Boston Young Professionals of the American Cancer Society
YPACS Boston is a community-based volunteer group of young professionals dedicated to assisting the American Cancer Society in saving lives, celebrating lives, and leading the fight for a world without cancer.
What We Do
Network. Learn. Engage. Fundraise.
YPACS Boston empowers and engages emerging leaders to network and build relationships while spreading awareness about early detection and prevention of cancer as well as the need to support cancer patients and their families through American Cancer Society programs like Hope Lodge, Road to Recovery and the National Cancer Information Center.
Together, we execute a variety of events and activities all year long to achieve our goals that include:
- Attend Lobby Day with ACS CAN
- Partner with local networking groups to bring a volunteer piece to their event
- Meet with companies in the area to provide opportunities for their employees to give back
- Promote ACS fundraising initiatives in Boston
- Participate or volunteer for ACS fundraising events in the area
- Plan and execute two signature events that raises money for the American Cancer Society
We value each of our member's personal experiences and expertise and strive to ensure we are accomplishing everyone's own goals when joining YPACS Boston.
Sign up to receive our monthly newsletter to stay up to date on what we are doing.
Interested in learning more about how to get involved?
Events
Thank you to everyone who came out to our inaugural Rosé Soirée in early October! We raised over $40,000 for the American Cancer Society's Hope Lodge!
Our Leadership
Members of YPACS Boston are exposed to the American Cancer Society's network of more than 2 million volunteers worldwide. They are also given the opportunity to learn from experts in the field as well as one another, and opportunities to engage in service. This group also plans and supports a signature event to help raise funds for the important work done by the American Cancer Society.
Our structure consists of a President and Vice President who work closely with an ACS staff partner and oversee the Secretary and five Directors. Each Director works with a committee of young professionals that work on different areas to help us achieve our goals. Leadership positions are renewed every fall, while committee members are welcome to join at any time.
We love and welcome new members always- so if you are interested in getting involved, please join us!
Donnie Todd- President
Donnie has been with JetBlue for over ten years and currently oversees and maintains the daily operation of 150 flights and 500 crewmembers. A native Bostonian, having attended Fisher College, Donnie is currently enrolled at Thomas Edison University. Aside from these daily functions, Donnie serves as the Liaison for JetBlue’s Corporate Social Responsibility in Boston. He plans and executes local large-scale volunteer initiatives and engages customers and crewmembers in volunteering, while also creating partnerships with local non-profits, major sports teams/ venues, and local law enforcement/state officials. Donnie helps deliver JetBlue’s mission to inspire humanity – both in the air and on the ground while committing to give back in meaningful ways in the communities JetBlue serves and to inspire others to do the same.
Christine Schepeler- Vice President
Christine began her career in education teaching middle and high school math, science, technology, and economics in Phoenix, Arizona as a member of Teach for America. She taught 7th grade science at Boston Collegiate Charter School before she became the Director of Math and Science for the Sposato Graduate School of Education (SGSE) in Boston. SGSE is a nontraditional graduate school focused on preparing unusually effective first year teachers for high-performing, high-need (urban) settings. In this role she leads the coaching, coursework, training, and development of all secondary (grades 6-12) STEM teachers. Christine has a B.A. from the University of Michigan (she was the 50th person on her mother’s side to graduate from Michigan), and a Master’s in Secondary Education with a concentration in mathematics from Arizona State University.
Bridget Ryan- Secretary
Our Leadership
Members of YPACS Boston are exposed to the American Cancer Society's network of more than 2 million volunteers worldwide. They are also given the opportunity to learn from experts in the field as well as one another, and opportunities to engage in service. This group also plans and supports a signature event to help raise funds for the important work done by the American Cancer Society.
Our structure consists of a President and Vice President who work closely with an ACS staff partner and oversee the Secretary and five Directors. Each Director works with a committee of young professionals that work on different areas to help us achieve our goals. Leadership positions are renewed every fall, while committee members are welcome to join at any time.
We love and welcome new members always- so if you are interested in getting involved, please join us!
Donnie Todd- President
Donnie has been with JetBlue for over ten years and currently oversees and maintains the daily operation of 150 flights and 500 crewmembers. A native Bostonian, having attended Fisher College, Donnie is currently enrolled at Thomas Edison University. Aside from these daily functions, Donnie serves as the Liaison for JetBlue’s Corporate Social Responsibility in Boston. He plans and executes local large-scale volunteer initiatives and engages customers and crewmembers in volunteering, while also creating partnerships with local non-profits, major sports teams/ venues, and local law enforcement/state officials. Donnie helps deliver JetBlue’s mission to inspire humanity – both in the air and on the ground while committing to give back in meaningful ways in the communities JetBlue serves and to inspire others to do the same.
