St. Jude recognizes Hispanic Heritage Month

Diama wasn’t just a casual admirer of St. Jude and ALSAC’s mission. Rather she was someone who actively supported said mission through monthly donations as an Angel of Hope. Little did she know that eight years after becoming a donor, she would be working for these organizations as a member of the multicultural marketing team.

Being the senior advisor for multicultural marketing and development has allowed Diama to grow professionally, learn more about the world of non-profit organizations, and grow as a person and a mother. As part of her role, she advises multiple programs to broaden their multiculturalism while simultaneously researching, studying and staying up to date with the newest trends within marketing, with a particular focus placed on multicultural marketing. “The nature of my job heavily ties into who I am and to my roots. That’s why I feel such a passion for what I do because I love playing with the intersectionality of being an Afro-Latina woman,” she affirmed.

Being a Hispanic person born and raised in Puerto Rico, a Caribbean Island, is a source of pride for her. “Coming from such a small island and being able to have such an intellectual impact is something else. We are a beautiful mix of three cultures and those roots have gifted me the ability to see and identify what binds us as cultures. Being able to look for what unifies us … what makes us “us” instead of what makes someone else “other” from a cultural point of view,” she stated.

For this reason, Hispanic Heritage Month has such a unique meaning for Diama, because it’s something that reveals how cultures gift us with the ability to understand the beginning of all things. “For me, being Latina is knowing who I am, how I am and why I am. It also knows how that’s molded me beyond language, music and food. It’s everything,” 

When his wife abandoned everything she knew in Florida to be a part of ALSAC, Carlos knew that he wanted to make a difference and be a part of that mission. His trajectory began as with the merchandise team at the St. Jude Gift Shop. He started in a temporary position and continues to grow into what it is today, the director of the Enterprise Call Center, or ECC, which is the call center for St. Jude.

Carlos described his trajectory at ALSAC as one of the most gratifying experiences of his professional life thanks to the support and guidance provided by his mentors. In his role, he provides support for three different teams: the business area, sales and sales support and university call centers. His team engages with donors on all campaigns seeking to strengthen their involvement with St. Jude further. One of his proudest moments was being recognized as the “Leader of the Year in Donor Experience.”

For Carlos, being Hispanic means more than being able to speak Spanish and belonging to Guatemala. For him, it means family, music, art, history, and so much more. It also means that he is part of a culture that proudly integrates itself into communities, continuously contributing to causes and learning from others. He expressed: “What grants me the most pride is that my parents instilled our roots both in me and my siblings, giving us the opportunity of having two cultures and languages, amongst other advantages. This has allowed me to be who I am and now, as a father I’ve been able to instill these same lessons in my son”.

During this Hispanic Heritage Month, Carlos celebrates sharing his culture, history, and ancestors amongst other great treasures from Guatemala. His great pride is that his country counts with remote areas with different dialects and that there even indigenous towns with their own languages and customs. 

Currently Gabriela Marón Alfaro, MD is a pediatric infectious disease specialist. Her research interests include studying infectious complications in immunocompromised hosts and dengue viral infections. She is also interested in treating pediatric and adolescent HIV/AIDS.

“We should celebrate and honor the culture and achievements of remarkable Hispanic physicians who work endlessly to provide care to patients from all backgrounds while inspiring the next generation of healthcare providers.”

Alfaro earned her medical degree from the Universidad Evangélica de El Salvador in San Salvador, El Salvador and her master’s degree from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, Tennessee. 

From a very young age, Beatriz had a special dream to one day work on furthering the mission of ST. Jude and ALSAC. Her life took a drastic turn at the age of 9 when she was diagnosed with leukemia and had to receive treatment for two years. Her desire to work at these organizations was born, and it only continued to grow throughout the years. “I was not a St. Jude patient, but I feel in my heart that I benefited from the investigations, research and treatments that they share with the world,” she stated.

Her first position at ALSAC was as a territory representative, a role in which she helped fundraise money for four years. After a brief hiatus period, in 2014, Beatriz assumed the position of marketing director of southern California, which is the same position she still holds today. Under this role, Beatriz supervises one team and all their fundraising efforts. She also aids with operations at the Santa Ana office in California.

For Beatriz being Hispanic is something special. It belongs to a rich culture with traditions, history and full of joy. Even though she was born in California, she has a deep connection to her Mexican heritage, thanks to her parents. “My grandparents were farmers in Jalisco, and that fills me with pride, knowing where my origins come from. I’m fascinated by my culture and Mexican history, especially the Aztecs and Mayas,” she said. Her most significant point of pride is still being so connected with her culture and continuing to use her language to communicate with her parents. It’s a legacy she wishes to pass on to her children.

Beatriz views Hispanic Heritage Month as an opportunity to share her culture, educate others, and share what it means to have different cultures in other countries. She also wishes to celebrate the achievements of people not only in Latin America but also in this country.

