American Lung Association’s Greater Philadelphia Leadership Board Welcomes Four New Members from Delaware and Montgomery County

New members include an ad agency chief creative officer, a registered respiratory therapist, a financial services senior vice president and a healthcare lung cancer strategy lead
Today, the American Lung Association in Greater Philadelphia announced that four local leaders have been newly elected to the Local Leadership Board of Directors. 

The Lung Association’s Local Leadership Board of Directors in the Greater Philadelphia region, which now has 15 members, helps the organization in its mission to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease. The purpose of the board is to raise the Lung Association’s profile in the community, advocate for lung health, and increase resources to fund local projects and services. Board members work alongside the Lung Association’s Rhode Island team to foster diversity, equity and inclusion in our practices, programs, and processes, as well as help to guide the Association’s local initiatives and services, public policy, research, and revenue generation.

“These new board members will be incredible assets to our local work at the Lung Association. Their insight and experience are critical to our work in the community,” said Caroline Hutchinson, Executive Director of the American Lung Association in Greater Philadelphia. “Together, our entire Leadership Board is working to help our residents breathe a little easier.”

The newly elected Leadership Board members are:
 

Steve Merino, Chief Creative Officer, Aloysius Butler & Clark, – Steve is currently the Chief Creative Officer of Aloysius Butler & Clark and collaborates with clients from many industries throughout the Mid Atlantic. He is passionate about healthy lungs and has spent the past 20 years creating public health campaigns that promote lung health and lung cancer screenings. In addition to his professional connection to healthy lungs, his concern is personal as his father-in-law has been battling state 4 lung cancer for nearly a decade. His father-in-law never smoked and struggles with not only the disease, but the stigma. 

Says Steve, “I’m looking forward to using my experience as a marketer to tell as many people as possible that anyone with lungs can get lung cancer and share information on the lifesaving work the American Lung Association is doing—locally, and across the country.” Steve is a Media, PA resident.
 

Dolores Sanders, Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT), Jefferson Health. Dolores’ medical career spans over 15 years as an RRT, working with neonatal, pediatric, acute and critical care, pulmonary functions and trauma level 1 hospitals. Her experiences have not only provided her with a professional understanding of lung health, but also a special skill set within the lung care industry.

“As a veteran registered respiratory therapist with asthmatic children, I have a great compassion for people and their families who are living with lung disease. I am looking forward to working with the Lung Association and advocating for individuals and families impacted by lung diseases.” Dolores is a Philadelphia native currently residing in Montgomery County, PA with her family. 
 

James Sanders, Senior Vice President and Relationship Manager of Commercial Lending at Univest Bank & Trust Company. James has more than 14 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to his current position with Univest Bank & Trust Company, he was vice president of commercial and industrial lending at Customers Bank. Sanders earned a bachelor’s degree from Virginia State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Temple University.

He joins the American Lung Association Local Leadership Board to share his professional expertise, leadership experience and to broaden his advocacy efforts for asthma and other lung diseases. James was diagnosed with chronic asthma at birth and will work to help raise lung health awareness. A Philadelphia native, James currently resides in Montgomery County, PA with his family.
 

Melissa Koufopoulos, Lung Cancer Disease Area Strategy Lead, Daiichi Sankyo Inc. Melissa currently works at Daiichi Sankyo as the Disease Area Strategy Team Lead for lung cancer. Prior to joining Daiichi Sankyo, Melissa worked at Merck for 22 years. It was approximately 8 years ago at Merck where Melissa’s passion for defeating lung cancer began. Melissa has a Bachelor of Science in physical therapy and a Master of Business from Boston College. Melissa is a busy mom of three children that volunteers in her community and children’s school.

Melissa is excited to join the Lung Association to find new ways to help people prevent or manage their lung diseases. She shared “supporting people and families with lung cancer has become a passion through my work. My hope is to find ways to increase awareness and, therefore, decrease the number of people affected. At the same time, those affected should know they have a community here to support them.”

If you’re interested in joining the American Lung Association in Greater Philadelphia’s Local Leadership Board and saving lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease, contact [email protected] or visit Lung.org/about-us to learn more about our volunteer leadership.
For more information, contact:

Valerie Gleason
717-971-1123
[email protected]

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