Matt Sorochty | Board Chair
Partner, Woodard Hernandez Roth & Day, L.L.C.

Matt Sorochty is a partner with the law firm of Woodard, Hernandez, Roth & Day, L.L.C. in Wichita, Kansas. He has spent the last twenty (20) years defending healthcare providers in medical negligence actions as well as serving business clients. He is licensed to practice in all Kansas state and federal courts. He received his law degree from the University of Tulsa in 1997. He has been involved with the Colon Cancer Coalition at the local level in Wichita, KS, since 2010 when his sister-in-law was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer at the age of 42.

Matt Flory, MPP | Treasurer
Senior Manager, Cancer Control Strategic Partnerships, American Cancer Society, Inc.

Matt Flory has worked for the American Cancer Society for over 20 years. In his current position at the American Cancer Society he works to increase colorectal cancer screening through public and provider education, building partnerships with health insurance companies, hospitals, clinics and public health agencies.  Matt is a past president of the Minnesota Public Health Association, and has a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Minnesota.

Mary Harris, PhD | Secretary
Vice Chancellor, Austin Community College

Mary Harris resides in Austin, Texas, where she is the Vice Chancellor for Institutional Effectiveness & Grant Development at Austin Community College (TX). Mary has over 25 years of experience in various roles in higher education. Prior to, Mary was a Commissioned Officer in the US Army where she spent five years on active duty and eight years in the reserves. Mary holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Texas at Austin. After losing her wife to colon cancer in 2019, Mary wants to use her experience as a caregiver to promote colon cancer awareness and screening.

Monica Bringle | Board Member
Monica Bringle, Sr. Manager – Distributor Development, The Toro Company

Monica Bringle is a Sr. Manager at The Toro Company in Bloomington, Minnesota. She has over 25 years working in international marketing, finance, and distributor development. Monica holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Minnesota – Carlson School of Management. She has been involved with the Colon Cancer Coalition since 2016, when her husband was diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer. She’s a passionate colon cancer caregiver and advocate educating and encouraging others to be screened.

Lisa Laliberte | Board Member
Director of Marketing & Communications, MNGI Digestive Health 

Lisa Laliberte is Director of Marketing and Communications for MNGI Digestive Health, one of the country’s largest independent GI specialty groups. She is also President of the Minnesota Medical Group Management Association (MMGMA), liaison to the Minnesota Medical Association (MMA) Board of Trustees and serves an advocacy role on the state Chamber of Commerce’s Health Care Policy Committee. Lisa was a Humphrey School of Public Affairs Policy Fellow and is a past-elected City Councilmember (2013-2020). She’s served on several boards, has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism/Public Relations from the University of St. Thomas, and has been involved with the Colon Cancer Coalition since 2009.

Allison Rosen | Board Member
Project Director, Center for Health Promotion & Prevention Research, The University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston
Young Onset Colorectal Cancer Survivor
Local Event Director – Houston

Allison Rosen has worked in the world of oncology for over 15 years. Since 2017, she has been working in outreach, education, and prevention in the field of colorectal cancer. She is a project director at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in the Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research. On June 7, 2012, at the age of 32, after years of struggling with Crohn’s disease, her life was totally disrupted when a colonoscopy revealed stage IIc colorectal cancer. She has now been cancer free for eight years and is an passionate advocate both in and outside of work. She volunteers her time on committees for young adult cancer patients, for groups working on effective patient experience,and policy work at the state and national level. She also is involved with various other initiatives that are patient centered. Allison utilizes both her work experience and personal battle with cancer to help clinical staff deliver and patients receive the best care possible.

Brian Shelly | Board Member
Director of Sales, Payer Strategies, athenahealth
Local Event Director – Boston

Brian Shelly is a Director of Sales at athenahealth based in Watertown, Mass. He has spent his career in healthcare technology and has worked with the leading healthcare organizations in the Untied States. He also has spent the last 10 years as Vice Chairman of the Board at Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center in Dorchester MA, working closely with the CEO on the centers operations and strategic vision. He received his degree in Kinesiology from New England College in Henniker, N.H. He has been involved with the Colon Cancer Coalition as the lead volunteer for Get Your Rear in Gear in Boston since 2010 when his brother-in-law was diagnosed with colon cancer at 34.

 

Past Board Chairs

Kirsten Freiborg, Board Chair

Kirsten Freiborg 
Sr. Program Mngr – Medical Education, Medtronic, Inc.

Kirsten Freiborg was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer at just 22, one month before graduating from the University of St. Thomas with a B.S. in Neuroscience. Her diagnosis came as a complete shock. At the time, she was the youngest patient her physicians had seen with colon cancer. Kirsten is now using her story of surviving to encourage awareness and screening and inspire other young patients like herself.

Jeff Smedsrud
President, HealthCare.com, Inc.

Jeff Smedsrud was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2003 at the age of 44. Since that time, promoting colon cancer screening and awareness has been a passion for him. He has run marathons around the world, one of the few to claim running a marathon on all seven continents. Smedsrud is the president of HealthCare.com, Inc. and serves on the board of several regional health care organizations.

Kristin Lindquist
Founder, Colon Cancer Coalition

While raising two small children and working full-time in executive management for Wells Fargo, Kristin Lindquist started the Colon Cancer Coalition in memory of her sister, Susie Lindquist Mjelde. She brought Get Your Rear in Gear to Minneapolis in 2005 attracting over 1200 participants, breaking the record for a first-time 5K in Minnesota. She led the organization for several years as president and board chair. Today she works in healthcare with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.

 

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