Climb for Cancer Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit foundation whose mission is to fund leading edge research for cancer treatment, while supporting and encouraging those who need treatment now.
It started when co-founder and mountain climber, Ron Farb, decided to combine his thirst for adventure with his desire to see an end to cancer in his lifetime. He has climbed five of the seven summits, the highest mountain in each of the seven continents, helping the Foundation raise almost $1,000,000 for cancer research and related support programs. In recognition of Ron's hard work and dedication, the American Cancer Society presented him with the Excalibur Award in 2001. Ron has also been featured in numerous local and state television and radio news reports, and print media.
Realizing this is not a solitary effort, Ron and Dianne Farb created the Foundation with the hope of raising even more money to accomplish their goals of eradicating cancer, while providing support for those battling the disease.
Although in 2005, cancer deaths declined for the first time in 70 years, this year over 559,650 Americans are expected to die of cancer, or more than 1500 people per day. One-in-four deaths is from cancer. Since 1990, approximately 17 million new cases have been diagnosed. In 2007, about 1.4 million new cases were expected to be diagnosed nationwide. (Statistics from the American Cancer Society Cancer Facts and Figures for 2007).
Fortunately, more than half of those persons diagnosed with cancer today will survive. That is good news, but not good enough. We've got a long way to go, and the Foundation needs your support to help save millions more from pain, suffering and an untimely death from this disease.
Cancer is a health challenge that needs to be conquered. Many of us involved in Climb for Cancer use our athletic abilities to aid in the fight against cancer. We see the name as a metaphor for rising above the challenges of the disease and overcoming the obstacles that keep people from being healthy and productive. We know this works best when people work together to conquer their personal "mountains in life."
To help in their efforts, Ron and Dianne brought together a group of like-minded, dedicated and dynamic individuals to serve on the Foundation’s Board. These individuals generously volunteer their time to further the mission of the Foundation.
Directors
Ricardo Acuna -- acuna@usta.com -- Ricardo Acuna, formerly from Santiago, Chile, is a tennis professional working with promising junior players for the US Tennis Association (USTA). A former Davis Cup player for Chile, Ricardo played on the pro tennis tour for many years. He had his finest hour reaching the quarterfinals at Wimbledon in 1985. Prior to working for the USTA, Ricardo served as head professional at the Association of Tennis Professionals National Headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Ricardo is married, with two children and Ricardo brings a wealth of experience in working with children with cancer at Camp Sunshine, a camp for children with cancer.
Carol Reed Ash, EdD, RN, FAAN -- ashcr@nursing.ufl.edu -- Carol Ash is a professor Emeritus of the University of Florida College of Nursing and Editor of CANCER NURSING: An International Journal for Cancer Care. She is the former Associate Director, Cancer Control, of the UF Shands Cancer Center. Carol received her Master’s Degree and Doctorate of Education from Columbia University. She has conducted education and research programs in skin cancer prevention and worked with nurse educators throughout the developing world to design cancer education programs in their countries.
Carol is past treasure and president of the American Association of Cancer Education and serves on the Board of Directors of Haven Hospice, and recently coordinated a volunteer program at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine.
Fred Bright -- Fred Bright is a graduate of Elon University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. He has been in both sales and management in the shoe industry for thirty-three years. Fred has been married for 37 years, has two children, and a beautiful new granddaughter. Despite a demanding work schedule, Fred volunteers his time for several charities, including Habitat for Humanity, and spending a week each summer as a counselor at Camp Sunshine, a camp for children with cancer. He is also serves as the admissions chair for the National Alumni Board of Elon University.
B. Dianne Farb -- Dianne@cfc-foundation.org-- Dianne Farb is co-founder of the Ron and Dianne Farb Climb for Cancer Foundation, Inc. Dianne is an Associate University Counsel for Research and Health Affairs at the University of Florida, and is responsible for advising the University's Institutional Review Boards and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees in legal matters involving the use of human subjects and animals in research, respectively. Dianne also provides legal services to the College of Medicine in matters of billing compliance and advises the University's Privacy Officer regarding the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Before entering the practice of law, Dianne worked in medical administration.
