Alliance Appoints New Executive Leaders to Advance Mission

The Colorectal Cancer Alliance (Alliance) announced two new additions to its executive team to accelerate its mission of ending colorectal cancer in our lifetime. Oluwadamilola (Dammie) Brown, M.D., joins as the senior vice president of mission delivery, and Tina Zeff joins as chief operating officer of the Alliance. In these roles, Dr. Brown and Zeff will play a critical part in evaluating and expanding the life-saving work of the world’s largest nonprofit dedicated to eradicating colorectal cancer.

“We are embarking on a bold, new strategic direction to increase screening rates, maximize patient support, and fuel groundbreaking research,” said Michael Sapienza, CEO of the Colorectal Cancer Alliance. “With their extensive backgrounds and expertise, we are excited to welcome Dammie and Tina to lead our efforts and expand our work even further.”

Dr. Brown brings a wealth of experience and a deep passion for healthcare to her role as senior vice president of mission delivery at the Colorectal Cancer Alliance. With two decades of work in patient care, medical affairs, and clinical development, Dr. Brown has dedicated her career to enhancing care and access to innovative new treatments across the globe. Prior to joining the Alliance, Dr. Brown held various roles at Novartis, Roche, and Sanofi. Most recently, at Novartis, she served as an Executive Medical Director, and won an award for Innovation in Equity and Diversity in Clinical Trials, recognizing her outstanding contributions to enhancing diversity in patient care. 

“I applaud the leadership of the Alliance in the colorectal cancer space, especially its health equity efforts,” said Dr. Brown. “Raising the screening rate to 80% will be a priority of mine, and a core element of achieving that goal will be reaching underserved populations with the education and resources they need to get care.”

Prior to joining the Alliance, Zeff served in leadership roles at several nonprofits, including as Chief Operating Officer of the ALS Association and Chief Executive Officer for a Metro 3 United Way organization. Zeff has more than 25 years of experience in operational strategies, systems implementation, strategic partnerships, donor relations, and strategic investments within the nonprofit space.  At the Alliance, Zeff will be responsible for overseeing and managing the organization's operations, finance, key partners and stakeholders, and data intelligence and technology. 

“The Alliance has set a strong foundation for continued progress in eradicating colorectal cancer,” said Zeff. “Working with the passionate teams and allies of the Alliance, my focus will be to create operational excellence and efficiency in order to maximize mission success.”

As the Alliance reinforces its leadership and strategic directives, it will continue to focus on important initiatives that elevate organizational goals, including Project Cure CRC and LEAD FROM BEHIND. Project Cure CRC is an Alliance initiative that aims to fund $100 million in groundbreaking colorectal cancer research for novel, cutting-edge therapies and treatments.  The Alliance’s LEAD FROM BEHIND initiative is a celebrity-driven campaign that aims to drive awareness for colorectal cancer as “The Preventable Cancer” and encourage screening.  

About the Colorectal Cancer Alliance

The Colorectal Cancer Alliance empowers a nation of passionate and determined allies to prevent, treat, and overcome colorectal cancer in their lives and communities. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Alliance advocates for prevention, magnifies support, and accelerates research. We are the largest national nonprofit dedicated to colorectal cancer, and we exist to end this disease in our lifetime. For more information, visit colorectalcancer.org.