NEW YORK, June 2, 2021 – The Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) is pleased to welcome two new members of its Board of Directors, Colleen Conner Ziegler and Bruce Dunbar.

Colleen Conner Ziegler has recently joined the LCRF Board of Directors. She is a lung cancer survivor and active patient advocate, diagnosed in May 2015 at the age of 58 with Stage IV ALK positive Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. She began, and is currently receiving, Alectinib as her first line of treatment and recognizes that research has made her treatment possible.

After a 22-year career in the pharmaceutical industry, Ms. Conner Ziegler served in a variety of community-focused endeavors, including service on several Boards of Directors and Advisory Boards. Her primary focus prior to her diagnosis was on children’s education as well as woman’s health issues.

Following her lung cancer diagnosis, she turned her focus to lung cancer advocacy. Her advocacy work includes:

  • Founding member of Life and Breath (LAB), a grass root lung cancer organization, with the goal of raising awareness of lung cancer as well as funding for research
  • Founding member of ALKFusion, a patient driven organization whose vision is to initiate and support patient-centric research
  • Currently active ALKFusion representative, Lung Cancer Action Network member, LCRF Strategic Plan Taskforce member
  • Participated in the Department of Defense Lung Cancer Research Program
  • Volunteered with the Lungevity Peer-to-Peer mentor program that connects newly diagnosed patients with a mentor to guide them through their diagnosis and treatment
  • Participated in patient focused videos and print materials on lung cancer diagnosis, advocacy and living with lung cancer and Genentech’s ALK Positivity Project
  • Volunteered with GO2 Foundation’s annual Voices Summit
  • Co-authored and presented Patient Advocacy poster at the 2019 World Conference on Lung Cancer, Barcelona, Spain

Ms. Conner Ziegler lives in Rochester, New York with her husband, Tom, and their daughter Taya.

Bruce Dunbar has joined the LCRF Board after being involved with the organization since his diagnosis with Stage IV Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in 2017.  As a direct beneficiary of lung cancer research, Mr. Dunbar is an active advocate for further efforts to improve screening, detection and treatment.  In addition to his involvement with LCRF, he serves as a Consumer Reviewer for the Lung Cancer Program of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program and advocates for federal funding for lung cancer research through the GO2 Foundation’s annual Voices Summit.

Mr. Dunbar’s career spans more than 30 years in a variety of corporate communications, marketing and advertising roles including serving as Senior Vice President and Director of Corporate Communications for OppenheimerFunds, Inc. and Managing Director, Head of Wealth Management Communications, for Morgan Stanley.  He also held senior client advisory roles at Teneo and Finsbury, Glover, Herrington and is currently a partner in communications advisor Coppertop Media.

Mr. Dunbar received an AB in History from Princeton University and an MBA from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business.

“We are delighted to welcome both Ms. Conner Ziegler and Mr. Dunbar to the LCRF Board of Directors,” says Dennis Chillemi, Executive Director. “Their patient experience, passion for research, personal philanthropy, and many connections within the lung cancer community will bring a more diverse perspective to LCRF as we continue to bring hope to the lung cancer community through research.”

To learn more about LCRF and its Board of Directors, visit www.LCRF.org/board.