All Board Members & Chairpersons are Volunteers.
The members of the inaugural ROOTS & WINGS team took one person’s hope of helping a group in need & turned it into an unbelievable organization.
Every person generously volunteers their time so we can maximize your contribution to the Metastatic Breast Cancer community.
Your trust means everything to us & we will do everything possible to live up to your expectations as a nonprofit organization.
ROOTS & WINGS Board of Directors & Officers
Diana Keen
BOARD MEMBER
JENNY@ROOTSWINGSFOUNDATION.ORG
Jenny spent more than a decade designing and developing technology products for Fortune 500 and venture-backed software and learning companies. She currently lives in Northfield, IL with her husband and three children, where she is actively involved in the local school district. Jenny is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the mission of ROOTS & WINGS.
Jenny Damon
BOARD MEMBER
MEGHAN@ROOTSWINGSFOUNDATION.ORG
Meghan (MAGS) DeRoma is an interdisciplinary artist & storyteller. She makes, writes, designs, draws, paints, & builds thoughtful works, many of them for kids. She is always working on a variety of creative projects, like children’s books, her kid’s TOY & GAME brand Silly Street, & loads of forts with her three boys (one of whom she is married to), in Venice, California, ukulele in hand. She is thrilled to help ROOTS & WINGS make an impact in so many lives.
Meghan DeRoma
BOARD MEMBER (Inaugural), SECRETARY
CLAIRE@ROOTSWINGSFOUNDATION.ORG
Claire Holland has worked as a corporate lawyer at a large international law firm based in Chicago for the past 17 years. A highlight of her legal career has been serving as pro bono counsel to The Chicago Academy of Sciences’ Peggy Notebaert Museum & other not-for-profit institutions. She lives in Chicago with her husband & three children.
Claire Holland
BOARD MEMBER (Inaugural), Co-Captain of MOVE IV MBC
ANNE@ROOTSWINGSFOUNDATION.ORG
Anne Marques is thrilled to serve on the Board of Directors for ROOTS & WINGS Charitable Foundation. Her background is in Digital Marketing, where she spent 13 years at Google, working with Automotive, Retail, Travel & Nonprofit clients. She is currently a freelance marketing consultant and volunteers her time on her local Parks & Recreation Commission and in her children’s schools. Anne and her husband and two children live in the Ann Arbor, Michigan area.
Anne Marques
BOARD MEMBER (Inaugural), Co-Captain of MOVE IV MBC
LIZ@ROOTSWINGSFOUNDATION.ORG
Liz Moore began her career in finance before moving to the non-profit arena where she worked as the Director of Development of an adoption agency placing special needs & HIV+ children. She is a graduate of Miami University with degrees in Communications & Political Science. Liz currently resides in Connecticut with her family. Liz is committed to connecting metastatic breast cancer patients with the services & support they need to thrive.
Liz Moore
TREASURER
BETH@ROOTSWINGSFOUNDATION.ORG
Beth Szostek is honored to serve as treasurer for ROOTS & WINGS Charitable Foundation. After 15 years supporting business operations for a large global manufacturing company, she is now the Director of Operations for Bambino Sitters. Beth is a board representative for her area swim league & volunteers her time supporting other local foundations. She currently lives in Davidson, NC with her husband and their two daughters.
Beth Szostek
BOARD MEMBER
MELISSA@ROOTSWINGSFOUNDATION.ORG
Melissa Shane has extensive knowledge in the nonprofit sector with experience in fundraising, board development and management, philanthropic investment, nonprofit case support, and donor strategy. The last fourteen years of her career have been in-house at a large elite university and Illinois's most extensive hospital system. She began her career in public affairs consulting in Washington DC and Chicago, where most of her clients needed expertise in nonprofit strategy and cause marketing campaigns, sprinkled in with a bit of politics and corporate foundations. She lives in Wilmette with her husband, three daughters, and bernedoodle. Melissa is honored to be joinging the Roots & Wings' Board of Directors in 2023 and helping to expand its mission to as many patients as possible.
Melissa Shane
BOARD MEMBER (Inaugural)
ERIN@ROOTSWINGSFOUNDATION.ORG
Erin Wanke began her career in research & development at Procter & Gamble & Marketing at Arthur Andersen. Following that, she spent nine years working at a global clinical research organization, implementing & monitoring endocrine & metabolic drug trials. She became certified as a health coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in 2018 & works with clients to incorporate positive healthy changes in their lifestyle & diet. A vegetarian for over 20 years, she runs a food & wellness blog, Feed Me Greens, & teaches plant-based cooking classes.
Erin Wanke
Back Row: Erin Wanke, Heidi Pfetcher, Meghan Burke
Middle Row: Claire Holland, Liz Moore, Jenny Damon
Front Row: Jessica McCarihan, Diana Keen, Meghan DeRoma
ROOTS & WINGS Chairpersons
Jessica McCarihan
CHAIRPERSON of DEVELOPMENT
JESSICA@ROOTSWINGSFOUNDATION.ORG
Jessica is the Executive Director of A New Direction, a domestic violence agency that provides counseling, education, advocacy & support to families & individuals affected by domestic violence in the Chicagoland Area. Jessica's main focus for the last fifteen years of her life has been fundraising & development. She has worked with many organizations including the Beverly Area Planning Association, St. Barnabas School, St. Baldrick's, & Mount Carmel High School. She is married & lives with her husband & two sons in Chicago.
