute the internal and external oncology-related communication strategies to support their individual growth initiatives. Prior to joining Rutgers Cancer Institute, she served as the Public Affairs Manager for the Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute at Rutgers University.
Candace is a member of the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium Communications Working Group and recently served as its co-chair. She is also a long-time member of the National Cancer Institute’s Public Affairs and Marketing Network and serves on their Steering Committee. She is also a member of the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development, and the Public Relations Society of America. Candace has received several Telly Awards, PeRCy Awards, PRSA Pyramid Awards, Healthcare Advertising Awards, and other honors from national organizations for her marketing and public relations campaigns. Candace received her Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in communications and psychology from The George Washington University and a Master of Science (MS) in public policy from Rutgers University.
Barbara Buesse, Associate Director of Physician Services and Business Development, Siteman Cancer Center
Barbara Buesse is Associate Director of Physician Services and Business Development at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. She has been an integral member of the marketing and communications team at Siteman for more than 11 years. In her current role, Barb leads a team of three outreach coordinators and is responsible for strategic relationship development between Washington University faculty and community providers, with a dedicated focus on new business development. Working with faculty and administrative leaders, Barb is responsible for building and implementing marketing plans for programmatic growth at Siteman. Also, she works closely with members of the Siteman Cancer Network and other providers. Barb has an extensive background in managing her team’s Salesforce PRM and developing relationships with proven results.
Barb co-developed the PAMN Physician Relations Affinity Group. Through this work, she has expanded PAMN’s networking opportunities and webinar offerings to more members of cancer center marketing, physician services and business development teams. Within the affinity group, she is working to leverage expertise, optimize efforts and convert more opportunities into cancer center successes. In 2019, Barb was a presenter at the annual NACCDO-PAMN Annual Conference.
Barb earned her master of arts degree in mass communication from Lindenwood University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in mass communication with an emphasis in public relations from Southeast Missouri State University. Barb is on the board of directors at St. Andrews Senior Solutions. Through her work with this faith-based nonprofit, Barb helps to guide strategic priorities for the in-home division at St. Andrews. In her spare time, Barb spends time with her husband and their two kids. She enjoys watching her kids play sports and cheering on the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Blues.
Denise Heady, Media Relations Manager, UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
Denise Heady joined the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Center (JCCC) communications team in 2018 as the media relations manager. In this role, she leads the development and implementation of public relations and communications strategies, plans and programs in support of the cancer center. She manages communications integration throughout the institution to proactively raise awareness and enhance the reputation of the cancer center. She works closely with JCCC senior leadership and members to promote impactful scientific achievements, new members, events, honors and notable grant awards.
Denise has an extensive background in healthcare communications. Before joining UCLA, she was part of the media relations and content team at the City of Hope National Medical Center. As a media relations specialist, she led earned media efforts for scientific research, clinical advances and high-profile events. As a core member of the content team, she consistently contributed to the institution’s publications and was part of the team awarded Best Use of Social Media by Ragan’s Health Care.
Denise earned her master of arts degree in communications research from California State University, Fullerton. She earned her bachelor degree in organizational communications from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Denise was hit with the journalism bug during college, writing for the school’s newspaper and ultimately taking the helm as editor-in-chief before deciding to pursue public relations. Born and raised in southern California, Denise bleeds Dodger blue and Lakers purple and gold. She has an avid appetite for chocolate and can easily be bribed with sweets.
Max Huber, Communications and Marketing Manager, Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota
Max Huber, MBA, is the Communications and Marketing Manager for the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota. Before arriving at the University of Minnesota he was the Community Relations Manager with WCCO-TV (CBS) in Minneapolis, where he won an Emmy and worked with some outstanding nonprofit and health-related organizations to highlight their work and raise funding for their causes.
Those that know Max hold him in high regard as a marketing, public relations and communications professional. He is also highly skilled in event planning/operations, sales, relationship management and media relations. He also worked for a number of years in entertainment/sports marketing, from the team side to the vendor and arena management sides.
Max’s passion and skill set center on using his public speaking skills, as he has a background in radio, TV and event hosting. He has started to really use and utilize those skills during today’s pandemic, as he created a video interview series with some of the Masonic Cancer Center’s faculty, staff, researchers and nurses.
Max received his MBA and two bachelor’s degrees at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. While at UND he was the anchor and producer of Sioux Sports Today, a daily radio show that covered Fighting Sioux Athletics and ran across North Dakota, along with also being the co-host of Sioux Sports Extra, a weekly television program that aired locally (WDAZ), regionally and nationally (Fox Sports stations).
