Executive Board/BOD
Executive Committee
Founder & Chair, President
Bonnie J. Addario
Bonnie, a seven-year Lung Cancer survivor, is the Founder and Chair of the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (BJALCF), a San-Francisco-based, international nonprofit organization. Through her visionary leadership and passion, BJALCF has become recognized as the world’s largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to eradicating Lung Cancer.
Prior to her founding BJALCF, a nationally recognized business leader, she was the President of both the Commercial Fueling Network and Olympian Oil companies. In addition, Bonnie was the first female President of the California Independent Oil Marketers Association and in 2004 she was honored with the Dime-On-Pin for Exceptional Service to the Independent Petroleum Industry of the United States. She was also a Director of Fifth Business Board for Child Abuse and a supporter of Partners Ending Domestic Abuse.
In October, 2007, under Bonnie’s direction and leadership, BJALCF launched the nation’s first comprehensive Lung Cancer program of its kind and created the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI)—a virtual Institute, with a shared specimen repository and database with real-time information for the purpose of serving as an honest, third-party broker so researchers around the world can collaborate and accelerate discovery and raise the standard of care for all patients.
Bonnie has been honored as a Jefferson Award Winner for Public Service in San Francisco. She serves as a past director of the Sequoia Hospital Foundation Board, Vice Chair of the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Thoracic Cabinet, an advocate and member of Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) Lung Committee and is a past trustee for the San Carlos Parks and Recreation Foundation. She is a member and participant of FasterCure’s innovation TRAIN/THE REDSTONE ACCELERATION AND INNOVATION NETWORK headquartered in Washington, D.C. Bonnie is an active member of the the International Association of the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC)
Bonnie is committed to changing the horrific statistics and mortality rates for Lung Cancer. The overall 5-year survival rate for Lung Cancer is 15.5%. A mother of three grown children and a grandmother to nine—Bonnie’s goal is to do all she can to make the world a better place.
Co-Founder
David Jablons, MD
Dr. David Jablons was born and raised in New York City. He completed his pre-medical studies at Yale University, with an American Literature major.
Dr. Jablons completed a year of neuroscience research at Yale, then applied to and was accepted into medical school at Albany Medical College of Union University in New York. During his 4th year, he won a prestigious student preceptorship at the National Cancer Institute for clinical science training, under the supervision of Dr. Steven Rosenberg. It was here that his love for translational science began. He began his surgical residency at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston, Mass. He completed his surgical oncology fellowship at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, with the focus of his studies being tumor immunology and immunotherapy. He completed his surgical residency at Tufts-New England Medical Center.
Dr. Jablons then went on to pursue his cardiothoracic training. He was the first Thoracic track Fellow at Cornell Medical Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Medical Center in New York, under the supervision of Dr. Robert Ginsburg. He also trained under the supervision of Dr. Wayne Isom in cardiac surgery, and Dr. David Sugarbaker in lung transplantation. He became Assistant Professor in Residence at the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco in August 1995. He became Chief of the Section of General Thoracic Surgery at the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco in February 1997, and shortly thereafter, became the Ada Endowed Chair and Program Leader of the Thoracic Oncology Program. He is also the Director of the UCSF Thoracic Oncology Laboratory. He won an accelerated promotion to Associate Professor of Surgery in 2000 and an accelerated promotion to Professor of Surgery in 2005.
Upon his promotion to Chief of General Thoracic Surgery, Dr. Jablons re-directed the focus of research to molecular biology and genomics. He successfully recruited Liang You, M.D. Ph.D., Zhidong Xu Ph.D. and Biao He, Ph.D. and others to join in his efforts in the laboratory. He is currently actively involved in novel target discovery and therapeutic development in cancer. Areas of interest include the intersection of cancer stem cell biology and, in particular, the wnt pathway. He is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Association for Cancer Research, the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the American Association of Thoracic Surgeons among others. Dr. Jablons is the author of numerous abstracts and papers, and makes numerous presentations each year, both nationally and internationally.
Julie B. Harkins, Vice President
Ms. Harkins joined First Republic Bank in 1993. In her current position as an Executive Managing Director, she is responsible for managing the San Francisco “Mega Team”, which has thirty five members including relationship managers, loan processors and preferred bankers. She also manages her own portfolio of high net worth clients and is one of the Bank’s top producers.
Prior to joining First Republic, Ms. Harkins was a Vice President of Private Banking at Bank of America in San Francisco. During her ten year stint at B of A, she also managed the bank’s state legislative program before becoming a commercial lender.
Ms. Harkins is a graduate of Williams College. She currently serves on the SFMOMA Architectural and Design Committee and UCSF’s Thoracic Oncology Advisory Board.
Sheila Von Driska, Executive Director, Secretary and Treasurer
As the founder and owner of White Space Inc., a San Francisco-based full-service design and advertising agency, Sheila Von Driska has spent almost 18 years creating the visual voice for and launching businesses large and small – even keeping through the challenges of the dotcom crash. It was those difficult times that opened her eyes and heart to the need for non-profits to be able to inspire others into action. Since then, she has made it her full-time business to use her professional design and branding expertise to help try and make a difference in the world. All paths led to Bonnie Addario and the Foundation.
Prior to launching White Space Inc., the Chicago native graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a degree in graphic design and spent several years working with the magazine design team at Playboy Magazine. At age 23, she moved to San Francisco and honed her design skills at Butterfield & Butterfield, before creating her own design and advertising business.
Sheila lives with three seven-inch tall roommates in the heart of San Francisco.
Board of Directors
Denise Brown, MD
Zheng Cao–International Ambassador
Robert Cassou
Carole Carney
Deborah Flanagan Tobias
Joe Gaeta
Dani Gasparini
Jack Hanson
Steven R. Lloyd
Patty McKernan
Alissa Robinow
Whitney Spagnola
Debbie Tully
