Please join us in welcoming our newest 2024-26 Board Members:
Hanna Kebede
Hanna moved from her birth country of Ethiopia to Ohio 35 years ago as an exchange student in high school, continuing her higher education in the U.S. at the University of Cincinnati and Old Dominion University. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Health Science and a certification in Cytotechnology, she worked as a cytotechnologist for about eight years before transitioning to my current career in the pharmaceutical industry. Hanna lives in South Riding, VA with her husband of 25 years and two children. Since 2005, she has been working in the pharmaceutical industry in the Washington DC metro area. She is currently an Oncology Account Specialist with Pfizer. As a 17-year breast cancer survivor, her passion is to always be an advocate for the cancer survivor and often supports women with breast cancer in immigrant communities who have difficulty navigating through the health care system due to language barriers or due to their lack of trust and understanding of our health care system. She also serves as a board member at Saint Timothy and Saint Athanasius Coptic Orthodox Church in Arlington, Virginia and is a lead for their connection team – to greet new people and connect them with the existing church members.
Emily Bellavance, MD
Emily is a board-certified surgical oncologist with years of experience helping cancer patients thrive while combating cancer. Her patients receive a personalized treatment plan that accommodates their lives and families, ensuring quality of life is maintained throughout the process. She is the Virginia Surgical Institute’s first breast surgeon. She received her medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine where she later became a resident in General Surgery. After completing her residency, she was a Fellow at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine’s Surgical Oncology department. She has since been a surgical oncologist for the Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, the Baltimore VA Hospital, and Meritus Medical Center; a general surgeon for the Virginia Surgical Institute; and an associate professor of General and Oncologic Surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Emily maintains memberships with the American College of Surgeons, the Society of Surgical Oncology, the American Society of Breast Surgeons, and the Alliance for Clinical Traits in Oncology to keep abreast of the latest innovations in surgical oncology. Her medical research is published in dozens of medical journals, books, and videos, and she has been invited to present and speak at a number of symposiums and conferences.
Priti A. Shah, MD
Priti is a Breast Imaging Radiologist with Rayus Radiology. She was formerly the Medical Director of Breast Imaging with Virginia Commonwealth University Health System and an Assistant Professor for Diagnostic Radiology. She attended medical school and conducted her residency in Radiology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore and her Breast Imaging Fellowship at VCU Health in 2008 and where she continued her career until 2025. Her professional interests include patient education, outreach, and advocacy; legislative advocacy; medical student/resident teaching; minimally invasive procedures; and radiology-pathology correlation. Priti was born and raised just outside Baltimore and is the mother of twin girls. Her hobbies include swimming, reading, and the beach.
Clayres Johnson BSN, RN, CBCN
When Clayres was diagnosed with breast cancer in January of 2015, she had no idea what the next 6-12 months would entail. She was a wife, nurse and mother who desired nothing more than normalcy. She would endure 6 rounds of chemotherapy, undergo a bilateral mastectomy and 34 rounds of radiation in the span of one year. She was fortunate enough to have a navigator come alongside and help her transition from active treatment to survivorship. Her life had forever changed but in the best way possible. Clayres became a Breast Cancer Nurse Navigator at Sentara Leigh in 2016 and a certified breast care nurse in 2018. She facilitates two support groups, co-lead a preoperative class, leads weekly tumor conferences and navigates over 300 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients annually. If she is not in the office, you can find her throughout Hampton Roads educating on the importance of early detection and breast health.
