Our Board of Directors is comprised of accomplished professionals who are passionate about helping fulfill our purpose and mission. Our Board is responsible for all decisions related to organization grant funding and financial assistance for individuals. They guide our leadership team and ensure we’re accountable to our donors, partner organizations, and patients.
Thomas J. Walsh
President and Co-founder
Tom is a partner at Think Big Partners in Kansas City, MO and has founded and developed several successful businesses, including Central Interchange, Inc., and H2O Resources, LLC. Prior to that, he was part of the executive leadership team at Jack Henry & Associates, Inc. for 14 years. Tom is a member of the KU Advancement Board, a life member of the Chancellors Club and the Alumni Association of the University of Kansas, and a member of the board of trustees for KU Endowment. Tom was co-owner and co-chairman of Silpada Designs, Inc., a company co-founded by his wife, Teresa. A graduate of the University of Kansas with a bachelor of science in business administration and management, Tom and his wife, Teresa, live in Leawood, KS and have three grown children, two of which are also KU Alumni.
Teresa Walsh
Chairman and Co-founder
Teresa was the co-founder of Silpada Designs, Inc. in Lenexa, KS. Founded in 1997 with her business partner and friend, Bonnie Kelly, Silpada Designs grew to become the leading sterling silver jewelry retailer in the United States. Silpada marketed and sold its exclusive, handcrafted jewelry through more than 25,000 independent sales representatives throughout the United States and Canada. Teresa and Tom were inducted into the University of Kansas Hospital Hall of Fame in 2014, recognizing their leadership gift to establish the Cancer Center’s Nurse Navigator Program.
Dr. Terry Tsue
Terry Tsue, MD, FACS is the Physician-in-Chief of the University of Kansas Cancer Center, Douglas A. Girod MD Endowed Professor of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology and Vice Chairman of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Kansas School of Medicine. Dr. Tsue complements his administrative leadership responsibilities with an active clinical practice and resident education. He is nationally recognized for his expertise in microvascular reconstructive surgery for head and neck cancers and, specifically, microvascular reconstruction of the jaw. Dr. Tsue’s clinical focus is on tumors of the mouth, throat, voice box, neck and thyroid glands. His writings on reconstructive microvascular surgery techniques and numerous ENT topics have been included in more than 150 publications and abstracts. He is often a featured presenter nationally at head and neck cancer and residency education symposiums. Since 2005, Dr. Tsue has been included in Best Doctors, a renowned electronic database and consulting service made up of the best 5% of physicians worldwide. Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, he studied electrical engineering and biology at Stanford University where he graduated first in his class in engineering. He worked summer jobs for Boeing and ROLM Corporations to enhance his engineering skills prior to attending medical school at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore Maryland. He graduated fourth in his class at Hopkins before entering training in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at the University of Washington in Seattle. During his training there, he completed a two-year National Institutes of Health-funded post-doctoral research fellowship in vestibular neuroscience and gained clinical subspecialty expertise in microvascular and skull base surgery. Dr. Tsue joined the faculty at the University of Kansas School of Medicine Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery in 1996. He has served as Residency Program Director and subsequently as Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education. Dr. Tsue and his wife of 26 years, Debbie, have two children, Ashley and Trevor. He enjoys watching his daughter fence for the Princeton varsity fencing team, and travels across the country with his son competing in national fencing tournaments.
Rachel Cannon
Treasurer
Rachel is an experienced accounting and finance professional and CPA with over 30 years of experience in healthcare, government and not-for-profit industries. Currently, Rachel works at the University of Kansas Medical Center where she has held the positions as Assistant Director of Finance or Assistant Director of Accounting and Financial Reporting for the past 6 years. Rachel is a KU basketball and football fan in addition to being an avid world traveler.
Brad Scott
Brad Scott is a Founding Partner and CEO at PostRock Partners. Brad’s main responsibilities include integrating business development practices; driving wealth planning and risk management concepts; and implementing best-in-class client experience standards.
Brad began his career in the banking and financial services industry in 1997, most recently serving as Market Leader for U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management in Kansas City. Additional certifications and degrees include a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER ™; a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor (CTFA); and a B.A. in Business Administration, Missouri Western State University.
In addition to serving as a board member of HNC Living Foundation, Brad is also on the Finance Committee of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
Brad and his wife Lisa reside in Parkville, Missouri. When he is not at work, he enjoys spending time with his family, hiking and photography.
Kristin Tyson
Kristin serves as the Kansas City Bank President. She brings thirty-seven years of banking experience in Business Banking, Private Banking, and Consumer Banking that spans a wide variety of industries and transaction types and structures. Ms. Tyson began her career while in college, attending Washburn University, where she earned both a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree in Finance and a master’s degree in Business Administration. She moved back to the Kansas City area in 1990 where she has spent the remainder of her career in Kansas City, Commercial Banking, Treasury Banking, and Private Banking groups. Ms. Tyson is actively engaged in the Kansas City community, serving on boards for the Salvation Army of Kansas and Western Missouri, the Boys and Girls Club, and the National Association of Women Business Owners. She served as President of the board of the Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault (MOCSA} and is the co-founder of Golfology Fore Cardiology, a benefit golf tournament for the University of Kansas Hospital. She is passionate about representing the CrossFirst Brand in the Kansas City community.
