Board of Visitors welcomes seven new members

Members provide advice, raise awareness and lead fundraising efforts

BY Sarah Watson

From left, BOV officers Don Evans, chair-elect; Marsha Shields, chair; Clarence Cazalot Jr., vice chair; and Jim Mulva, immediate past chair. Photo by Adolfo Chavez III

The MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors (BOV) has been advancing MD Anderson’s mission to end cancer since 1956. Members of the nonfiduciary, appointed advisory board offer advice and counsel to institutional leadership, raise awareness of MD Anderson’s world-class initiatives, lead fundraising efforts and commit their own financial resources toward Making Cancer History®.

The BOV welcomes seven new members:

Don Childress, Atlanta, Georgia
Roslyn Eckstein, River Ridge, Louisiana
Vijay Goradia, The Woodlands
Ashley Loeffler, Houston
Mary Martha Pickens, Dallas
Delia Stroud, Houston
Cynthia Erickson Zaninovich, Paducah, Kentucky

“These business and community leaders are outstanding additions to the BOV, and we are honored and excited to welcome them as ambassadors of MD Anderson,” says BOV Chair Marsha Shields, of San Antonio. “On behalf of my fellow officers and the Executive Committee, we look forward to working together to advance the institution’s mission to end cancer.”

The board formally recognized the new members at the Oct. 24 annual meeting in Houston, as well as recently appointed Life Member Wayne Gibbens of Middleburg, Virginia.

“At the beginning of each fiscal year, we are excited to welcome new BOV members who bring unique talents and expertise to this dynamic board,” says Peter WT Pisters, M.D., president of MD Anderson. “Our executive leadership team is grateful for their support and for the renewed commitment of the entire membership.”

Approximately 250 volunteers across the nation and around the world look to the guidance of the BOV’s executive leadership. FY19-20 officers are Marsha Shields, chair, San Antonio; Don Evans, chair-elect, Midland; Clarence Cazalot Jr., vice chair, Houston; and Jim Mulva, immediate past chair, Austin.

Standing committees and advisory groups offer members the opportunity to apply individual talents and expertise to advance the institution’s mission areas of cancer research, patient care, education and prevention. This year’s executive committee consists of the board’s four officers, 11 committee and advisory group chairs, and 15 at-large members.

BOV COMMITTEE CHAIRS

Clarence Cazalot, Jr., Houston: Membership and Board Development Committee
Gregg Falgout, Houston: Events Committee
Wayne Gibbens, Middleburg, Virginia: Governmental Relations Committee
Tom Johnson, Atlanta, Georgia: Public Affairs Committee
Pierre Lapeyre Jr., New York: Bylaws Committee
Don Woo, Houston: Development Committee

BOV ADVISORY GROUP CHAIRS

Mark Albers, The Woodlands: Clinical Operations and Competitive Assessment Advisory Group
Clarence Cazalot Jr., Houston: Strategic Plan Capital Allocation
Gary Gibson, Houston: Cancer Control Advisory Group
Maureen Hackett, Houston: MD Anderson Cancer Center Network Advisory Group
Linda Mays McCaul, Austin: Children’s Cancer Hospital Advisory Group