Board of Directors
SUPPORTING PATIENTS.FUNDING CARE.PROVIDING HOPE.

Tom Jacob, Board Chair
Commercial Real Estate Investor

Marcia Boyle
Marcia, a Wake Forest University graduate, was an advisor for Junior Achievement, a volunteer for the Marilyn Monroe Family Center for Abused Women in London, an active fundraiser for the American Cancer Society during the development of the Hope Lodge and a volunteer for school and community organizations in Wellesley. She is a driving force behind Ellie Fund’s Real Golfers Wear Pink tournament. Marcia continues to spread her enthusiasm about Ellie Fund within her wide reaching network.

Thanda Fields Brassard

Cynthia Levine Kropp

Ronald Lanoue, Treasurer

Jeff Popkin, Founder

Jeannie Shanahan
Jeannie Shanahan is a risk expert with extensive experience in credit, enterprise risk management, governance, and crisis and business continuity planning. A finance professional by training, Jeannie served as Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, Chief Governance Officer, and Credit Risk Director at some of the country’s largest institutions, including State Street Global advisors, Omgeo LLC, Fidelity Investments, and Northern Trust. She is passionate about leading cultural and organizational transformation and mentoring younger executives. Jeannie received an MBA from Boston College and a B.S. in Mathematics and Computer Science from Simmons College in Boston. She joined Ellie Fund’s board after witnessing three of her family members struggled with breast cancer. Jeannie’s risk management and crisis management expertise are important as the advisor to the Ellie Fund Board on strategy matters.

Amy Comander, MD
Breast Oncologist, Mass General Cancer Center at Waltham and Newton Wellesley
Dr. Amy Comander is Director of Breast Oncology and Cancer Survivorship at the Mass General Center in Waltham and at Newton-Wellesley. She is also co-director of the Mass General Cancer Center in Waltham. Dr. Comander is well-known for her compassionate care and devotion to her patients. She is dedicated to improving the quality of life and outcome of her patients through lifestyle interventions. In addition to her expertise in hematology/oncology, Dr. Comander has also pursued board certification in Lifestyle Medicine, and she has launched “PAVING the Path to Wellness Program,” a 12 week lifestyle medicine based survivorship program for women with breast cancer. She is an avid runner, and she is thrilled to run her eighth consecutive Boston Marathon this year to honor the Ellie Fund!

Nicole Thomas
Assistant Vice President, Business Analyst, Private Investments
As a Business Analyst at Wellington, Nicole helps lead the growth, expansion, integration, and oversight of the firm’s private investment business. She also co-chairs “Shades,” Wellington’s Black Employee Resource Group, and serves as Secretary to the firm’s Global Governance Committee. Nicole has also been an active participant of Wellington’s philanthropic Grant Recommendation Committee, having acted as a grant reviewer for the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology and College for Social Innovation, and Lead for the After School & Summer Program Review Team that provided oversight grant recommendation for seven non-profits.

Joanna Chanis
Speaker, Author, and Entrepreneur
Joanna is a self-employed inspirational speaker, professional mentor, author, entrepreneur, inventor, and successful business owner. She wrote her book, The Waiting Room: Your Friend to Help You and Your Loved Ones Through the Diagnosis, because, “it was exactly what I would have needed after my breast cancer diagnosis but couldn’t find.” Joanna’s extensive philanthropic experience extends to the Park Street School, Newton Country Day School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Annunciation Cathedral of New England, and the Greek Ladies Philoptochos Society.

Dr. Tina opie
Founder, Shared Sisterhood; Chief Vision Officer, Opie Consulting: Visiting Scholar, Harvard Business School
Dr. Opie received her Ph.D. in Management from New York University’s Stern School of Business in 2010. In addition to her teaching the Foundations of Management & Entrepreneurs at Babson College (for which she was named at Top 40 Undergraduate Business Professor by Poets & Quants, a leading news website dedicated to coverage of business education), Tina has recently been named a visiting scholar at Harvard Business School, following her MLK Visiting Professor/Scholar position at MIT. Tina is a regular commentator on Harvard Business Review’s Women at Work podcast and on WGBH. Her book, Shared Sisterhood, co-authored with Dr. Beth Livingston, will be published by Harvard Business Press in Fall 2022. Prior to her academic career, Tina was a banker and a management consultant.

Bob Ernst
Owner and President, FBN Construction Co.
In addition to his service with Communities United, Inc., and Needham Childrens’ Museum, Bob’s board experience is exemplified by his tenure at Builders and Remodelers Association of Greater Boston. He was called back into service as the Association was moving through a difficult and contentious reorganization in a successful effort to reestablish its solid financial and governance structure. In 1995, Bob joined FBN Construction and set it on a path to be recognized as a premier residential building and remodeling company in Greater Boston.