OUR TEAM
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
GILLIAN LICHOTA
BOARD CHAIR, FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Gillian Lichota is the founder and CEO of the iRise Above Foundation. She is also a mother, marine biologist, adventure-seeker, and thriver. Gillian was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 and again in 2017. Since discovering that her breast cancer had metastasized, she has committed herself to living her best life and to challenge her prognosis. Gillian founded the iRise Above Foundation to help other young women to challenge their prognosis, so that they, too, can feel inspired, empowered, and supported to heal and live a more intentional, authentic life after breast cancer. Gillian strives to support these women through a goal-oriented, mind-body-spirit approach to health and wellness that provides the resources, tools, and strategies for sustainable healthy living -- ultimately improving quality of life and long-term survivorship. Gillian hopes to empower young women with breast cancer to self-advocate, and to use their experiences to live their most fulfilling and authentic lives, as she herself has done.
Gillian was born in Canada, and resides in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. By professional training, she is a marine biologist, specializing in Arctic sciences, who has spent two decades advancing scientific understanding of ocean and coastal science, climate and global change, and improving society's ability to plan and respond. When not being an advocate for the environment or exploring the ocean, Gillian dedicates her life to her beautiful children, Laykelyn and Kailen, and loving husband Boe.
KRISTI MANGAN
BOARD DIRECTOR,
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
Kristi Mangan is a writer and assistant professor of English at Northern Virginia Community College where she teaches college composition. Before she became a teacher, Kristi was a journalist, writing for daily newspapers, and trade and corporate publications. She has also worked in broadcast journalism and public relations. Kristi holds a Master’s degree in print journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and a Bachelor’s degree in English, also from Northwestern University. In addition, she holds a Master’s degree in English with a concentration in the teaching of writing and literature from George Mason University.
In 2012, at 37, Kristi was diagnosed with HER 2+ breast cancer and successfully underwent chemotherapy, radiation, and multiple surgeries. During treatment, Kristi cultivated a holistic approach to her health that incorporates physical, spiritual, and mental well-being. She is thrilled to see that same focus at the core of the iRise Above Foundation. She is eager to share the inspiring stories of young women with breast cancer and the ways in which they thrive in the face of that life-altering diagnosis.
DAGAN LACORTE
BOARD DIRECTOR,
TREASURER
Dagan LaCorte is Managing Member of L&L Partners Wealth Management, LLC. He also runs a family office that owns and develops commercial real estate. From 2009 – 2013 Dagan served as Mayor of Suffern, New York. Dagan is Treasurer of the Friends of JCC Krakow, an organization dedicated to raising funds and awareness in support of the Jewish Community Centre in Krakow Poland. Dagan also serves as the Treasurer of the GhostBear Foundation. The GhostBear foundation was founded by NHL Defensemen Shayne Gostisbehere and supports and encourages organizations motivating young athletes as well as helping ill and disabled children and at risk or endangered animals. Dagan is a graduate of Union College in Schenectady New York and New York University School of Law.
VERED STEARNS
BOARD DIRECTOR
Dr. Vered Stearns is a Board Certified Medical Oncologist in Weill Cornell Medicine, and New Your Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. Dr. Stearns received her M.D., from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School (1992) and went on to complete residency in Internal Medicine (1995) and a fellowship in Medical Oncology (1997) at the Georgetown University. It was during her fellowship at Georgetown University and Lombardi Cancer Center where she first began focusing on breast cancer.
In addition to being an extraordinary clinician, Dr. Stearns serves as Director for Translational Breast Cancer Research, and Associate Director for Clinical Services at Weill Cornell Medicine and the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center. She has previously served as Director of the Women’s Malignancies Disease Group at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, where she held several other leadership positions. As a translational scientist, Dr. Stearns aims to further an individualized approach to the prevention, treatment and care for people with or at risk of breast cancer. Currently, she focuses on the utilization of biomarkers to predict response to standard regimens used to treat and prevent breast cancer and to introduce new approaches.
DYANE O’LEARY
BOARD DIRECTOR
Dyane O’Leary is a lawyer and an Associate Professor of Legal Writing at Suffolk University Law School in Boston, MA, where she also co-directs the law school’s Innovation & Technology concentration. Prior to joining academia, Dyane practiced law in the complex commercial and intellectual property litigation groups at WilmerHale, LLP in Boston. She holds a BA from Villanova University, where she was an Academic All-American soccer player, and a JD from Suffolk University Law School. From coaching youth soccer to representing clients in domestic violence cases to assisting women with immigration concerns to mentoring law students with disabilities, Dyane has been a supporter of causes centered around helping young girls and women overcome challenges. She believes in helping women find the “grit” to turn challenge into opportunity, and hesitation into celebration. Her personal interest in iRise stems in part from the recent loss of both of her husband’s parents to cancer, and from watching their personal struggles not to let “cancer patient” become a defining label. Dyane resides outside of Boston with her husband and three young children, and hopes to instill in each of them a determination to indeed rise above the obstacles life brings.
WELLNESS COLLECTIVE
The iRise Above Foundation’s Wellness Collective includes world-renowned experts in health and well-being who educate our community about the latest research on treatment, nutrition, lifestyle changes, and others issues related to breast cancer. Learn more about the physicians, fitness coaches, functional medicine life coaches, and movement and mindfulness practitioners that comprise our collective here.
AMBASSADORS
MEET iRISE AMBASSADOR: KRISTEN DAHLGREN
AWARD-WINNING JOURNALIST. STORYTELLER. ADVENTURER. MOTHER.
iRise Above Foundation Ambassador Kristen Dahlgren is an award-winning journalist and network correspondent for NBC and MSNBC. Her work appears on all NBC and MSNBC platforms, including NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and The Today Show. She is the recipient of the Edward R. Murrow Award. Her coverage of the Parkland School shooting in 2018 earned her a National Headliner Award and an Emmy nomination.
Driven by a desire to forge connections and to help others, Kristen has reported on everything from national disasters to medical discoveries that have impacted countless people and saved lives -- including her own. In 2019, Kristen was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer after discovering a thickening in her breast that reminded her of a study she had reported on showing that breast cancer does not present as a lump in 1 out of 6 women. It was her desire to help others that led her to share her own experiences with breast cancer surgeries and treatments, including chemotherapy, radiation, and mastectomy. Since her diagnosis, Kristen has reported on numerous developments in her own journey with breast cancer, as well as in developments in the treatment of the disease and breast reconstruction.
Kristen joined the iRise Above Foundation Wellness Program in January 2021 in an effort to return to health and fitness. In October 2021, she participated in the iRise Above Foundation retreat to Utah and shared her experience in segments that appeared on the Today Show and NBC Nightly News.
She lives in Vermont with her daughter, Cielle “Ceecee”, and her husband, Greg.