Lauren Morales, LCSW

Lauren (she/her) is a licensed clinical social worker and young adult cancer survivor of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Before joining Cactus Cancer Society as Senior Program Coordinator, she spent more than a decade working across hospitals, military installations, primary care, and private practice, where she specialized in trauma and grief therapy for folx navigating oncology and chronic illness. She has a deep interest in meaning-making, identity, intersectionality, and community building within the psycho-oncology and AYA space. 

When she is not working, you can usually find Lauren curled up on the couch with her two dogs, testing out a new recipe or finding a new restaurant, or lost in a book. She is also an active duty military spouse, a passionate advocate for health care reform, a lover of spoken word poetry, and a proud Auntie.

Stephen Heaviside

Stephen Heaviside

Stephen Heaviside is a musician, writer and AYA cancer advocate. He resides in Orange County, California and loves dolphins, true crime documentaries and good coffee. You can follow him on Instagram/Twitter @heavysighed and on Facebook. His music is available on Spotify and Apple Music.

Christina Kosyla

Christina Kosyla

Christina Kosyla is an educator, theatre artist, and accidental rare disease advocate. Her performance and directorial work has been seen in diverse venues such as the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland, and jazz festivals in Tuscany.  Since her diagnosis with a desmoid tumor in 2018, she has raised over $32,000 for the Desmoid Tumor Research Foundation. She chronicles her treatment and adventures on her blog and instagram account, Girl Meets Cancer. Christina lives in New Jersey with her dog, Daisy.

Lauren Creel, MSW, MPH

Lauren was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma at the age of 23.  After treatment, she was inspired to use her personal cancer experience to help other patients, so she returned to academia, earning a Master’s in Public Health and a Master’s in Social Work from San Diego State University.  A few years after her treatment ended, she got involved with the AYA cancer community through a wilderness retreat.  The interaction with others her age who had gone through cancer helped her to process her own experiences and begin the healing process.  She is passionate about cancer survivorship, specifically issues of isolation, resilience, fear of recurrence, and advocacy for AYAs with cancer which is why she is thrilled to be at Cactus Cancer Society.

Prior to her time at Cactus Cancer Society, Lauren spent five years working as a Program Administrator at City of Hope National Medical Center, building comprehensive programs for cancer survivors and academic programs for physicians.  She has developed curricula and educational materials for cancer survivors and AYA cancer patients, facilitated City of Hope’s cancer survivorship support group, and has presented extensively on fear of cancer recurrence and spirituality in cancer survivorship.  In addition to her work at City of Hope, Lauren has worked with The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Stupid Cancer, UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, and Still Waters Cancer Retreat to provide psychosocial support and to advocate for the needs of cancer patients and survivors. 

Aerial Donovan

Aerial Donovan is the Co-Founder and Chief Program Officer (CPO) at Cactus Cancer Society. Her passion is helping the young adult cancer community forge connections, guiding them to self-advocate, and discover resources that are accessible without barriers to entry. Her knowledge and expertise in community building and organizing + executing digital events has helped Cactus Cancer Society’s programming flourish. Prior to becoming CPO, she was VP of Programs at GRYT Health and volunteered with organizations such as Stupid Cancer, Imerman’s Angels, Dear Jack Foundation, and Lacuna Loft. She continues to lead the Young Adult Cancer Advisory Board at Cactus Cancer Society.

Mallory Casperson, MS

Mallory is the Co-Founder + CEO at Cactus Cancer Society. She has an MS degree and half a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. During her Master’s and PhD, she worked with the Air Force Research Lab as well as NASA on high-temperature metal fatigue experiments and simulations. Leaving graduate school in August 2013, Mallory worked for a year to launch Cactus Cancer Society in April 2014. Applying her love for engineering and technology to a nonprofit endeavor, she manages operations, strategy, and development at Cactus Cancer Society where online support programs and resources are provided to young adult cancer survivors and caregivers in the comfort of their own homes. She is passionate about young adult cancer survivorship and the importance of the patient voice in healthcare. Cactus Cancer Society is the first nonprofit moving survivorship care for AYA cancer survivors into the realm of digital health, making survivorship care accessible as never before.