A Proven Advocate and Leader joins GO to bring the best in cancer care to underserved patients globally

Nonprofit Global Oncology, Inc. (GO) announced that Donna Barry has been appointed to be its first Executive Director, marking a significant milestone for the pioneering organization dedicated to bringing the best in cancer care to underserved populations worldwide. Barry’s position is effective immediately.

Cancer now kills more people in the developing world than HIV, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Despite this sobering fact, the U.S. and global investments in improving cancer outcomes are minimal – in 2011, only 1.2% of total development assistance for global health was focused on non-communicable diseases (NCDs). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), available low-cost cancer control options could avert approximately one-third of cancer deaths worldwide. But these interventions are unavailable for many people in the world, especially those living in low-resource countries. GO is committed to addressing this need.

Donna Barry brings to GO her broad-ranging expertise obtained during an impressive 25-year career spanning medicine, global health, advocacy and policy. She will spearhead the work of GO’s Board of Directors and Advisors to leverage GO’s extensive community of volunteers, collaborators and supporters – across academia, government and industry – to set and execute a global strategy for making the best in cancer care available to patients in LMICs (Low- and Middle-Income Countries). In her role, Barry will also be responsible for managing and expanding GO’s operations, domestic and international.

With Barry’s leadership, GO aims to substantially broaden its collaborations across professional groups in the areas of global cancer and health, advancing cancer care and control worldwide. Existing GO programs will flourish with the addition of Barry and her ideal combination of skills that lend so well to GO’s work: connecting directly to patients, partnering with providers and mobilizing communities into action.

“Donna has the essential vision, instinct and track record to benefit all GO projects – including GO’s flagship work, the Global Cancer Project Map [http://gcpm.globalonc.org] – in our pursuit of improving cancer diagnosis, treatment and care globally,” said Ami Bhatt, co-founder and co-president of GO. "GO volunteers and staff have accomplished so much the last four years as we have built the organization from the ground up. We're thrilled for Donna Barry to help us take GO to the next level," said Franklin Huang, co-founder and co-president of GO.

Barry comes to GO from the Center for American Progress (CAP) in Washington D.C. where she was Director of the Women's Health and Rights Program (WHRP). Prior to CAP, Barry was the Advocacy and Policy Director at Partners In Health (PIH). A veteran of both the nonprofit and healthcare sectors, Barry holds an MPH, a Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) and a Master of International Affairs (MIA). Barry remains active in the health field as a policy fellow at the National Academies of Practice (NAP) and a member of the American Public Health Association.

Ms. Barry has relocated from Washington, D.C. to her former home of Cambridge, MA, where she will be a very welcome local leader within the primary hub of GO staff, volunteers and operations.

ABOUT GO

GO was founded by Ami Bhatt, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine and of Genetics at Stanford University School of Medicine and Director of Global Oncology, Center for Innovation in Global Health, and Franklin Huang, M.D., Ph.D., Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts and postdoctoral scholar at the Broad Institute. They founded GO to help address the enormous unmet need for cancer diagnosis, treatment, and palliative care in low- and middle-resource countries and, along with GO’s many volunteers, have spent thousands of hours advancing the organization’s important mission.

GO was established to address the disproportionate share of the global cancer burden shouldered by low- and middle-resource countries. GO is specifically focused on building a global network of individuals and organizations to solve today’s problems in cancer care, with the ultimate goal of improving care and bettering the lives of patients in resource-limited settings.

Since 2011, GO has been making significant and consistent impact in the field of global cancer by making access to better care easier, particularly through technology and education. Key projects include: (1) GO’s innovative Global Cancer Project Map (GCPM) – a joint effort with the National Cancer Institute’s Center for Global Health – the world’s online destination for the most complete, user-friendly and accessible information about global cancer research and control efforts: http://gcpm.globalonc.org; (2) GO’s Cancer Education Materials: first-of-their kind, culturally relevant picture booklets designed to teach low-literate cancer patients about their disease and the importance of adhering to treatment; (3) promoting improved access to pain control for those suffering from cancer and other life-threatening diseases and making information about disparities in pain control access more approachable: see Opioid Atlas and http://globalonc.org/opioidatlas; and (4) the GO Young Professionals Alliance (GO YP) that is mobilizing students, educators and global health leaders in every profession to convene and bring awareness to the global cancer crisis.

For more in­­­formation, visit http://globalonc.org/