Board Members

Barbara Kavanagh, Founder & President – barbarak@azmyelomanetwork.org
Barbara B. Kavanagh, is the Founder and CEO of Arizona Myeloma Network (AzMN). She is a published author and has served as faculty for several universities including Boston University, Boston College Graduate School of Social Work, and Arizona State University. She holds a master’s degree in Social Work from Boston University and a bachelor’s from Duke University. Her first business, People to People Associates Inc., a counseling, consulting and training company operated for fifteen years in Lexington, Mass.

AzMN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization started in 2004 by Barbara and her husband, Jack, who is a 27-year survivor of multiple myeloma. One year before the NPO was founded, Barbara and Jack moved to Arizona to be closer to the Mayo Clinic for his ongoing treatments. In 2005, Barbara created the first Living with Myeloma Roundtable® and Living with Myeloma Conference that now attracts more than 350 attendees annually. All AzMN programs are free and open to patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, researchers, and anyone interested in the treatments and advancements of care for myeloma patients.
The Office of the Governor of Arizona recognizes Barbara Kavanagh’s work with a proclamation designating a week in March as “Arizona Myeloma Awareness Week” and also recognizes the Cancer Caregivers Education Program, CCEP©. Great Nonprofits has identified AzMN as a “Top-Rated Nonprofit” for several years now. Barbara, herself, continues to receive accolades and awards for her work. She is the recipient of the prestigious Hon Kachina Outstanding Volunteerism Award, The Phoenix Business Journal’s Healthcare Hero Award, the Arizona Rural Healthcare Association Volunteer of the Year award and the 2014 Arizona Business Magazine’s Healthcare Leadership Award for Community Outreach. She has been featured on radio, television, and in publications. More recently, she was profiled as a Woman of Distinction in the 2016 edition of WOD Magazine.

During the past ten years, she and her staff have developed and delivered over 75 cancer caregiver seminars throughout the State and have additional Cancer Caregiver Education Programs, CCEP©, scheduled in 2019. The seminars provide caregivers of cancer patients and the patient’s team the practical knowledge, skills, and strategies necessary for effectively caring for their loved ones, as well as themselves. CCEP© is now available as a customized program for companies, healthcare organizations, and community groups who want to present the event for their staff, cancer patients, and caregivers.

Barbara and Jack were recognized in Tom Brokaw’s book A Lucky Life Interrupted: A Memoir of Hope. Her books on volunteerism and patient advocacy include The New Volunteerism, A Community Connection; The New Partnership: Human Services, Business and Industry; and Training Volunteers in the New Millennium: An International Connection reflect a life dedicated to teaching and mentoring others to achieve their goals and transform their own lives and those they touch. She is currently working on her new book on “Living with Myeloma, a Caregiver’s Journey” to share her own journey and those of the hundreds of patient caregivers she has met and learned from over the past 27 years.

Mary Lange, Board Secretary and Fundraising Advisor – mary.lange@calviri.com

Paul Layeux, Legislative Advisor and Caregiver Advocate – paul@colemandahm.com
Paul Layeux is currently a partner with the public affairs firm Coleman Dahm Layeux in Phoenix.  Paul has been with the firm for 15 years and serves as lead account director for many health care issues and initiatives. Coleman Dahm Layeux is a full-service political consulting and public affairs company headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. CDA enjoys a strong client base and has long-term working relationships with federal, state and local decision makers. Coleman Dahm Layeux has also done extensive work on behalf of many non-profit organizations.

“The fact is funding is needed to educate cancer caregivers for their caregiving role”, said Paul Layeux, Partner at Coleman Dahm Layeux. Mr. Layeux said, “I am proud to serve on the Board of Arizona Myeloma Network (AZMN) and help raise awareness among the public of this social and financial issue”.

Virginia Richardson, Client Advocate – rvirginia8@aol.com

 
Audrey Zavodsky, Corporate Advisor  – azavodsk@peoplepc.com

Fred Taylor, Client Advocate – swprostatecancer@aol.com