Our team includes many wonderful people.
All members of our team in the USA are volunteers who give their time and energy freely to WE C Hope, despite the many challenges retinoblastoma brings to their own personal lives.
We are widely scattered across the country. Our meetings are held by teleconference and we use digital resources and social media to maintain communication and collaborative work between meetings.
Board members Marissa, Kristen and Lisa, volunteering at the 2022 Southern California Rb Family Day.
Marissa D. Gonzalez
Marissa’s mother noticed a reflection in her left eye at nine months. The local pediatrician dismissed her concerns, but her persistence led to a bi-lateral retinoblastoma diagnosis by a pediatric ophthalmologist when marissa was seventeen months. After one month of daily radiation, along with cryotherapy, marissa’s left eye was removed at 23 months. She endured five years of treatment to her right eye, and an additional five years of exams under anesthesia until at age twelve she was declared cured.
Bone, nerve and tissue damage from radiation led to multiple craniofacial reconstructive surgeries. Side effects from some of these painful procedures included chronic pain, extensive leaves from work, hundreds of doctor appointments, and the emotional agony of having parts of her face altered to combat radiation’s destructive effects.
She has grieved the cancer, the loss of a normal childhood and the limitations imposed on her. Despite this, she has lived an immensely full life, including interna¬-tional travel, studying at the University of Southern California, and a professional event planning career.
Lori Banos
Lori Baños lives in Iowa with her husband, Juan. She is a founding and active board member of World Eye Cancer Hope and is the parent of an adult survivor of bilateral Retinoblastoma. On October 24, 2010, she created the Facebook group, Rb Moms, a place of support for mothers of children with retinoblastoma.
Lori is a dedicated itinerant Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments (TVI) and Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist. She brings many years of experience in the field to children and families in our retinoblastoma community.
Yvonne Chao
Yvonne Chao is a Partner at Array Education, where she advises start-up education entrepreneurs in translating big picture strategy into effective operations and business models that can quickly scale high-impact ventures to solve our most pressing educational problems.
She was the founding CFO of Relay Graduate School of Education, where she established the institutional finance and student financial services functions. Prior to her role at Relay, Yvonne worked in the private sector in community development finance, corporate strategy and investment banking.
Clayonia Colbert-Dorsey
Clayonia was born and raised in Maryland, the eldest grandchild of a United States Congressional Gold Medal Recipient and Documented Original Tuskegee Airman. Diagnosed with unilateral retinoblastoma at the age of 2.5 years, she embraced life beyond fear and lives by the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: “to know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived . . .this is to have succeeded.”
Known as a transformative writer/global speaker, Clayonia brings passion to purpose. She attended Allegany College of Maryland, earning an Associate Arts Degree in Executive Secretarial Science; and pursued Bachelor’s study in Organizational Management at Nyack College.
A born Servant Leader, she has held positions in federal and state government, academia, and nonprofit/associations. She is a member of the American Society of Association Executives, trustee at White Rock Independent Methodist Episcopal Church, and proud to serve on the World Eye Cancer Hope US Board of Director.
Kristen Small
Kristen has 15 years of experience in communications and graphic design, incorporating change management techniques. Throughout her career, she has worked with a variety of organizations – from small companies to large corporations and non-profits. Her motto over the years has become “I’m here to help!”
In Kindergarten, Kristen met her best-friend-for-life, Marissa Gonzales. She is Marissa’s go-to driver for surgeries, on-point menu reader in dark restaurants, and blind-side detector. Throughout their friendship, she has witnessed first-hand the effects of retinoblastoma on patients and family. As a result, she has become a passionate supporter of improving quality of life and medical care for everyone impacted by Rb.
Kristen is an avid reader, a DIYer/crafter, and enjoys vacationing anywhere there is water (“…a pond, a pool, a lake, a sea…I’m not picky”). She lives in Southern California with her husband, dog, and three cats.
Mark Billings
Mark’s wife, Katherine, is a survivor of bilateral retinoblastoma and a related second primary cancer.
“I think our strength is measured by how we overcome challenges. When Katherine was diagnosed and underwent a year of treatment for osteosarcoma just 6 months after our wedding (having been cancer-free for 26 years), it was certainly a challenge, but one we faced with the right mind-set to overcome it”.
Their daughter, Lucia, was born in 2015 with tumors in both eyes, and continues to undergo treatment. Mark decided to use his family’s experience and his professional knowledge of the ‘business of healthcare, to help others. He joined the WE C Hope board in October 2015, and has served as CFO since 2016.
