2024 Executive Committee
President
Michael L. Grignon, LMSW, CCM, MBA
(Term: 1/1/2024 – 12/31/2024)
Michael Grignon, LMSW, CCM, MBA, received his master’s of social work (MSW) degree from the University at Albany (New York) in 2004 and his master of business administration (MBA) degree from the University at Albany in 2009. He is a New York State Licensed master’s of social work (LMSW) and a certified case manager (CCM).
Michael’s professional social work experiences include inpatient hospice, sub-acute rehabilitation/long-term care, and as the Director of Patient Access and Education for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Upstate New York/Vermont Chapter. He has presented on topics such as cancer survivorship, the role of public policy/advocacy within the social work profession, and on the health outcomes of patient navigation. Michael has co-authored studies on the impact of COVID-19 on oncology social work practice and on core competencies of the oncology social work profession.
Michael is currently a social work case manager with a health benefits company where he provides case management, patient education and patient navigation to clients across the medical spectrum.
President-Elect
Linda Mathew, DSW, MSW, LCSW-R
(Term: 1/1/24 – 12/31/24)
Linda Mathew, DSW, MSW, LCSW-R, is a Social Work Manager at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. She has been in the field of healthcare for 22 years and is certified in cognitive behavioral therapy, meaning-centered psychotherapy, palliative and end-of-life care. Dr. Mathew earned her MSW and DSW from New York University’s Silver School of Social Work (NYUSSW). In her time at MSK, she co-created REACH for Caregivers and co-led the Talking with Children About Cancer Programs. Dr. Mathew is an antiracist practitioner and an active member of MSK Social Work Department’s Antiracism Committee. Dr. Mathew has received many leadership awards, including the prestigious Mid-Career Exemplary Leadership Award and Excellence in Clinical Practice Award from the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network and the National Association of Social Workers. She is a master trainer for ESPEC: Educating Social Workers in Palliative and End-of-life Care. Dr. Mathew serves on several professional boards, including, ESPEC and AOSW, as well as several editorial boards. Dr. Mathew has presented locally and nationally; and she is a published author. Dr. Mathew believes in giving back to the field of social work through her role as an adjunct faculty member of NYUSSW and Smith College. In her spare time, she has a private practice.
Past President
Leora Lowenthal, LICSW, OSW-C, MPA, FAOSW
(Term: 1/1/2023 – 12/31/2024)
Leora Lowenthal, LICSW, OSW-C, MPA, FAOSW, has been in healthcare for 27 years and currently works as a Senior Clinical Social Worker at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA. Ms. Lowenthal’s education includes master’s degrees in Social Work and Public Administration respectively, and a post-graduate certificate in Bioethics and the Medical Humanities. She is a Master Trainer for ESPEC: Educating Social Workers in Palliative and End of Life Care. In addition to her clinical work, Ms. Lowenthal serves on advisory councils for a variety of organizations including the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC), Cancer Support Community-Massachusetts Chapter (CSC-MA), and Cutaneous Lymphoma Foundation (CLF). She has served on the Board of Oncology Social Work Certification (BOSWC), and as past Education Director, and 2023 President for the Association of Oncology Work (AOSW). She was honored as a Fellow AOSW in 2021 for her contributions to psychosocial oncology.
Secretary-Treasurer
Briana Joyce, LCSW, MSW, OSW-C
(Term: 1/1/2022 – 12/31/2024)
Briana Kraus Joyce, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C, has served the oncology population at Moffitt Cancer Center, an NCI Designated Cancer Center for 8.5 years. She currently holds the position of Supervisor for Outpatient Social Work. In this capacity she acts as direct supervisor for 14 oncology social workers and provides weekly clinical supervision to those seeking licensure. Briana has over 6 years of committee leadership experience and brings creativity and strategic thinking into every new challenge she undertakes. Briana is dedicated to the oncology social work profession and believes strongly in the power of education and importance of professional connections. Briana joined AOSW in 2016. She has participated in national conferences as presenter and attendee. As Secretary-Treasurer, Briana works to ensure AOSW has the financial ability to advance the oncology social work profession and pursue our mission. Briana earned her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
Diversity Equity & Inclusion Director
Lailea Noel, PhD, MSW
(Term: 1/1/2022 – 12/31/2024)
Lailea Noel, PhD, MSW, is Assistant Professor at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin (UT). At the UT Dell Medical School she holds a faculty appointment in the Department of Oncology and the Department of Health Social Work, she co-chairs the Health Equity in Research Workgroup and serves on the Livestrong Cancer Institutes’ Clinical and Prevention Research Workgroup and the Breast Clinical Outcomes Workgroup. Dr. Noel has an extensive practice background with 20 years of health administration experience in the field of oncology and non-profit management. Her research interests seek to connect communities most impacted by cancer disparities with cancer care services by exploring patient-provider communication effects on psychosocial barriers to care. She has a passion for conducting community-based participatory research and has a wealth of experience engaging communities, social scientists, and medical professionals in such research pursuits. She also has been successful at recruiting members of marginalized populations into community engaged research.
Dr. Noel has been a member of the AOSW since 2012 and a member of the Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) committee since 2019. She has contributed to the creation of goals and structure for this dynamic committee. As the Board Director of DEI, she brings a wealth of energy and empathy to the position and she has a vision to help empower the membership to continue to advance the DEI efforts of the association. Through her leadership we would hope to continue to cultivate an inclusive, equitable and empowering environment for all existing, new and potential members.
