WHO WE ARE
Providing support, education and resources to Lynch Syndrome carriers and their families. We want to make a meaningful impact as a Lynch Syndrome research funding source through ongoing individual and corporate donations.
About Us
The Jacqueline Rush Foundation was formed by Joan and Allen Rush following the loss of their daughter, Jacqueline, at the young age of 23. She was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at the age of 20, and during her treatment it was discovered that the underlying cause of her cancer was an inherited genetic condition known as Lynch Syndrome. Jacqueline had had symptoms in high school, but as a young, healthy person, her symptoms were initially misdiagnosed. Having Lynch Syndrome awareness and proper cancer screening could have saved Jacqueline’s life. Our mission is to ensure that no other families lose a loved one due to undetected Lynch Syndrome.
Meet Our Team
JOAN RUSH
Co-Founder & President
Joan previously worked at various companies including Westinghouse, ROLM, and Electric Power Research Institute in marketing and tech support positions.
After Jacqueline was born, Joan took on her most rewarding and important role of raising her daughter. She is co-founder and President of the Jacqueline Rush Foundation. She is driving the mission of the foundation to increase awareness of Lynch Syndrome and help people realize the power of knowing what’s in your genes.
ALLEN RUSH
Co-Founder &
Chairman of the Board
Allen retired from AMD in 2020 and is currently consulting in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. At AMD he was a Senior Fellow and Chief Architect for Imaging and AI. Prior to AMD, he was a founder of several startup companies focusing on imaging technologies and products, including Sierra Imaging and PCC. His career included engineering positions with Intel, ROLM and others. With his wife Joan, they formed the Jacqueline Rush Foundation in 2015 in honor of their daughter. As Lynch Syndrome is an inherited genetic mutation, he also has been diagnosed with Lynch Syndrome.
MARTY THOMPSON
Board Member
Marty Thompson is Senior Vice President & General Manager, North America Consumer Products for Nestlé Starbucks Coffee. Based in Seattle, Marty leads a team of 215 colleagues who are responsible for growing the Starbucks brand’s market share, in-store presence, sales and profit across the continent.
Prior to joining Starbucks, Marty worked for nearly 14 years at Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, a manufacturer of premium quality chocolates. Marty began his tenure with Ghirardelli as VP and Head of Sales, responsible for 80% of the company’s revenue. For the last seven years, Marty served as Ghirardelli’s President and Chief Executive Officer. During his CEO tenure, revenues grew by nearly 80%, profit tripled and the brand significantly strengthened.
Prior to joining Ghirardelli Chocolate, Marty held sales and marketing roles of increasing responsibility at Procter and Gamble and the Clorox Company.
Marty is a former board member of the National Confectioner Association. At the 2017 State of the Industry convention, Marty was named the 2017 Confectionary Industry Advocate of the Year award winner for his work in successfully lobbying US Congress and the California Legislature on behalf of critical industry initiatives and concerns.
In addition to serving on the board of the Jacqueline Rush Foundation, Marty is an advisory board member of Bedrock Analytics, a start-up software company that enables CPG companies to better utilize consumption data to deliver convincing stories to big retailers and Ocho Chocolates, an Oakland, CA startup manufacturing premium quality organic chocolate treats.
Marty and Christa, his wife of 26 years, are parents of two children. Marty is an avid golfer, reader and runner.
Dr. AIMEE EYVAZZADEH, MD
Board Member
Dr. Aimee is one of the country’s most successful fertility specialists. Her success rate at baby-making is what gives future parents hope when all hope is lost. She’s had a hand in creating thousands of happy healthy babies. Dr. Aimee is a Harvard-educated Board Certified OBGYN, specializing in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. She is an advocate informing patients of the importance of genetic testing when undergoing In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Her goal is to teach everyone about fertility awareness and how to #GetAheadOfInfertility. In her off time, Dr. Aimee is a mom to four rambunctious young kids ages 9 - 1.
HEATHER BUTTERFIELD
Board Member
Heather Butterfield is in-house counsel for Gershman Properties, LLC, a national commercial real estate company headquartered in Los Angeles. Prior to joining Gershman Properties, Heather was a partner at Focus Media Law Group, where she specialized in entertainment law. Heather is a graduate from Harvard Law School (JD, cum laude) and Washington University in St. Louis (BA, magna cum laude). When not working, Heather enjoys spending time with her husband, three children, and their dog, Betty. She also has fundraised extensively for the Lupus Foundation of America and received the 2018 Barlin Award for outstanding support of lupus research.
