OUR TEAM
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
GILLIAN LICHOTA
BOARD CHAIR, FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Gillian Lichota is the founder and CEO of the iRise Above Foundation and the visionary lead author of Rising Above: Our Transformational Journey to Wholeness After Breast Cancer. She is a mother, marine biologist, truth-teller, and sacred space-holder who has dedicated her life to helping young women transform pain into power and embrace their fullest expression.
At thirty-four, while newly pregnant with her first child, Gillian was diagnosed with breast cancer—a rupture that collided joy with mortality and forever altered the landscape of her life. After the birth of her second child, she received the devastating news of metastatic disease. Her prognosis was bleak. Yet instead of collapsing, she cracked open. From that fracture, she launched the iRise Above Foundation in 2017—not just as a nonprofit, but as a living sanctuary for transformation.
Despite the odds, Gillian has now been living with no evidence of disease for seven years. She channels this experience into guiding other young women to reclaim their voice, agency, and wholeness. Through evidence-based tools, integrative healing practices, and soul-rooted sisterhood, iRise Above empowers women not just to survive but to thrive in mind, body, and spirit.
Before her cancer diagnosis, Gillian spent nearly twenty years as a marine biologist, focused on Arctic ecosystems and the study of global change. Her scientific journey mirrored her spiritual one: immersion, depth, and reverence for all forms of life in all its wild forms. Today, she dedicates that same passion to exploring the soul’s landscape—navigating inner oceans of grief, renewal, and self-discovery.
Her writing is both map and mirror—lyrical, raw, and infused with truth. In her lead chapter, The Alchemy of Becoming, Gillian invites readers to witness what happens when we stop hiding our scars and instead gild them with gold. The Rising Above anthology is not merely a collection of survival stories—it is a constellation of origin stories, where each woman’s truth shines like a kintsugi seam: broken, reassembled, and made radiant through the act of becoming.
Originally from Canada, Gillian continues to conquer both physical and metaphorical mountains. She draws strength from wild landscapes and deep surrender, repeatedly returning to the sacred truth: rising isn’t about going back to who we were, but about evolving into who we were always meant to be.
DAGAN LACORTE
BOARD DIRECTOR, TREASURER
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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
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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
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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.
SAM HOLE
BOARD DIRECTOR
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Sam Hole (she/her) is a seasoned digital marketing leader with over two decades of experience in building brand awareness and driving engagement through digital partnerships. Currently a Brand Partnership Manager at TikTok, Sam has led numerous campaigns for top-tier clients, spearheading the adoption of emerging channels, facilitating significant shifts from traditional media to cutting-edge digital solutions, and fostering a collaborative team culture.
Sam also has a deep personal connection to the breast cancer community, having navigated the challenges of her own diagnosis in March 2020 and through that, finding an amazing community of [survivors]. Sam's journey has sparked a profound commitment to supporting others affected by breast cancer through connection, perspective and greater awareness of support resources for women.
JEN POGUE
ADVISOR
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JEN POGUE (she/her) is a Canadian Screen Award winning host, creator, actor, producer, and writer based in Toronto, Ontario. She works as the Director of Industry for the Canadian Film Fest, Producer for Filmcoop Inc, and is the creator and host of Bell Fibe TV1's County Blooms.
In February 2021, Jen's world came to a screeching halt when she was diagnosed with de novo metastatic triple negative breast cancer that had spread to her lungs and sternum. She receives great care at Princess Margaret Hospital with positive results from cutting edge clinical trial-treatment, and is passionate about spreading awareness and hope for the MBC community, while bridging the gaps between research and the patient experience by sharing her story and perspectives.
ADVISORS
JESSICA PENDER
ADVISOR
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Jessica Pender, a resident of Renfrew, ON, Canada, has been a teacher for 24 years, the last 10 of which have been in the role of guidance counsellor. She currently works at an Indigenous High School, where she combines her passion for education with her commitment to supporting students. Jessica loves to travel and is an avid reader, always eager to explore new places and dive into new books.
AMBASSADORS
MEET iRISE AOVE AMBASSADOR:
TERRA GOOD
ADVENTURE TRAVELER. CONSERVATIONIST. MENTOR.
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iRise Above Foundation Ambassador Terra Good discovered her breast cancer during a self-exam. After a mammogram and biopsy, she was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer just a few days before her 40th birthday in February of 2021. After having completed surgery, intensive chemotherapy, and radiation Terra is now considered cancer free.
To date, Terra has participated in numerous iRise Above offerings that include two restorative wellness retreats (to Baja, Mexico and Nosara, Costa Rica) and one adventure trip (to Utah), as well as numerous wellness training programs, book clubs, and wellness webinars. Driven by her desire to help other women, Terra enjoys mentoring new friends through their cancer journeys and connecting them to resources and support so they too can feel empowered and have the tools to rewrite their respective stories.. She feels extremely passionate about sharing the iRise Above community with fellow thrivers because it reminds young, athletic, professional, active, beautiful women, who have recently been diagnosed, that they are not alone - and that together we rise!.
Terra was an International Student Recruiter for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University when she was first diagnosed with cancer. She knew the high stress associated with an international travel schedule and overwhelming daily work demands would no longer align with her newfound wellness journey to heal after breast cancer. After completing her cancer treatments, Terra made the brave decision to leave her stable job to work at her husband’s environmental engineering company as a project manager. It paid off, allowing her to enjoy more autonomy, time with her family, and financial freedom.
Terra resides in Daytona Beach, Florida and enjoys spending time with her husband Bill, bonus daughters, Sarah and Gracie, golden doodle, Sadie, little mutt, Maddie and two mischievous cats Tango and Kiki. She enjoys yoga, international travel, exploring nature, volunteering with small community non-profits, and writing in her breast cancer blog Imperfectly Content.