Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Welcomes Two New Directors to its Board

Mara Sandler and Brooke Goodman Cohen join nonprofit organization’s Board, each with a special mission

New York, NY March 28, 2012 — Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF) welcomes Mara Sandler and Brooke Goodman Cohen to its Board of Directors. Both women lost their mothers to ovarian cancer, and that personal connection to the disease fuels their passion for the cause. Elected through unanimous vote, both will be great assets to OCRF’s growing Board of Directors, which now has 29 members.

Mara Sandler has rejoined OCRF’s board, and has agreed to serve as the first Chair of its Program Committee. During her brief hiatus, she continued to be active in the ovarian cancer community, hosting the annual Janet Burros Memorial Golf Tournament to raise funds in honor of her mother, while also serving on other nonprofit boards, including President of the Women’s Division of Albert Einstein College of Medicine. With a renewed passion for OCRF and its initiatives, Mara, who holds an MA and Ed.M. in Counseling, has volunteered with the organization for the past year working on OCRF’s Woman to Woman Program, an innovative support program that pairs women undergoing treatment for gynecologic cancer with volunteers who have survived the disease. Mara will now head the committee which will help expand the Woman to Woman program nationally in 2012. Her mission is to make this much-needed program available to all women diagnosed with gynecologic cancer across the country and help families like hers cope with an ovarian cancer diagnosis.

Brooke Goodman Cohen brings her diverse background in fashion, travel and leisure, Wall Street, advertising and real estate, as well as her experience as an active board member for several nonprofit organizations and her vast network of contacts to OCRF’s Board of Directors. Brooke will be a member of OCRF’s inaugural Super Saturday Steering Committee and is excited to help achieve the organizational mission to grow this unique, multi-million dollar annual fundraising event into an even bigger success.

OCRF’s Woman to Woman Program
Founded at New York City’s Mount Sinai Hospital in 2003, the Woman to Woman Program provides one-to-one emotional support and mentoring to women undergoing treatment for gynecologic cancer, their families, partners and other caregivers. As an early partner, OCRF funded the Mt. Sinai program to support all gynecologic cancer patients, including cervical, vaginal, vulvar, endometrial and ovarian cancers, as they often share similar experiences. Woman to Woman is managed by professional social workers who act as program coordinators and match survivor volunteers with appropriate women undergoing treatment. Volunteers have received extensive training and have undergone their own unique journey with gynecologic cancer.

OCRF’s Super Saturday Event
Super Saturday is a day-long summer fundraising event for the entire family, underwritten by Donna Karan, QVC and InStyle. Activities include a one-of-a-kind designer garage sale with over 200 designers – called the “Rolls Royce of garage sales” by The New York Times – a kids’ carnival with rides, games and fun, a fabulous raffle, fortune tellers, manicures and more! Food and refreshments are provided all day, with an informal seated lunch in the afternoon.