Medical Advisory Board
DR. SAMUEL C. OOMMEN
MD FACS FASCRS
Doctor Oommen is a colorectal surgeon and has been practicing in Walnut Creek since 1987. He completed his general surgery residency at Brookdale hospital/ State University of New York, Down State, Brooklyn, New York in 1982 and a fellowship at the University of Texas/ MD Anderson in colon and rectal surgery in 1985. He served in the United States Air Force on active duty for six years.
He is affiliated with John Muir Health in Walnut Creek and serves as their Medical Director of the Gastrointestinal Oncology program. John Muir Health’s Rectal Cancer program was the first in the nation to be accredited in March 2018 as a Center of Excellence by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons.
Doctor Oommen has a special interest in the multidisciplinary management of colorectal cancer and minimally invasive techniques including robotic surgery. Under his leadership, John Muir Health participated in the ground breaking COST trial which paved the way for laparoscopic surgery for colon cancer in 2002. Currently he is one of the principal investigators in a National Institutes of Health (NIH) sponsored trial administered by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) which is studying the feasibility of non-operative management in rectal cancer through Total Neoadjuvant Treatment.
LAUREN MOISSY
Medical Advisory Board Member
Lauren Moissiy is a board certified and licensed genetic counselor and founder of Connect Genomics, a private practice for genetic counseling services. With over a decade of experience in the field, and 7 years of work in the diagnostic laboratory industry, she brings her expertise of genetic testing strategy and considerations to her practice to provide a high degree of personalized care. Lauren trained at UCSF, Stanford, John Muir, Kaiser Permanente, and Hawaii Pacific Health. She is an advocate for an integrative approach to genetic counseling, that involves consideration of nutrition, lifestyle, mental health, and with an emphasis on a psychosocial approach. In her spare time, she is involved in dog and cat rescue and has 3 shepherd-husky mix dogs and a bengal cat that keep her constantly entertained with their antics.
DR. GEORGE FISHER, JR.
MD, PhD
Dr. George Fisher is one of the country’s leading medical oncologists, focusing on gastrointestinal cancers. He provides both care for patients as well as research into advanced therapies for cancer treatment at Stanford Medical Center. In addition, he is Vice Chair of the GI Committee for ECOG-ACRIN. Dr. Fisher has published many research results in the area of cancer treatment, immunotherapy and studies of cancer cell behavior. He conducts clinical trials for emerging and promising new treatments, most recently related to determining the effectiveness of immunotherapy in combination with other traditional cancer treatment. Dr. Fisher holds an MD and PhD from Stanford University.
DR. SIGURDIS HARALDSDOTTIR
MD, PhD
Dr. Sigurdis Haraldsdottir, M.D., Ph.D. is a medical oncologist at Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts. She is a member of Dana Farber Cancer Institute’s Center for Cancer Genetics and Prevention which offers a unique team approach to genetic testing and cancer risk management. Previously, Dr. Haraldsdottir was a medical oncologist at Stanford Medical Center and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine (Oncology). She received her medical degree and master’s degree in medical sciences from the University of Iceland. She did her Internal Medicine training at Boston University Medical Center and training in Medical Oncology at the Ohio State University, before joining the faculty at Stanford. Her clinical and research focus is in gastrointestinal malignancies with a focus on mismatch repair deficient cancers, particularly colorectal cancer. She is conducting population-based research on Lynch syndrome – an inherited cancer syndrome, and recently completed a nation-wide study on Lynch syndrome in Iceland. She received her Ph.D. in Medical Sciences in 2017 from the University of Iceland. Her interests also focus on investigating colorectal cancer genomics, and their effect on outcomes and treatment implications.
HEATHER HAMPEL
Medical Advisory Board Member
Heather is a Professor in the Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research and Associate Director of the Division of Cancer Genomics at City of Hope National Cancer Center. Her research focuses on Lynch syndrome and universal tumor screening for Lynch syndrome. She has >170 publications on the prevalence of Lynch syndrome among colorectal and endometrial cancer patients, the best testing protocols, cost-effectiveness, and referral guidelines for cancer genetics. She received the Archie Griffin Professional Achievement Award from The Ohio State University Alumni Association in 2021. She also was inducted into the Mazzaferri-Ellison Master Clinician Society at The Ohio State University in 2021. She was on the Board of Directors for the American Board of Genetic Counseling from 2006-2011, serving as President in 2009 and 2010. She has been on the Steering Committee of the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable since 2016. She was on the Council of the Collaborative Group of the Americas on Inherited Colorectal Cancer from 2016-2019, serving as president in 2017-2018. She was elected to be a Fellow of the Collaborative Group of the Americas for Inherited Gastrointestinal Cancers in 2022. She was the Secretary/Treasurer of the National Society of Genetic Counselors in 2021-2022. In 2023, she will be awarded the Natalie Weissberger Paul National Achievement Award from the National Society of Genetic Counselors.
