Patricia McDonald

After first her young husband’s, and later her father’s difficult battles with cancer, Patti co-founded a cancer support center to encourage, educate, and empower patients and families experiencing cancer in their lives. She later went on to serve as Founding Executive Director for a second cancer wellness center in the Chicago area. Patti serves as a Lacuna Loft Board Member to do what she can to ensure young adults facing cancer have access to the innovative, age-appropriate, and impactful programs and resources they need to improve their quality of life and well-being – no matter how challenging the circumstances. With over 20 years of experience as a nonprofit leader and fundraising executive, Patti is currently working in advancement for higher education.

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.