About Us and Our Mission

Sharon Francz, BHA, the Executive Director, President and co-founder of the National Coalition of Oncology Nurse Navigators (NCONN), has over 25 years of professional experience in nursing. Sharon's vast and varied experience prepared her uniquely to assume the role of the first navigator at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital, in Rockville, MD, where she was instrumental in the successful development and implementation of this new role. Success of this role was evidenced by growth to a funded, self-supported, three person multi-disciplinary navigation team within only two years.

Through her leadership role at NCONN, Sharon provides real time support and Oncology Nurse Navigation expertise to organizations as they pursue program optimization through navigator role development/implementation. Sharon and NCONN support organizations as they implement generalist as well as disease specific navigation programs, with the goal of improved patient satisfaction; quality outcomes; and return on investment (ROI), with the ultimate goal of expanding the role of the oncology nurse navigator and survivorship care services to better manage the complexities of the cancer care continuum for patients.

Sharon is a member of C-Change, the American Society of Breast Surgeons Board of Advocates, Lynch Syndrome International Board Member, CANCER101 Advisory Board Member and is a member of the Nurse Navigator-Special Interest Group (SIG) of ONS. Current NCONN initiatives for which Sharon is lead include Chairing the Multiple Myeloma Toolkit Development Taskforce and Chairing/Project managing the Survivorship Taskforce

Sharon has authored and regularly writes articles for the Breast Cancer Wellness Magazine and OncNurse and frequently can be heard on "The Stupid Cancer Radio Show" for young adult cancer patients and survivors.

Rebecca Trupp is currently the nurse navigator for Breast and Gyn oncology at Suburban Hospital, Bethesda, MD. She is highly dedicated to her patients and the promotion of the nurse navigator role. Rebecca created and manages the nurse navigator program at Suburban Hospital, serving both inpatients and outpatients. She participates in the hospital patient education committee, provides in-service training to the hospital staff, and gives lectures in the community. She has explored political advocacy, speaking on Capitol Hill in support of patient rights.

Prior to working at Suburban, Rebecca was an integral member of the team that envisioned and developed the Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic Breast Health Program. She has worked in women's health care for the majority of her career in various positions including: Genitourinary Med/Surg, Postpartum, Labor and Delivery, High Risk Antepartum, Mother/Baby home health, and High Risk Obstetrical Case Management. Rebecca received her degree in nursing from Montgomery College and has been a Registered Nurse since 1991. She received her certification in Oncology Nursing in 2006.

Susan J. Keen, RN OCN is an oncology certified nurse with over 14 years experience. She has worked as a floor, doctor, and research nurse. She began her career as an oncology nurse navigator in January 2007 when she developed the program for CJW Medical Center. In the last couple of years, she has specialized as the thoracic nurse navigator. She spearheads and is the coordinator of the Multidiscipline Chest Conference that meets bi-weekly. She also took classes through ACS and ALA for tobacco cessation to start the Tobacco Cessation program at CJW Medical Center. The Tobacco Cessation program benefits patients, employees, and the community. She served as the primary investigator of the National Oncological Pet Registry where enough funding was saved that the facility obtained a PET CT scanner. She has written two education booklets which has been shared a crossed the nation; one on colorectal cancer and the other one on lung cancer. She is the co-founder of Virginia Coalition of Nurse Navigator and served as the first president for three years. She then served on the executive board for VCONN. She also served as president and president elect for Richmond local Oncology Nursing chapter. She was chosen to receive the Oncology Nursing Society Leadership award. As her project, she chose to organize the first ever "Free to Breathe Richmond" walk/run. The proceeds support lung cancer research, education and awareness. She has risen over $90,000 in two years and has over 700 participants. She loves learning and is in the process of obtaining the certification Tobacco Training Specialist. Susan was chosen for the 2012 Nursing Excellence Award for Johnston Willis Hospital. She currently sits of the advisory board for OncLive. She has presented nationally at the Oncology Nursing Congress (3 years) and several nurse navigation conferences. Susan chose to pursue a career in nursing later in life after having 5 children. She graduated from John Tyler Community College and immediately began working on the JW medical oncology unit. It was not until 2011 she began her course in seeking her Master degree in Nursing from Old Dominion University. Susan is very involved in her church. She is also a very proud "ManMaw" to 14 grandchildren and loves her time with them.

Cindi Cantril, RN. OCN, MPH, is an oncology certified nurse with over 40 years of nursing experience in surgical, medical and radiation oncology. She was founding Board member and first Vice-President of the Oncology Nursing Society. In 2001, she began to focus on a Navigator role, assisting patients and their families in gaining information to make informed cancer treatment related decisions as well as psychosocial support. A national leader in oncology nursing, she has developed cancer recovery programs in Montana and California. In 2010, she received the Distinguished Service Award from the Oncology Nursing Society recognizing her commitment in establishing and creating models for patient navigation. Cindi led the efforts to create a focus group, now active special interest group on patient navigation for the Oncology Nursing Society. She facilitates support groups and conducts a variety of recovery and survivorship programs. She is the co-investigator on a unique research program, Horses as Healers, an equine therapy program for cancer survivors. Cindi received her nursing and bachelor degree from Meramec Community College, a Bachelors in psychology from Lindenwood College in (Missouri) and a Masters of Public Health from the University of California (Berkeley). She is the Program Manager for Cancer Services and Patient Navigation for Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation in Santa Rosa.

Susan Stary RN, MSN, OCN has been a nurse for over 35 years, which includes experience in obstetrics, gerontology, medical-surgical, and oncology. She has been involved in many roles from staff nurse to varied leadership roles in community and academic medicine. Her oncology experience started in a community based hospital as the only oncology nurse advancing the coordination of care for oncology patients through the development of nursing staff, establishment of policies/procedures specific for oncology, and the development of a dedicated oncology unit. Over the last 29 years, she has been working at MD Anderson Cancer Center and has been involved in many clinical areas in a variety of roles. During this time, she facilitated the development of the Transplant Nurse Coordinator role to facilitate the overall care and navigation of the oncology patient through this process. Her past experiences and current role have provided her with the insight and knowledge to develop outcome metrics for the nurse navigators at MD Anderson's Regional Care Centers and serve as a resource. Susan has participated in many educational programs through poster presentations, panel/round table discussions and presentations. Likewise, she is active in many community and professional organizations which include; Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, ONS nationally and locally, Sigma Theta Tau, Texas Gulf Coast Association for Healthcare Quality, and NCONN.

Susan received her Associate Degree of Nursing from Texas Southmost College (Brownsville) followed by her Bachelor and Masters degree in Nursing from University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston.

She currently is a Quality Management Analyst with MD Anderson Physician Network working with affiliated sites to improve the quality of care to oncology patients.

Diane McElwain, RN, OCN, M.Ed is currently an oncology coordinator/navigator for the York Cancer Center in York, PA. She has been involved in nursing for over 40 years and has been involved with oncology for the last 30 years in various positions including an inpatient setting, hospice with home health and an outpatient Cancer Center.. In her current position, Diane is responsible for patient support activities including support groups and special activities, professional continuing education activities, navigation for the head and neck cancer patients and screening and detection programs and activities for the Cancer Center. She is also a past Coordinator for the Prevention and Early Detection Special Interest Group within the Oncology Nursing Society and the program chairperson for the PA Capital Region ONS Chapter. Diane is married to Bob, a retired teacher and has three grown children and 5 grandchildren. Diane is committed to the support of nurse navigators, as this role designation will become more important to patients as the complexity of the cancer journey increases.