Directors
Advocacy Director
Katie Tremel, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C
(Term: 1/1/2022 – 12/31/2024)
Katie Tremel, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C, has been an Oncology Social Worker the past seven years. Many of those years were spent in Radiation Oncology providing supportive services to patients, facilitating an all-cancer support group and involvement with several committees including the Cancer, Advance Directives and Ethics Committee. Most recently she serves as the Program Manager for Cancer Support Community – South Central Indiana developing and managing support programs in several counties. Her duties include counseling survivors, marketing, building and facilitating cancer programs, along with supervising facilitators and interns. Katie earned her MSW from Jane Addams College of Social Work at University of Illinois at Chicago in 2012. She has been a member of the Association of Oncology Social Workers (AOSW) since 2015. She serves as the State Representative for Indiana and is the elected Advocacy Director.
Communications Director
Jeanice Hansen, LCSW, OSW-C
(Term: 11/1/2022 – 12/31/2024)
Jeanice Hansen, LCSW, OSW-C, is a licensed clinical social worker who applies her skills in a variety of healthcare support roles in Colorado and nationally. She has worked in healthcare settings for nearly 33 years, initially in an inpatient hospital psychiatric unit, emergency department and ICU. After 10 years providing inpatient medical social work across all other hospital units, Jeanice specialized in outpatient oncology support services and also developed a collaborative program for children of parents living with cancer. She immediately pursued training as a Cancer Guide regarding integrative oncology modalities and has maintained an interest in this area of practice over the years.
In addition, Jeanice helped develop a local Patient Navigation program and NCI-funded professional training programs for Community Health Workers and Patient Navigators in 2004. She continues to be called upon to develop health-related training materials for these professionals.
Jeanice briefly worked in Hospice and Palliative Care and returned to outpatient oncology care for several more years, eventually managing a support services team for a hospital-based cancer center in Denver. She was recruited by Clearity to provide virtual support to women and families living with ovarian cancer for 2 years and continues to offer virtual support to women and families in Colorado facing breast or ovarian cancer as part of the counseling network for Unite for HER. Jeanice stepped into the position of Support Services Program Director for the Colorado Ovarian Cancer Alliance (COCA) February 2023.
Jeanice became an active member of the Association of Oncology Social Work in 2002 and volunteered to be SWON co-moderator in 2020. Jeanice has also been a long-time member of the Colorado Cancer Coalition where she recently served as co-chair of the Coalition’s Survivorship and Palliative Care Task Force for 3 years.
Education Director
Kelly Hendershot, LGSW, LMSW
(Term: 1/1/2024 -12/31/2025)
Kelly Hendershot, LGSW, LMSW, works across the Cancer Support Community (CSC) to ensure that everyone’s interactions with our network partners go smoothly. This includes helping drive innovation and increasing the reach of the network. She joined the CSC headquarters team in August 2020. As the lead liaison for patient and family programming across CSC’s growing network, Kelly ensures that programming is effectively implemented and meets quality standards. In addition to her role at CSC, she is Chair of the Comprehensive Cancer Control National Partners (CCCNP) and serves on the membership and educations committees for the Association of Oncology Social Workers (AOSW). Kelly is also a member of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW).
Membership Director
Jill Randall, PhD, MSW, LICSW
(Term: 1/1/2024 – 12/31/2026)
Jill Randall, PhD, MSW, LICSW, a social worker and researcher, currently completing a postdoctoral fellowship in cancer care delivery research at the University of Michigan. She has worked in healthcare for 15 years, with experience in various settings including inpatient, outpatient, community-based, and a national non-profit patient advocacy organization. The overarching aim of Jill’s career is to elevate the role of oncology social workers and expand psychosocial care for patients and their families. Connections with other oncology social workers have sustained her throughout her career, and AOSW has been vitally important for facilitating these connections. As Membership Director, Jill desires to see AOSW grow and continue to be a place where social workers find enduring connections that nourish them and help them grow professionally.
Research Director
Amy Corvelyn, MSW, LICSW
(Term: 1/1/2024 – 12/31/2026)
Amy Corveleyn, MSW, LICSW, is a clinical oncology social worker. She has worked with cancer survivors and their families for more than 18 years. She is currently a Clinical Social Work Lead for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Amy was the Associate Director of the Collaborative Care and Community Engagement Program at the MGH Cancer Center. She served as the social work case manager and co-investigator for the Bridge Trial. This is the first randomized clinical trial that studied how to improve cancer outcomes for patients with cancer and serious mental illness. Amy is also a member and founder of the Engage Initiative, a collaborative that seeks to ensure that mental health is never a barrier to cancer care. Amy is an active member in the Association of Oncology Social Work (AOSW). She serves as the chair of the Research Special Interest Group. In 2024, she began her tenure as the Research Director on the AOSW Board.
Director-at-Large – State Representatives
Amy DePaolo, MS, LCSW, OSW-C
(Term: 1/1/2024 – 12/31/2026)
Amy DePaolo, LCSW, OSW-C, is currently the outpatient oncology social worker at Danbury Hospital/Nuvance Health and has worked in oncology for over 17 years. Prior to her position at Danbury Hospital, she was the Director of Program & Delivery at Gilda’s Club Westchester. Amy specializes in outpatient oncology support services for adults and has extensive experience in developing and evaluating psychosocial support programming for individuals and families impacted by cancer. She serves on several committees including Breast Leadership, the Community Cancer Collaborative, and is Psychosocial Coordinator for the Nuvance Health Cancer Institute, ensuring that all cancer program sites meet CoC accreditation requirements. She has been a member of AOSW since 2011 and previously served as CT State representative. Amy currently serves on the AOSW Membership Committee and is also President of the Board for the Connecticut Social Work Oncology Group. Amy received her MS in Social Work from Columbia University.
Director-at-Large – Special Interest Groups
Chelsea Kroll, MSW, LMSW, OSW-C
(Term: 1/1/2023 -12/31/2025)