Cindy Geoghegan

Breast Cancer Network of Strength® Interim CEO

Cindy Geoghegan was appointed to serve as the interim CEO of Breast Cancer Network of Strength® by its board of directors in July 2010. A proven non-profit strategist and leader, she is recognized as a visionary and inspirational leader with a track record of growing and restructuring healthcare non-profit organizations on global, national and grassroots levels. Cindy is charged with creating a mission-focused strategic plan for the organization.

Cindy says she will never forget the day she was diagnosed with breast cancer 15 years ago and how much she needed someone to talk to. There have been many advances in breast cancer research and awareness since then, but even with better treatments and more awareness, she says, there is still no replacement for talking to someone, a peer, who’s been in ‘your shoes’ after a doctor tells you that you have cancer. 

Peer support is at the heart of YourShoes® 24/7 Breast Cancer Support Center, Network of Strength’s core program, the country’s only 24/7 toll-free breast cancer hotline staffed exclusively by breast cancer survivors, with interpreters in 150 languages.  Peer support is as important today as it was when the organization, formerly known as Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization, was founded more than 30 years ago, with the mission to ensure, through information, empowerment and peer support, that no one faces breast cancer alone.

Before coming to Network of Strength, Cindy worked with the Yale Cancer Center, Sage Bionetworks and the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation as one of the founders of Patient and Partners LLC.   

Patient and Partners (P&P) is a consulting firm committed to patient-focused outcomes.  P&P provides strategic planning, health communications and policy counsel to academic institutions, non-profit organizations and health care companies that share a common goal – accelerating the discovery and delivery of products and services that improve people’s lives.  P&P ensures the patient perspective is considered in decision-making, communication and planning across the health care continuum.

Previously, Cindy was executive advisor of scientific community relations for Susan G. Komen for the Cure®. In this role, she worked closely with Komen for the Cure’s chief scientific advisor, Dr. Eric Winer, and the organization’s Scientific Advisory Board to create and provide input to Komen leadership on grants strategy, scientific programs, education materials and public policy initiatives.

Cindy first became a breast cancer advocate when she was diagnosed at the age of 35. As one of the founders of the Maryland Affiliate of Komen for the Cure, she served as president, created a community grants program, led education efforts and worked on statewide legislative policy efforts. When she later relocated to the New York metropolitan area, she was elected president of Komen’s Greater New York City Affiliate, following the tragic deaths of one of the Affiliate founders and its president during the same week. During her tenure, the Greater New York City Affiliate was honored as “Affiliate of the Year” and became the top revenue generator among Susan G. Komen for the Cure Affiliates.

Cindy has worked with pharmaceutical companies and other cancer organizations as an independent consultant, specializing in projects that created meaningful opportunities for patient advocates. She has served in advocacy initiatives for the National Cancer Institute, the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), American Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and other cancer funding agencies. She has been recognized for her efforts in breast cancer advocacy by the AACR, the U.S. Health Care Finance Administration (HCFA), Yoplait, Kellogg’s, and BMW, and has also been recognized with a Komen Lifetime Volunteer Award. 

Prior to her diagnosis, Geoghegan directed crisis communications and issues management teams at Hill & Knowlton and Fleishman-Hillard, two international public relations agencies headquartered in New York City. 

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