Meet Our Team

Associate Director, Community Outreach and Engagement

I am Senior Associate Dean of Community Engagement and Equity in Research, Associate Director of Community Outreach and Engagement for Atrium Health/WFCCC, and Associate Director of Community Engagement, Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity, within Wake Forest School of Medicine. As a health equity researcher and strategist, I focus my collaborations and research on addressing systemic and structural racism and implicit bias in research and healthcare and advancing the science and practice of community and academic-health partnerships to advance health equity. I work closely with diverse community partners to develop innovative interventions and models to: (1) facilitate community and academic partnerships to shape all aspects of research and health services, (2) integrate community leaders, members, and patients as experts, colleagues, and advisors in strategic prioritizing and programming, and (3) increase and broaden diverse representation in clinical research participation and in the research workforce. In my work, I center the voice and perspectives of historically marginalized populations to have the greatest impact toward advancing health equity.

Director, Office of Cancer Health Equity
Assistant Director, Community Outreach and Engagement

Carla has a master's degree in International Studies and over 20 years of experience in oncology education, research, health policy and health disparities. She provides oversight and guides operations for OCHE, as well as leading grant-writing and community capacity-building efforts. She is also a leader for the Cancer Center's community outreach and engagement activities and supports CCC members' research endeavors.

In addition to her professional experience, Carla has personal, cultural and linguistic connection to the Hispanic community and is a two-time young adult cancer survivor. She serves as a patient advocate in the community and academic oncology setting and has spent over a decade working with non-profit organization that support cancer survivors. She brings a unique first-hand perspective to her oncology work and contributions to OCHE.

Manager, Community Outreach

Maria Alejandra is from Venezuela and has a background in law which has allowed her to advocate for underserved populations after she moved to the United States. She initially joined our Office of Cancer Health Equity as a Population Health Navigator, and currently, she oversees the planning, development, and implementation of community outreach projects. Maria Alejandra has almost a decade of experience as a healthcare professional serving diverse, underserved populations, and underrepresented communities. Maria Alejandra is committed to building meaningful partnerships with community-based organizations, local healthcare providers, and other stakeholders to strategically combine health policy efforts, increase cancer prevention awareness in our communities, and provide access to cancer screening opportunities for vulnerable populations.

Maria Alejandra's experience serving cancer patients sparked her desire to professionally grow in the counseling field. She is currently a graduate student at Lenoir-Rhyne University to obtain her master's degree and become a clinical mental health counselor to continue supporting cancer patients.

Manager, Population Health Navigation

Emily Copus oversees the services provided by OCHE’s population health navigators for underserved and underrepresented patient populations. She also contributes to the planning and development of navigation programs and projects. From her previous role as OCHE’s rural patient navigator, Emily understands the importance of providing culturally and linguistically appropriate support to ensure that patients’ barriers to care are addressed.

Her education includes a master’s degree in Social Work from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a BA in Psychology from Appalachian State University. Additionally, she is a certified oncology patient navigator through the Academy of Oncology Nurse and Patient Navigation (AONN).

Program Manager, AYA

Abbie Mauney graduated from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a BS in Public Health and spent over a decade working in the non-profit sector. As a program manager with OCHE, she is committed to providing cancer health equity for all adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients and their families. She is passionate about improving quality of care for AYAs, from diagnosis through survivorship and end-of-life care, by developing resources to support the psychosocial, financial and educational needs of patients and their families.

In addition, Abbie is an adolescent cancer survivor. As a former patient at Brenner Children's Hospital, she brings a unique perspective to her work with OCHE. She leads survivorship groups, mentors young adult patients and serves as a patient advocate in the community.

Oncology Patient Navigator

Alexis Daniels helps African-American cancer patients navigate the medical system. With personal connection to African-American community, she brings cultural competence and sensitivity to the individualized assistance she provides for patients, their families and caregivers. She helps ensure patients’ access to timely and optimal cancer care, and she also serves as a community liaison, working closely with community-based organizations and churches to address community and educational needs related to cancer.

Alexis has over 15 years of experience in human services, in areas including mental health, law enforcement, counseling, case management and advocacy. She received her MS and BS in Criminal Justice from Grambling State University.

