Association of Community Cancer Centers Announces 2023-2024 Executive Committee Leadership and New Trustees

Rockville, MD – The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) has announced its new Executive Committee members and five new Board of Trustees members for the 2023-2024 term.

Olalekan Ajayi, PharmD, MBA, Chief Operating Officer at Highlands Oncology Group, PA, will lead the Executive Committee as the newly-elected ACCC President. Ajayi and his fellow members of the Executive Committee were elected to their roles during this year’s ACCC 49th Annual Meeting and Cancer Center Business Summit.

Nadine J. Barrett, PhD, MA, MS, Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Duke University, will serve as President-Elect. Una Hopkins, RN, FNP-BC, DNP, who is the Director for Research and Evidence Based Practice at Montefiore Medical Center will continue her current term as Secretary and Douglas Flora, MD, LSSBB, Executive Medical Director of Oncology Services at St. Elizabeth Healthcare, will serve as Treasurer.  The Executive Committee, which also includes Immediate Past-President David Penberthy, MD, MBA, will guide ACCC’s educational programming, advocacy initiatives, and resource development through the 2023-2024 tenure.

“Our Executive Committee and Board of Trustees reflects the diversity of roles that are essential in a patient’s care, from oncologists to nurses to administrators,” said Ajayi. “The Board’s wealth of knowledge and expertise in their respective fields uniquely positions ACCC to create thoughtful and practical resources for all members of the cancer care team, ultimately leading to better care for the patients who need it most.”

At Highlands Oncology Group, PA, Ajayi currently oversees the deployment of strategic initiatives into operational goals across all organizational service lines, including oncology. He holds a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Wyoming and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Colorado Denver.

Barrett is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at Duke University. She currently holds senior leadership roles as CTSI Co-Director for Equity and Stakeholder Strategy and the Founding Director of The Center for Equity in Research in the Duke Clinical Translational Science Institute, and Associate Director for Equity and Stakeholder Strategy, Duke Cancer Institute. Barrett most recently served as ACCC’s Treasurer, and prior to that served on the ACCC Board of Trustees.

ACCC also announced the appointment of five new members to the Board of Trustees:

• J. Renea Austin-Duffin, MPA
• JiaJoyce Conway, DNP, CRNP, AOCN
• Matthew Manning, MD, FASTRO
• Kurt Oettel, MD
• Cardinale B. Smith, MD, PhD

More information on ACCC’s leadership can be found here.