Erica Carlson
DEVELOPMENT TEAM MEMBER
ERICA@ROOTSWINGSFOUNDATION.ORG
Erica has extensive knowledge of employee benefits, marketing campaigns & B2B print and online advertising. She is now an advocate in her local community, public school and has thrown countless fundraising events. She also created a sponsor program from scratch to mutually benefit both their local community and neighborhood school. When she isn't volunteering she manages a few properties and enjoys live music, camping, snowboarding & golf. Erica lives in Denver with her husband & two children.
Roisin Hughes
DEVELOPMENT TEAM MEMBER
ROISIN@ROOTSWINGSFOUNDATION.ORG
Roisin is delighted and honored to be a part of the outstanding Roots & Wings Charitable Foundation team. Having lived and worked in the great city of Chicago for twenty years, she has returned to her first hometown St.Louis. Her life is enriched by countless friends, a big Irish family, and many little people who lovingly call her Aunt RoRo. Roisin firmly agrees with Nietzsche, “Without music, life would be a mistake.”
ROOTS & WINGS Advisors & Team Members
Heidi Pfetcher,
MD FAAP
ADVISOR, INAUGURAL BOARD MEMBER 2020-2023
HEIDI@ROOTSWINGSFOUNDATION.ORG
Dr. Pfetcher is a board-certified Pediatrician & Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She has been a child advocate for over 20 years. She has practiced medicine in both urban & rural settings, including academic hospital-based medicine & private practice. Committed to medical education, Dr. Pfetcher is honored to serve a foundation that supports MBC families by connecting them to complementary healing programs. She served as an inaugural Board Member from 2020-2023 and now serves as a Board Advisor. She currently lives in Chicago with her husband & two daughters.
Jana Lomax,
PSYD
PROGRAM ADVISOR & TEAM MEMBER
JANA@ROOTSWINGSFOUNDATION.ORG
Dr. Lomax is a Licensed Clinical Health Psychologist & owner of Shift Healing in Colorado. She has post-doctoral training & expertise in Psychosocial Oncology, Cancer Survivorship & Caregiver Resilience. Dr. Lomax is an adjunct Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Denver Graduate School for Professional Psychology where she trains graduate students in Health Psychology care provision. Dr. Lomax has a dedicated her career to helping individuals & families find resilience, empowerment, & meaning in the midst of dealing with a cancer diagnosis & treatment.
Katie Peters Beugg
ADVISOR & TEAM MEMBER
KATIE@ROOTSWINGSFOUNDATION.ORG
Katie worked in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry for 15 years prior to taking a career pause to spend time with her lovely family in Denver, CO. Katie is overjoyed to be contributing to ROOTS & WINGS, as breast cancer has impacted not only her dear friend Diana, but also two of Katie's aunts.
Kara Greenwell
ADVISOR & TEAM MEMBER
KARA@ROOTSWINGSFOUNDATION.ORG
Dana Wasserman
COMMUNICATIONS ADVISOR & TEAM MEMBER
DANA@ROOTSWINGSFOUNDATION.ORG
Dana is excited & honored to be a part of the ROOTS & WINGS Charitable Foundation. Having worked in medical device sales for the better part of two decades, she currently lives in Denver, Colorado. When she isn’t working, she enjoys spending time in the mountains, seeing family & friends, & enjoying all of the beauty & sunshine that Colorado has to offer.
Additional Advisors & Team Members: Meghan Burke & Lindsay Fisher
MOVE IV MBC 08.08.22
ROOT SQUAD MEMBERS
Aimee Koski
Andrea Smith
Anne Marques
Annie Heffron
Amanda Goodwille
Beth Szostek
Claire Holland
Cyndi Parr
Dana Wasserman
Danielle Tier
Deb Marks
Debbie Seale
Donna Harsh
Emil Cain Fuqua
Erica Carlson
Erin Wanke
Heidi Pfetcher
Jana Lomax
Jane Tomlinson
Jenny Damon
Jessica McCarihan
Jo A
Jo Rolland
Julie Gustafson
Kara Greenwell
Katie Beugg
Katie Garcia
Kristen Ekeland
Laura Geiger
Leslie Hinchcliffe
Lindsay Fischer
Liz Moore
Maggie Keller
Maya Trento
Meghan Burke
Meghan DeRoma
Melissa Boltz
Melissa Shane
Rebecca Johnson
Roisin Hughes
Please Consider a Donation Today
Your donation to ROOTS & WINGS allows us to assist those who are facing the hardest journey of their lives.
Together we have the opportunity to improve the quality of life for MBC patients without additional financial burden.
Even the smallest amount will make a difference in helping MBC patients to become thrivers.
We are forever grateful for your support!