Dianne received her juris doctor degree, with honors, in 2000 from the University of Florida Levin College of Law. While attending law school, she was a member of the Justice Campbell Thornal Moot Court Board, and received the William C. Gaither Memorial Award for her service to the team. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature, summa cum laude, in 1997 from the University of North Florida, where she received the Award for Excellence in Literary Scholarship.
Dianne is a member of the Florida Bar, the National Association of College and University Attorneys, the American Health Lawyers Association, the Healthcare Compliance Association, the Florida Bioethics Network and Applied Research Ethics National Association.
Every member of Dianne's immediate family has had some form of cancer. Thankfully, all survived. Dianne is married to Ron, co-founder of the Foundation.
Ronald G. Farb -- ron@cfc-foundation.org-- Ronald G. Farb is co-founder of The Ron and Dianne Farb Climb for Cancer Foundation, Inc. A manufacturer's representative since 1970, Ron has traveled extensively for business and pleasure. He has visited all seven continents, and has climbed the highest peak on five of them, including Mt. Everest.
In 1991, Ron began volunteering at Camp Sunshine, a camp for children with cancer, and his life changed profoundly. Dedicated to seeing an end to this insidious disease, Ron will continue climbing the world's highest mountains to raise money for cancer research and treatment.
He is married to Dianne, co-founder of the Foundation, and has two children and two grandchildren.
Julius Gylys -- Dr. Gylys received his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Ohio University in 2000. His interests include smoking cessation, rural behavioral health, interpersonal psychotherapy, and primary care clinical and health psychology.
Dr. Gylys has previously been involved in the rural psychology training program in the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology from 2000-2007 supervising a primary care rotation at Dixie and Levy county health departments. Dr. Gylys currently supervises graduate students in a primary care rotation at the North Florida-South Georgia VA Medical Center, where he is a Staff Psychologist.
Eric Latham -- elatham@walkaboutamerica.org -- Eric grew up in Rockville, Maryland and attended high school in Abingdon, Virginia. He enrolled at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, where he received his degree in Communication Studies with a concentration in Broadcast Journalism. After a brief period abroad, he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he worked as a news producer for a local TV station.
In 2005, Eric created “Walk About America” and walked 3591 miles in 206 days across Americato promote healthy lifestyles, with an emphasis on cancer care, research, and awareness. Eric now travels the U.S. promoting “Walk About America” Cancer Awareness. When not traveling, Eric calls Bristol, VA home.
W. Stratford May, M.D. (Strat) -- Strat is an internationally recognized cancer researcher in the areas of bone marrow transplant and signal transduction and apoptosis. The first full-time University of Florida Shands Cancer Center (UFSCC) Director, he is the Harry F. Innes Professor in Cancer Research at the University of Florida College of Medicine, and has earned many awards and honors during his career for outstanding cancer research, including the Leukemia Society’s 50th Anniversary Award and 2003 Leadership Award. Strat currently serves on the executive committee of the Florida Dialogue on Cancer and was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush to the Florida Cancer Council (2004-2006).
Strat received his M.D. from Georgetown University School of Medicine and completed his internship, residency, and fellowship in Medical Oncology at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He received his PhD at the Medical College of Virginia. He began his academic career as facutly at The Johns Hopkins Oncology Center( now the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Hopkins) prior to becoming the founding Director of the Sealy Center for Oncology and Hematology and also as the Director of the Division of Hematology/Oncology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch where he was the Bill and Louise Bauer Dsitinguished Chair in Cancer Research. He came to UF in 1999 as the first full time Director of the UF Shands Cancer Center and also served as Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology in the Department of Medicine at the UF College of Medicine until 2007.
Rick Medina -- A certified property manager, Rick was the General Manager of a large planned community with more than 2500 homes and 7500 residents. In addition, he owns a company which manages over 140 residential rental units, and six homeowners associations, with six hundred homes. Educated at the University of Florida, Rick earned both a bachelors degree in English and a master's degree in business administration. Previously, he served two years as the Executive Director for the Foundation, before stepping down.