Amy Kleger, Marketing Manager, Penn Medicine Abramson Cancer Center
Amy Kleger is a marketing manager at Penn Medicine for the cancer and surgery service lines and has worked on the service line for seven years. She develops and executes marketing strategies focused on driving new patient volumes and preference for Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center. Her areas of focus include breast and GI cancers, plastic surgery, surgical oncology and the Basser Center for BRCA. She works collaboratively with clinical and administrative leaders, and providers to produce both patient- and physician-facing, high-impact campaigns and events. She enjoys navigating the complexities of a matrix-organization, the academic learning environment and getting to know the patients who are the core mission of the health system.
With 13 years of experience in marketing and advertising, she previously worked on the agency side as an account manager working in the pharmaceutical, healthcare and retail fields for both national and regional organizations.
Amy has been a PAMN member for six years and has benefited from meeting and learning from fellow members. She is currently a member of the Digital Communications Subcommittee and contributes through writing blog posts and creating the strategic plans and execution of PAMN’s social media accounts.
A Philadelphia native, Amy holds a B.S. in advertising and a minor in psychology from Penn State University. In her spare time, she takes yoga classes, spends time with her husband, travels and is an enthusiastic cook.
Claire Monaghan, Senior Media Relations Specialist, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Claire Monaghan is a senior media relations specialist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. In this role, she manages external communications around the clinical and research advances for the hematology, thoracic and neuro-oncology departments, among others. She collaborates closely with Institute leadership to ensure alignment of communications with strategic goals, and is continuously looking for new ways to increase visibility and recognition of Dana-Farber locally and nationally. Claire also serves as a content creator and strategist of the Institute’s social media channels, establishing Dana-Farber’s first news Twitter handle to provide a resource for both the media and medical community.
Prior to joining Dana-Farber, Claire worked for some of the world’s top public relations agencies, servicing numerous healthcare and pharmaceutical clients.
A native of North Carolina, Claire earned her B.A. from Elon University. In her personal time, she enjoys traveling, baking and catching up on her favorite podcasts.
Kim Polacek, Senior Public Relations Account Coordinator, Moffitt Cancer Center
Kim Polacek, APR, CPRC, brings more than 20 years of communications experience to Moffitt Cancer Center’s Strategic Communication Department. In her role as Senior Public Relations Account Coordinator, she provides counsel and develops communication plans for the Moffitt Research Institute, Office of Innovation and Industry Alliances and Government Relations Department. She also works closely with Moffitt’s two for-profit subsidiaries — M2Gen® and its Oncology Research Information Exchange Network® and Moffitt’s new Immunotherapy contract research organization. Additionally, Kim assists with the oversight of Moffitt’s news service, a trusted source for information about the latest news in cancer treatment and research.
A proud graduate of Florida State University, Kim began her communications career in television working as a news producer in Tallahassee, Orlando and Tampa. She transitioned to public relations in 2008 and worked for two agencies before joining Moffitt in June 2012.
These members have been re-elected:
Whitney Greene-Nymo, Executive Director, Program Development, Outreach & Communications
Stanford Cancer Institute
Whitney Greene-Nymo is Executive Director of Program Development, Outreach and Communications for the Stanford Cancer Institute (SCI). In this role, she is responsible for internal and external communications, marketing for clinical trials, community outreach and engagement and strategic planning. Prior to joining the SCI she spent seven years as Executive Director of Business Development for Stanford Health Care, where she oversaw business development for oncology, pathology and radiology. Her business development responsibilities included creating business plans for new faculty recruitments and new clinical programs and services, and providing strategic oversight for the growing Stanford Cancer Network, in partnership with physician colleagues and operational leaders. Whitney also worked closely with the Stanford Health Care marketing team on referring physician and consumer marketing initiatives, and directly oversaw physician liaisons who promoted Stanford services. Whitney graduated magna cum laude with a BA in mathematics and minor in French from Duke University, where she was also co-captain of the varsity swimming team. She received her MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Whitney has been a PAMN Steering Committee member since 2012 and is energized by sharing ideas and learning from peers at other cancer institutions.
Matthew Huesser, Enterprise Associate Director for Cancer Research Administration & Operations, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center – Jefferson Health
Matthew Huesser is the Enterprise Associate Director for Cancer Research Administration and Operations for the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (SKCC) at Jefferson Health. Serving as the cancer center communications liaison, Matthew provides oversight to marketing, public affairs and social media operations that encompass all areas of cancer relevance. With more than 15 years of marketing experience in the governmental and healthcare industries, he has developed a specialized expertise in this niche field.
As the Jefferson Health & SKCC enterprise continues to expand across the region, Matthew’s role in the communications continuum continues to expand to ensure inclusion of all cancer operations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the SKCC has been focused on developing new content and platforms, utilizing in-house resources to ensure timely and poignant messaging is delivered to patients, staff and the outlying community.
Matthew has been a member of the PAMN Steering Committee for four years. His oversight on this committee has been delegated to the Strategic Planning and Communications subcommittees, where he helps to shape the organization’s direction.
Matthew has an MBA in Business Administration with a Concentration in Healthcare Marketing and will be a doctoral candidate in Fall 2020.