Christine Schepeler- Vice President
Christine began her career in education teaching middle and high school math, science, technology, and economics in Phoenix, Arizona as a member of Teach for America. She taught 7th grade science at Boston Collegiate Charter School before she became the Director of Math and Science for the Sposato Graduate School of Education (SGSE) in Boston. SGSE is a nontraditional graduate school focused on preparing unusually effective first year teachers for high-performing, high-need (urban) settings. In this role she leads the coaching, coursework, training, and development of all secondary (grades 6-12) STEM teachers. Christine has a B.A. from the University of Michigan (she was the 50th person on her mother’s side to graduate from Michigan), and a Master’s in Secondary Education with a concentration in mathematics from Arizona State University.
Bridget Ryan- Secretary
Bridget has been a teacher in the Boston Public Schools for the past 12 years, working at both the Washington Irving and currently, the John D. O'Bryant. At the O'Bryant, Bridget teaches 8th grade Civics, 12th grade AP Government, and is the 8th grade Lead Teacher. She is also the Varsity Soccer and Softball coach at the O'Bryant. During the summer, Bridget works for Save the Harbor/Save the Bay, a non-profit environmental advocacy program in the Seaport. At the Save the Harbor, she is the Lead Teacher in charge of the Summer Youth Programs. A change from the classroom, this program teaches children, in and around Boston, how to fish, catch crabs and lobsters, sing sea shanties, and share their love for Boston Harbor. Bridget graduated with a B.A. in History/Secondary Education from Providence College (where she is a 2005 USA Rugby National Champion!) and a Masters in Curriculum and Teaching from Fitchburg State University.
Katie Burnett- Director of Committee Relations
Katie is a Physical Therapist within the Spaulding Rehabilitation Network. She graduated in 2018 from MGH Institute of Health Professions’ Doctorate of Physical Therapy program. While at MGH IHP she was President of the Physical Therapy Club and co-founder of a health-centric community service club which focused on helping graduate students combine their passions for service with their healthcare skills and knowledge. Prior to graduate school, Katie received a Bachelors of Science in Exercise Physiology from University of Massachusetts Lowell. While at UMass Lowell, Katie helped to plan the university’s first Relay For Life event and was co-chair of the event for three years. She also co-founded the university’s Colleges Against Cancer chapter and sat on the task-force that succeeded in making UMass Lowell a smoke-free and tobacco-free campus in 2014. Katie has held a leadership role within Boston YPACS since its inception in January 2016. She loves that both her clinical job as a Physical Therapist and her involvement with Boston YPACS allow her to combine her passions for health and service.
Grace Silva- Director of Corporate Relations
Grace is a computational biologist, and as member of Blueprint Medicines’ Computational Biology and Bioinformatics group, she harnesses the power of the genome to help unlock the potential for kinase therapies to cure disease. She joined Blueprint in 2015, after earning a Ph.D. in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her doctoral research at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center utilized data from the Cancer Genome Atlas project to identify genetic changes associated with the various subtypes of breast cancer – each with differing survival rates and responsiveness to treatment. Her role at Blueprint supports their goal to develop highly selective medicines to target genomic diseases while racing to make them available to patients as soon as possible.
James Miller- Director of Marketing
James grew up in New York but was drawn to the Boston area while attending Stonehill College in North Easton, MA. Following his graduation from Stonehill College, James began his career in wealth management at the same firm where he was an intern the previous summer. He began his involvement with YPACS in 2018 and now works with a team to focus on utilizing various social media platforms for event marketing throughout the year. James is an avid New York Islanders fan and when he isn’t working or spending time on YPACS projects, he enjoys playing golf.
Our Leadership
Members of YPACS Boston are exposed to the American Cancer Society's network of more than 2 million volunteers worldwide. They are also given the opportunity to learn from experts in the field as well as one another, and opportunities to engage in service. This group also plans and supports a signature event to help raise funds for the important work done by the American Cancer Society.
Our structure consists of a President and Vice President who work closely with an ACS staff partner and oversee the five Directors. Each Director works with a committee of young professionals that work on different areas to help us achieve our goals. Leadership positions are renewed every fall, while committee members are welcome to join at any time.
We love and welcome new members always- so if you are interested in getting involved, please join us!
Donnie Todd- President
Donnie has been with JetBlue for over twelve years and currently oversees and maintains the daily operation of 150+ flights and 400+ crewmembers. A native Bostonian, having attended Fisher College, Donnie is currently enrolled at Thomas Edison University. Aside from these daily functions, Donnie serves as the Liaison for JetBlue’s Corporate Social Responsibility team in Boston. He plans and executes local large-scale volunteer initiatives and engages customers and crewmembers in volunteering, while also creating partnerships with local non-profits, major sports teams/ venues, and local law enforcement/state officials. Donnie helps deliver JetBlue’s mission to inspire humanity – both in the air and on the ground while committing to give back in meaningful ways in the communities JetBlue serves and to inspire others to do the same. Donnie also sits on our American Cancer Society's Eastern New England Board of Directors as well as numerous councils throughout the city.