Rick has served on several charitable boards, including the American Cancer Society, and has had executive positions on each of them.
Alan R. Morrow -- Alan received his B.S. in Sociology from the University of Florida, an M.S. in Criminal Justice from Rollins College. He is a graduate of the F.B.I. National Academy, and is currently an officer with the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office in Gainesville, Florida. Alan has been on the Board of Directors of the Girls Club of Alachua County and is a past President of the Sunrise Rotary Club in Gainesville, and a past Assistant District Governor of Rotary International.
John W. Schmidt, Jr. (Bill) -- Bill received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Electrical Engineering and Master's degree in Industrial Administration from Perdue University. He serves on various charitable and property association boards in executive positions. An avid reader and classic movie enthusiast, Bill is recently retired as the Director, Corporate Legal Administration, for Tech, Inc., a software development and statistical consulting company, and president of Dinner Group, Inc., a restaurant operator, both headquartered in Gainesville, Florida.
Board Emeritus
Stephen Hunger, M.D.-- hungesp@peds.ufl.edu-- Steve Hunger is the Associate Director of Pediatric Oncology at the University of Colorado Denver, and is Section Chief for The Children’s Hospital Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. Steve was formerly an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Florida College of Medicine.
Steve received a B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He completed residency training in Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and post-doctoral research training at Stanford University.
He is an expert in the treatment of children with leukemia and directs a research laboratory focused on the molecular genetics of childhood leukemia.
Steve holds many positions in the Children's Oncology Group, including Vice Chair of the Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) Disease Committee, which designs and conducts clinical trials on which most US and Canadian children receive treatment for ALL.
He is married to Board Member Cammy Pane and has two sons.
Dave Morton -- dcmorton@hotmail.com-- Dave Morton is a guide and mountaineering instructor for Alpine Ascents International, a climbing expedition company. A long-time Northwest mountaineer, Dave has climbed extensively throughout the Himalayas, Cascades, and the Alaska Range. He is an accomplished backcountry telemark and alpine skier. Dave guides for Alpine Ascents in Asia, Alaska, the Cascades and South America.
For the past three years, Dave has guided for Alpine Ascents on Denali and has done a number of personal, highly technical climbs in the Alaska Range. Dave successfully guided Ron’s team on their summit of Denali in May 2002 and Mt. Elbrus in July 2003. With over a dozen ascents of Rainier, Dave’s experience also includes climbs in Nepal, Bolivia, South America, and a successful ascent of the coveted South Face of Aconcagua. Fluent in Spanish, Dave also leads Alpine Ascents Mexico expeditions, and instructs in the mountaineering school both in Alaska and the North Cascades. Dave guided on Aconcagua, Mexico, Cho-Oyu, Island Peak, Ama Dablam, Denali and Bolivia. Dave summitted Everest the past four years.
Dave received the coveted 2002 American Alpine Club Mountain Adventure Award.
Steve McAlister -- Steve received his bachelor’s degree from St. Andrews College with high honors and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business. He has held several domestic and international technical, sales, marketing and management positions in the chemical industry, and is currently founder and CEO of Florachem Corporation, a trading company which imports, exports, and distributes aroma and flavor chemicals worldwide.
Camille (Cammy) Pane, M.D. -- cam92460@yahoo.com-- Cammy Pane spent her first 17 years in New Jersey. She majored in Psychology at Wellesley College in Massachusetts and graduated with honors in 1982. After taking time off to do research she attended Hahnemann University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, and then did her Pediatric Residency at Stanford University in California. Cammy spent 10 years in private practice, first in the San Francisco Bay Area and then in the Denver-Boulder area.
After relocating to Gainesville she has been on hiatus from the practice of medicine, but she has been active in educating nurses, medical students and residents about breastfeeding, and recently received her M.P.H. from the University of Florida. Married to Board Member Steve Hunger, Cammy is the mother of two wonderful boys. She has had many family members and friends afflicted with cancer, as well as a number of patients. Cammy was a member of the Climb for Cancer Foundation's inaugural climb of Kilimanjaro in August, 2004. Cammy now leives in Denver, Colorado.