Oncology Patient Navigator

Carrie Galloway helps patients and families from rural areas navigate the health care system and their experience with cancer care. She addresses barriers to cancer treatment related to the distance between rural patients’ homes and the Cancer Center and helps ensure that patients have resources and support for meeting social, emotional and financial needs. She has prior navigation experience at AHWFB with breast cancer patients and with a transitional care program and has been a social worker with Hospice and Palliative Care Center (now Trellis Supportive Care) and Wake Forest Outpatient Dialysis.

Because of family members’ cancer, Carrie especially values the opportunity to support cancer patients’ wellbeing. She trained at Harold P. Freeman Patient Navigation Institute, and her education includes a master’s in Social Work from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, BA and MA in English from Wake Forest University and PhD in English from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Oncology Patient Navigator

In her role as Bilingual Oncology Patient Navigator, Gilda Cowan works primarily with Hispanic/Latino patients undergoing cancer treatment, their families, and their caregivers. She works closely with the healthcare team and connects patients with appropriate resources, while providing culturally and linguistically competent services to address and reduce barriers to care. Gilda’s passion for addressing health inequities and making a difference in her own community drew her to the healthcare field over ten years ago. She has gained experience through both work and volunteer activities, and she maintains partnerships with community-based organizations. Gilda graduated from Salem College with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and obtained the Interpreting in Health and Human Services Program Certificate of Completion at Forsyth Technical Community College. She has completed training in Oncology Navigation and continues to gain knowledge through coursework to stay up to date. She served as a community member for NC CEAL Hispanic/LatinX CRT and is a member of the Academy of Oncology Nurse and Patient Navigation (AONN).

Project Manager

In her role as project manager, and as an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, Charlene works with NC tribal communities through educational outreach, community-engaged research and advocacy programs. She is also manager of the North Carolina American Indian Health Board, housed in OCHE. Her areas of interest are improving the health of tribal communities through access to care and addressing social determinants of health. She helps lead pipeline training programs for underrepresented high school and undergraduate students to help ensure a diverse health care workforce to meet the needs of underserved communities. Her areas of educational training and specialty are education and community engagement. She has a BA from Salem College and is working on a master’s in Public Health, with concentration in Indigenous Health, from the University of North Dakota.

Pre-diagnosis and Screening Navigator, COE

Ashley Gonzalez started at AHWFB by helping patients with the manufacturer copay assistance program and then joined OCHE as a financial navigator and member of the population health navigation team. She then transitioned into a screening navigator role within the Community Outreach and Engagement portion of OCHE. Currently, she works within the community increasing access to cancer screenings by providing education surrounding available resources to such cancer screenings and subsequently enrolling patients into appropriate programs.

In addition to increasing access to cancer screenings and early detection, she also addresses social barriers to care and assists patients in establishing a medical home to create accessibility to routine care and wellness. Ashley has an AAS in Medical Office Administration from Guilford Technical Community College and is a certified medical coder. She is currently working on a BA in Philosophy at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Program Manager, Community Tobacco Cessation

With a PhD in Social & Behavioral Science and as a Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist, his work has included providing behavioral health and substance abuse therapy to individuals, families, couples and groups. Dr. Lamkin obtained his certification as Tobacco Treatment Specialist, and in his role, he provides education, information, resources, and support to individuals and groups on the causes, effects and contributing factors associated with cancer and tobacco use. The goal is to help prevent tobacco use, reevaluate decisions in those who are currently engaging, and ultimately reduce the use of tobacco across our catchment area.

Dr. Lamkin has worked as an agent for change in various capacities throughout his career and has a demonstrated passion for assisting others. On college campuses he has served as prevention specialist and sport psychologist serving as a direct support to professional, amateur and student athletes both on and off the playing surfaces.

Program Manager, Community Outreach and Engagement

Nora Toncel is Program Manager for the Office of Cancer Health Equity (OCHE). In her role, she develops and lead strategic community outreach and engagement initiatives to expand prevention and early detection interventions, while supporting community engaged research, educational programing, and cancer control strategies among underserved populations.

As someone whose work to date has been focused on increasing health equity and upward mobility for vulnerable populations, Nora is committed to all community engagement efforts to improve health through education, advocacy and empowerment. Areas of interest and research include functional and holistic medicine, nutrition, and physical activity.