Mark is a Chartered Accountant, with over 10 years of experience at a “Big Four” accounting firm. He joined Pine Hill Group in 2014, and provides merger and acquisition advice to corporations and private equity firms specialized in the healthcare industry.
Originally from the United Kingdom, Mark has lived in the Philadelphia area since 2003. He enjoys travelling and working out, but spends most of his spare time playing with his two young children and juggling housework as he and his wife both pursue their professional careers.
Melissa B. Mills
Melissa is a bilateral retinoblastoma survivor and was treated in the 1970‘s at Massachusetts Eye and Ear in Boston, MA. She is now a part-time prenatal genetic counselor at Stanford Children’s - Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital.
She has three degrees from Stanford University, a B.S. and an M.S. in Earth Systems, and an MS from the Medical School in Genetic Counseling.
Melissa lives in the California Bay Area with her husband, 10 year old identical twins, and rescue dog, Derby. She is passionate about helping people understand genetic information and protecting the Earth. In her free time, she is the President of the Mid-Peninsula Parents of Multiples Non-profit, and Board Secretary for the environmental non-profit Oil Change International.
Somer Stanley
Somer Stanley is a proud military spouse, mother of two, and passionate advocate for accessibility and inclusivity. Her journey as a parent took a life-changing turn when her daughter, Journey, was diagnosed with bilateral retinoblastoma.
Navigating the complexities of medical treatments, emotional challenges, and the long-term impact of her daughter’s diagnosis deeply shaped Somer’s perspective. This experience fueled her commitment to supporting other families navigating similar challenges, offering guidance, advocacy, and hope.
Professionally, Somer’s advocacy extends into her work as the creator of Nclusive Scan, a patented accessibility solution that bridges communication gaps for Deaf and visually diverse individuals. With over 15 years of experience in accessibility and inclusion, she provides innovative tools, education and solutions, to ensure thriving communities have equitable access to vital resources.
Somer’s dedication to creating inclusive environments aligns seamlessly with We C Hope’s mission to empower families affected by childhood eye cancer.
Lisa Hester
Lisa Hester was a loving mother to eight children, including Rb warrior Elijah, and a treasured member of the WE C Hope USA Board of Directors since 2017.
Lisa was amazed and encouraged by WE C Hope’s hosting of the One Retinoblastoma World 2017 conference in Washington D.C. She immediately volunteered at the event to receive and read out questions/comments from our 135 virtual participants around the world.
Seeing this amazing community of providers, survivors, and their families grabbed Lisa’s heart, and led her to become more involved with WE C Hope and the wider Rb community. Learning from One Rb World and other WE C Hope training opportunities, she keenly advocated for child life supports, both in her son’s medical care, and for all children. She looked forward to speaking on the subject at One Rb World 2024 in Hawaii, and to bringing her children to the conference to benefit from the child life program.
Lisa wrote of her son’s Rb experience: “Elijah was diagnosed at 7 weeks with bilateral retinoblastoma and had his right eye enucleated. He has had several treatments for his remaining eye including laser and IAC. He is now 9 years old (May 2024) with no evidence of disease – still under surveillance and working on some treatment related issues, but overall happy and healthy”.
Lisa died while on her daily morning walk on July 31, 2024. She leaves a huge void in our team, community, and collective heart.
We continue our commitment to advance child life for retinoblastoma across the USA and around the world in Lisa’s memory. We invite you to join us by donating to the Lisa Hester Child Life Memorial Fund.
Sassy Outwater-Wright
Sarah “Sassy” Outwater-Wright is a bilateral retinoblastoma survivor. She lost her sight in both eyes before the age of four and has survived secondary brain tumors from the Retinoblastoma.
She is passionate about family support structures and medical research centered on understanding how to cope with the aftermath of retinoblastoma. Her main focus is survivorship advocacy, understanding Rb genetic research and treatment breakthroughs, follow-up care and developing a dialogue between patients and the medical community about living with and beyond retinoblastoma.
Sassy works in the music industry and in designing accessible products and services for companies working with disabled individuals. She brings technical, disability advocacy, and public relations expertise to the WE C Hope USA board.
When not fighting cancer in herself or others, she enjoys writing, sailing, teas and chocolate, Yoga and advocating for persons with disabilities. When there’s enough snow, she’s also an avid downhill skier and snowball thrower extraordinaire.