Kristin is the proud mom to 4 adult children and ten grandchildren. She loves golfing, traveling, and cooking.
Bill White
Bill is an experienced, award-winning public relations, corporate communications and corporate social responsibility executive. Over a career spanning more than 35 years, including 10 years as senior vice president, Corporate Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility at Sprint Corporation, he has won numerous awards for communications programs and strategies including both the Silver Anvil and Gold Quill for communications excellence. He is a frequent lecturer and speaker on corporate reputation, merger and acquisition communications and corporate responsibility. He is the recipient the Ball State University National Public Relations Achievement Award, one of only two national public relations awards that recognize individuals for their communications experience, contributions to the profession and encouragement of educational programs in public relations.
Bill is active in the Kansas City community. He is a member, and serves as chair, of the Helzberg School of Management Advisory Board of Rockhurst University; a member of the Advisory Board of the Little Sisters of the Poor in Kansas City, where he chairs the development committee; and is chair of the Board of Trustees of St. Thomas Aquinas High School. He also is a member of the communications committee of Kansas City Rising and previously served as a member of the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City, where he chaired the Kansas City Tomorrow program. He, and his wife Ellen, are the parents of four grown children.
Janice Benjamin
Janice is a seasoned philanthropy executive with over 25 years in the field. She retired as the vice president of development for The University of Kansas Health System in 2020 where she built a highly regarded fundraising program from the ground up to support innovation and patient care at the region’s leading academic medical center. She previously served as the vice president of the Menorah Medical Center Foundation.
Janice spent her early professional career as a teacher, career management consultant/business owner, and author. She is a graduate of Tulane University and holds a master’s degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in guidance and counseling. Her civic involvement includes serving as the past president of the Junior League of Kansas City, MO, and former Board Chair of the Central Exchange.
She is a Kansas City native with two grown children and two grandchildren and enjoys golf and travel with her husband, Bert.
Banks Floodman
Banks Floodman is an experienced business development specialist. Since 2016 he has served as the director of business development for Sunflower Development Group, focusing on equity and debt placement, research, discovery, underwriting, and implementation of project development. He has been involved in multifamily, hospitality, office, and retail real estate transactions valued at more than $105 million. Before joining Sunflower, Banks spent nearly eight years in development for University of Kansas Athletics, most recently as the senior associate athletic director for revenue development, where he led a team that raised over $220 million for athletic-related capital projects.
Banks serves on the Board of Trustees for Leadership Kansas, one of the oldest and most respected statewide leadership programs in the country, and he sits on the Pegasus Capital Management Advisory Board. Banks graduated from the University of Kansas, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in finance.
Banks enjoys fly fishing, working out, traveling, reading, and, most importantly, spending time with his wife, Erica, and their two children.
Mandy Roe
Mandy Roe is the Chief of Staff for Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt. She has spent over 20 years working in public relations and governmental relations. She has lobbied on behalf of numerous businesses and associations and worked as a political consultant.
In 2013, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and became an advocate and resource for those with head and neck cancer. Mandy is a graduate of Washburn University and lives in Topeka with her husband Bill and their three sons.
Gail Gottlieb
Gail joined the HNC Living Foundation Board after being involved in the Foundation’s external audit for several years in her prior position with Gottlieb, Flekier & Co. Currently, Gail is the Director of Budget for the University of Kansas Medical Center and an avid KU basketball fan. She has over 30 years of experience as a CPA helping assist clients, including nonprofits, in assurance, consulting and other financial operational needs. Gail is married to Jerry Gottlieb and together they have four children, three grandchildren and a dog.
Monica Nguyen-Francis
As a marketing and communications professional, Monica first became engaged with the HNC Living Foundation in 2018 as a modest donor at Masks for Aid. Eight months later, Monica would learn first-hand the devastation head and neck cancer would take on her family after her father was diagnosed with stage 4-A squamous cell carcinoma of the mouth. As a patient advocate, Monica adds a true-to-life perspective on what HNC patients need and the benefits HNC Living has on the patients we serve.
Monica is a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Journalism with an emphasis in strategic communication. She and her husband, Brian, enjoy traveling and hosting friends and family in their newly renovated home in Olathe, Kansas.
Debby Easum
Debby Easum, Senior Vice President of Patient Resource LLC, has nearly three decades of experience in medical publishing. She currently leads a team of writers, designers and developers who are focused on empowering people living with cancer through education. Using unique publishing methods that make it possible to customize information for individual diagnoses, Debby can elevate her focus to offering touch points for patients that enable them to get the help they need, when they need it. Previously, Debby was Publisher and Executive Vice President at two leading publishing companies, where she managed medical association accounts. Debby lives in Shawnee with her husband, Kurt and together they have four daughters. She enjoys travelling, cooking and family time.