Mike O'Brien- Vice President
Mike is a sports broadcaster that has been calling games for over a decade. Since coming back to the Boston area in the Summer of 2018, Mike has been working as an Update Anchor and Studio Host at 98.5 the Sports Hub and a play-by-play announcer, calling a variety of sports at Bentley University, Merrimack College, Tufts University and UMass-Dartmouth. Prior to his return to Boston, Mike served as the Radio/TV announcer for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League for seven seasons. A graduate of Boston College, Mike has been involved with the American Cancer Society since 2010, serving on the Philadelphia DetermiNation committee, as a co-chair for the ACS Endure Bike Ride in Northeast Pennsylvania and now as the Boston YPACS Vice President.
Christine Schepeler- Director of Committee Relations
Christine began her career in education teaching middle and high school math, science, technology, and economics in Phoenix, Arizona as a member of Teach for America. She taught 7th grade science at Boston Collegiate Charter School before she became the Director of Math and Science for the Sposato Graduate School of Education (SGSE) in Boston. SGSE is a nontraditional graduate school focused on preparing unusually effective first year teachers for high-performing, high-need (urban) settings. In this role she leads the coaching, coursework, training, and development of all secondary (grades 6-12) STEM teachers. Christine has a B.A. from the University of Michigan (she was the 50th person on her mother’s side to graduate from Michigan), and a Master’s in Secondary Education with a concentration in mathematics from Arizona State University.
Grace Silva- Director of Corporate Relations
Grace is a computational biologist, and as member of Blueprint Medicines’ Computational Biology and Bioinformatics group, she harnesses the power of the genome to help unlock the potential for kinase therapies to cure disease. She joined Blueprint in 2015, after earning a Ph.D. in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her doctoral research at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center utilized data from the Cancer Genome Atlas project to identify genetic changes associated with the various subtypes of breast cancer – each with differing survival rates and responsiveness to treatment. Her role at Blueprint supports their goal to develop highly selective medicines to target genomic diseases while racing to make them available to patients as soon as possible.
Erica Chrisis- Director of Marketing
Erica is a marketing manager at Hospital IQ. In this role she works to drive demand generation and digital marketing programs including paid search, social media, email marketing, blogs, webinars, newsletters, and tradeshows. Erica has always had an interest in the healthcare industry, her past employers were in the medical devices and health insurance spaces and her current employer is in healthcare IT. Her claim to fame in the marketing world, was getting a "boring" medical device company to go viral! Erica has always had a passion for community service and giving back, she was a past Big Sister for Big Brothers Big Sisters and participates in volunteer opportunities through Boston Cares. Erica earned her B.S. in Marketing from the University of Connecticut with a concentration in Digital Marketing & Analytics.
Megan Gutwillig- Director of Mission and Advocacy
Megan has been a student almost her entire life, and is currently working on obtaining her veterinary degree from Tufts University. She graduated with a BS in Biotechnology from Endicott College in 2014, where she helped plan Endicott’s annual Relay for Life event. When she finishes school (eventually), she hopes to complete a residency in veterinary oncology and pursue a career in comparative oncology. This growing field works to compare the biology and treatment of spontaneous cancer in pets to spontaneous cancers arising in humans. As a cancer survivor and life-long animal lover she hopes to better the lives of both pets and people with cancer.
Madeline Henderson- Director of Special Events
Madeline currently works in the Deals practice at PwC. She’s seen a few places--growing up in Wisconsin, university in Texas--but it was the few years she lived in New Hampshire as a child that inspired her love for New England. Madeline graduated with her Masters of Accountancy from Abilene Christian University and is a certified public accountant. Madeline moved to Boston from Fort Worth in February 2019, and can’t imagine calling any other place home! In Fort Worth, Madeline served as the Accounting Chair on the event leadership team for Relay for Life and continued her involvement with ACS when she moved to Boston, serving as the Community Recruitment lead for Making Strides and as a YPACS member. She may be a die-hard cheesehead, but the Red Sox are her favorite Boston team. Madeline lost her grandma to pancreatic cancer and looks forward to continuing her fight as the Boston YPACS Director of Special Events.
CONTACT
YPACS BOSTON
OUR ADDRESS
American Cancer Society
3 Speen Street
Framingham, MA 01701
For any general inquiries, please fill in the following contact form:
