423-757-0737
Board of Directors
Shauna Lorenzo-Rivero, MD
Chairman of the Board
Years on the Board: 12
I am a colorectal surgeon in Chattanooga, TN. Everything I do is to make patients healthy and happy by improving the health of their GI tract through surgery. I believe every human being should have access to health care. Healthy people are happy people. This is why I started the Greater Chattanooga Colon Cancer Foundation(GCCCF) to raise funds for those who cannot afford screening colonoscopy and educate our community on the importance of colon cancer screening. Colonoscopies save lives!
Colorectal Surgeon
University Surgical Associates
Tom Brien, MD
Board President
Years on the Board: 12
As a GI Pathologist, I deal with colon biopsies every day. It makes me sad every time I have to diagnose cancer because I know that screening saves lives. I joined the GCCCF to help raise awareness in our area about the importance of colon cancer screening. I also dress up as the superhero Captain Colon for the Rump Run and other events to hopefully make people more comfortable talking about a part of the body they too often choose to ignore.
Pathologist, Diagnostic Pathology Services
Marshall Horton, MD
Board Vice President
Years on the Board: 8
After retiring from the practice of gastroenterology, I wanted to give back to the community through volunteerism. During my 30 year career, I saw so many people with colon cancer that could have been avoided or found earlier with timely screening. The GCCCF was an opportunity to spread the word “Colonoscopies Save Lives.”
Retired Gastroenterologist,
Galen GI
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Years on the Board: 8
I became interested in and later joined the GCCCF after a close family member received a terminal diagnosis from colon cancer. After her passing, multiple other family members have been impacted by colon cancer. The desire to learn as much as possible about this disease and educate the general public about the importance of screenings has become important to me. The GCCCF is helping to educate my adopted hometown of Chattanooga about the preventable and beatable disease of colon cancer.
Henderson, Hutcherson &
McCullough, PLLC
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Christie Burbank, Esq.
Years on the Board: 12
I am a cancer survivor. I am a health care attorney in Tennessee and Georgia. I am the wife of a super fun husband with ulcerative colitis. I am the mother of 2 happy children. I am friends with people who have lost loved ones to colon cancer. It is an honor to do whatever I can to support, make aware, and protect my family, friends, and really everyone in Greater Chattanooga, who could be affected by this disease.
Rainey, Kizer, Reviere,
& Bell, PLC
Katie Coleman, RT(R)(T)
Joined the Board in 2022
I have had the privilege to serve the Chattanooga area for the past 15 years in Radiation Oncology, delivering radiation treatments to patients of many different backgrounds. I am thankful for this opportunity to collaborate with others to bring awareness to educational resources, guidance, and access to screening- all of which can provide a meaningful impact in the prevention and early detection of colon cancer. We have the tools- and they are for everyone.
Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute
at Parkridge Medical Center
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Deanna Hopkins, MSN, APRN, AGNP-C
Joined the Board in 2021
I love being part of GCCC, we’re passionate about providing life-saving knowledge to our community and the importance of colonoscopy for early detection/prevention of colon cancer.
Erlanger Oncology/Hematology
Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center
Jones Krogh, CPA, CFP
Eric Nelson, MD, FACS, FASCRS
Joined the Board in 2023
Every week it seems, I see a patient with a new diagnosis of colorectal cancer that would have been prevented by following screening guidelines. As a colorectal surgeon, I do my best to help them at whatever point the disease is found. But I'm passionate about helping people prevent disease and, along with healthy lifestyle choices, the best way to prevent colorectal cancer is by getting a screening colonoscopy. I'm proud to join GCCCF in providing both education and assistance in prevention and early detection of colorectal cancer, maximizing the health of our community.
Helen J. Pinkerton
Craig Sarine
Years on the Board: 12
I am the CEO of a Chattanooga based surgical group which includes five colon and rectal surgeons as well as several general surgeons who perform many colon and rectal procedures as well. While I do not have any family members who have been diagnosed with this disease, I had a friend who passed away from an undiagnosed rectal cancer because he put off routine screening until it was too late. I serve on the GCCCF board to help our community avoid the emotional pain and, quite frankly, the frustration and disappointment of such needless loss.
Practice Administrator,
University Surgical Associates
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Alison Sexter
Years on the Board: 3
I’m passionate about the efforts of GCCCF in part because of all the people I know who have been impacted by the disease - especially my beloved grandmother who our family lost to colon cancer 12 years ago.
Corporate Communications Specialist, Public Affairs, BCBST
Years on the Board: 5
I am very committed to the GCCCF for giving me an opportunity to continue to serve the community by volunteering and sharing my passion of giving back to my community. I am very passionate about the organization’s mission to educate the public about how colonoscopies save lives; as well as its specific target of reaching vulnerable communities of color with this message who are at a high risk of dying from this devastating, yet preventable disease.
Retired Grants, Health Education & Site Manager
Erlanger Community Health Centers
Erica Sutton, M.D., FACS
Joined the Board in 2022
Dr. Sutton joined Morehouse School of Medicine in September 2019 to serve as the inaugural Associate Dean of Academic Programs and Affiliations. In this role, she is responsible for the growth of academic programs to regional medical campuses such as the proposed campus in Columbus, GA and those in Chattanooga, TN, Seattle, WA and Lexington KY in partnership with CommonSpirit and the More in Common Alliance. Dr. Sutton is also president and founder of Surgery on Sunday Louisville (SOSL), a nonprofit she founded in 2013 to provide free surgery to people who are uninsured or underinsured.
Madison Thomason, MS, CGC
Job Title
Joined the Board in 2021
As a cancer genetic counselor, I work with many families who have an inherited predisposition to colon cancer because of a genetic abnormality that runs in the family. My goal is to help people understand their risk for colon cancer and what they can do to lower their chances (or even prevent it altogether) through earlier and more frequent colonoscopies. We know colonoscopies save lives, and I am excited to join the GCCCF in its mission to make sure that everyone in our beloved community gets the care they need so that they can keep enjoying life.
Cancer Genetic Counselor and Coordinator of High Risk Genetics, CHI Memorial
Rees Skillern Cancer Institute
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Hannah Tunks M.S.M., PA-C
Joined the Board in 2022
I am a physician assistant at Erlanger Oncology/Hematology. I have known that I wanted a career in medicine even as a young girl, and I eventually pursued physician assistant training at Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville. I now have the opportunity as a PA to care for and support patients with colon cancer in my current role. I am excited to serve the Chattanooga area to reduce the incidence of colon cancer and detect colon cancer sooner as a member of the GCCCF. I participated in the Rump Run last year, and I look forward to recruiting my friends and co-workers again this year to participate to raise awareness and support the work of the GCCCF.
Katie Wells
Interim Executive Director
I work with local and regional health leaders on initiatives and programs to improve community health and advocate for policies that ensure the success of physicians and their patients. I have a passion for public service and making health care more accessible and affordable to families in our community. I am honored to work with the GCCCF Board of Directors to raise our community’s awareness about colon and rectal cancer and help provide greater access to lifesaving colon cancer screenings.
Director of Special Projects and Policy Advisor
Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society & Foundation
