Contact us
Looking for more information or to speak with a member of the COE team? Contact us at engagemassey@vcu.edu or (804) 628-0896.
Katherine Tossas, Ph.D., M.S.
Associate co-director for COE; Director for catchment area data analytics (CADA)
katherine.tossas@vcuhealth.org
Dr. Tossas is an assistant professor and Harrison Endowed Scholar in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences. In her role as interim associate co-director, Dr. Tossas oversees external community outreach initiatives, focusing on strengthening external community relationships and expanding our outreach and engagement programs.
In her role as director of CADA, Dr. Tossas provides cancer-relevant, catchment-focused data to support Massey cancer research and COE initiatives. CADA leverages external, publicly available datasets such as sociodemographic, cancer and other health behavior and services-related data from local, state and national sources to promote a better understanding of the catchment area.
David Turner, Ph.D.
Interim associate co-director, community outreach and engagement
david.turner1@vcuhealth.org
Dr. Turner is an associate professor and Vice Chair of Research and Innovation in the Department of Surgery. In his role as interim associate co-director, Dr. Turner enhances internal partnerships within Massey and across VCU to optimize "in-reach" initiatives across the Office of Community Outreach and Engagement.
Arnethea L. Sutton, PhD
Assistant director, community outreach and engagement
abrahamal@vcu.edu
Arnethea L. Sutton, PhD is an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University. In her role with COE, Dr. Sutton co-leads the strategic direction of Facts and Faith Fridays (FFF) and execution of its activities in partnership with the FFF community-based planning committee.
Maria Thomson, Ph.D.
Associate co-director, community engagement and engagement
maria.thomson@vcuhealth.org
Dr. Thomson is a social and behavioral scientist whose work, research and teaching are grounded in health equity, and focuses on promoting informed and shared decision making through effective communication and measuring and evaluating sociocultural and health disparities that influence patient information needs, knowledge, attitudes, access and behaviors. As co-director for Community Engagement in Research, Dr. Thomson provides strategic and administrative direction in the development, and oversees the Community and Faculty Champions program.
Jinlei Zhao, B.S., Ph.D. is a research analyst for CADA. Dr. Zhao is responsible for analyzing, packaging and disseminating catchment area data through CADA, contributing to annual updates for health profiles, and responding to requests from VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center members. He has rich experience in data analysis using SAS, R, Python, Excel and ArcGIS.
Haley Groesbeck is the assistant program manager for CADA. Haley is responsible for assisting the director in the coordination and implementation of CADA efforts. She works closely with Massey members, as well as internal and external stakeholders, to support the integration and application of cancer-relevant and catchment-focused data across the enterprise.
Tiffani Collins, B.S., M.P.H. is the senior program manager for care coordination and navigation. She joined Massey in January of 2022 to support navigation services to address social determinants of health across Massey’s catchment area, from screening to continuum of care services.
Hillary Boucher, M.P.H., serves as a data specialist for the Office of Community Outreach and Engagement, ensuring the proper collection, management and utilization of data to guide decision-making and enhance outreach efforts. Hillary focuses on helping the community outreach team use data effectively to address health disparities by improving and guiding community engagement initiatives.
Tina Fonteneau, builds collaborative relationships with external organizations focused on cancer education, prevention, early detection and navigation to community screening resources throughout the Commonwealth. Tina also spearheads multiple community-based partnerships in an effort to grow Massey's impact across the catchment area.
Charlotte Garrett, B.S., R.N. is nurse education and training coordinator for community outreach and engagement and a social determinants of health navigator, working with individuals throughout Massey's catchment area to assure access to care along the entire cancer continuum, from risk reduction, to screening, treatment and support services. Charlotte works with partners in and around the Danville area to focus efforts on reducing barriers to care.
Michael Gesme, B.A., M.P.A. is the senior program manager for community outreach and engagement. In his role, Michael is responsible for expanding Massey’s reach by building and maintaining necessary external relationships to better serve communities throughout the Center’s catchment area. Additionally, he oversees a variety of community-based programs and partnerships focused on developing long-term strategic outreach efforts, coalition building, public policy needs and advocacy work.
Dominique Graves, B.S. is the senior program administrator for community outreach and engagement. Dominique is responsible for strengthening and growing external partnerships, as well as focusing on tobacco cessation work throughout the region. Dominique serves as a tobacco treatment specialist and program coordinator for Massey's We CAN Quit program.
Jarell Hines, B.S. serves as a program coordinator for key programs, such as cancer prevention screening projects and navigation to assist individuals in reducing barriers to care, along with organizing activities with our community partners. Jarell is also a COE community tobacco treatment specialist.
Neusolia Valmond, M.P.H. is a cancer support care patient navigator. She is working to address social drivers of health across Massey’s catchment area, from screening to the full continuum of care services. She is also a tobacco treatment specialist targeting individuals at risk for developing tobacco-related cancers.
Katelyn Schifano M.S., C.H.E.S. is the CEnR coordinator, working closely with Dr. Thomson in her role as Director of CEnR. Katelyn is a VCU graduate and a certified community health education specialist (C.H.E.S.). She has been working with VCU since 2011 on various social and behavioral health research projects. In her role, she serves as a conduit between community members and researchers to ensure that research is relevant to the communities served by Massey.
Rev. Rachel Pierce, M.A. serves as faith liaison and engagement coordinator for Facts & Faith Friday. She curates conversations and opportunities to connect around science and religion to enhance the lives of people in our communities.
Jessica Young Brown, PhD, LCP, is assistant professor of psychology at VCU. She teaches in the area of applied psychology and has research interests in intersections of faith and mental health as well as racism and intergenerational trauma. Dr. Brown curates conversations on mental health and the connection between physical and mental health in faith communities.