Miguela Caniza, MD, MPH, is the director of the Infectious Diseases Program for St. Jude Global. She also serves as a faculty member in the Department of Infectious Diseases.

Caniza’s research interests include examining infection care and control among immunocompromised pediatric patients in countries of limited resources. She has also taken on a leadership role educating communities across the world in healthcare and quality improvements.

“I encourage fellow Hispanic physicians to embrace their heritage in the workplace,” said Caniza. “I’m part of the global community, offering a multi-lingual, bicultural perspective which allows me to collaborate more effectively with localized teams to improve outcomes for children with cancer worldwide.”

Caniza received her medical degree from Universidad Nacional de Asuncion Faculty of Medicine and has been in practice for more than 20 years.

Thelma Velasquez Herrera, MD

Thelma Velasquez Herrera, MD, has had a relationship with St. Jude for years. The hospital where she works, Unidad Nacional de Oncologia Pediatrica in Guatemala City, Guatemala, is one of 24 St. Jude partner sites around the world.

As a student in the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Graduate School Global Child Health master’s program, Velasquez Herrera has enjoyed learning about the “global” aspects of the management of pediatric cancer: namely the components that rely on international, national, governmental and institutional policies. She hopes to use this newfound knowledge to improve the treatment of pediatric cancer in Guatemala.

“St. Jude has been the image of excellence in clinical treatment and research for childhood cancer,” she says. “St. Jude offers excellent facilities, access to world-renowned faculty and the benefit of training online while still being able to work. When I learned about the wonderful opportunity to gain a Master’s in Global Child Health degree, I decided without a doubt that I wanted to do it.”

Velasquez Herrera says that completing her degree will be one of the biggest achievements of her career.

“St. Jude has created an environment of cultural diversity that is completely inclusive and prioritizes partnership and friendship among students across the world,” she says. “I can’t think of another center that would be able to create this incredible atmosphere of learning and collaboration.”

Because of his experience as a patient, Miguel feels an even deeper connection to St. Jude, which makes it even more meaningful to him to pursue a career with ALSAC. As part of the technology team, Miguel develops solutions to help make it easier and more rewarding for people to learn about St. Jude and support its lifesaving mission.

 “After years of seeing my doctors and specialists use their St. Jude employee ID, it was a surreal experience for me to receive mine,” Miguel says. “I wear it with pride every day”.

Among his most satisfying career achievements, Miguel cherishes the moment when his technology team asked him to make the first donation through a new system he helped develop. As Miguel said, "As a St. Jude survivor, it was an honor to be part of this new release and look closely at this organization's commitment to continue raising funds to find cures and treat patients around the world."

Victoria Honnell learned about St. Jude at a young age. Her parents were monthly donors and received mail from the hospital.

“I love the mission,” she says. “It’s a mission everybody can get behind.”

After growing up in New Mexico, Honnell moved to Memphis to attend Rhodes College. During her senior year, she began a student position at St. Jude that eventually transitioned into a full-time research technologist job working on preclinical trials for rhabdomyosarcoma. After being offered a spot in the inaugural class of the St. Jude Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, she knew she wanted to stay.

In June of 2019, Honnell earned a master’s degree as a member of the first graduating class at the St. Jude Graduate School.

While she misses the culture and food of New Mexico, as well as being around many other Hispanic families, she says she appreciates the rich history of Memphis and loves how quickly the city is growing.

In her work, Honnell is continually motivated by St. Jude patients and families. While most of her time is spent in the lab, she enjoys how the graduate school coursework has given her more clinical opportunities through following doctors and their patients.

“At the end of the day, you never forget why you’re here,” she says. “It’s really rewarding knowing the work you’re doing could influence patients’ lives.”

Angela K. Carrillo Alocén, PhD

When Angela K. Carrillo Alocén, PhD, first joined St. Jude, she knew she could contribute to important discoveries in oncology and infectious diseases in her role as a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Chemical Biology and Therapeutics. Six years later, the Lima, Perú, native continues that work but with a worldwide view as a clinical research associate.

“Since I’m from Perú this means a lot to me,” she says. “The Latin American region will benefit greatly from the guidance and assistance that St. Jude can provide. As a scientist, there was a long process until my research discoveries could reach sick children. In this job, however, what I do has a direct impact on the health care and lives of children globally.”

Carrillo Alocén collaborates with physicians at approximately 30 Latin American hospitals, assisting them in the implementation of quality improvement, therapeutic and non-therapeutic clinical research. Much of this research has never been done in these countries, meaning it is truly groundbreaking.

“We have the mission to take St. Jude to the world,” she says. “This won’t be an easy task, but we have made great progress. We aren’t just trying to implement St. Jude protocols, but we want to adjust them according to the needs and the realities of these hospitals and countries so they can be successful.”

More than two years ago, Sandra Da Silva found a home in Memphis when she and her husband left behind the economic crisis crippling their home country of Venezuela. And it was at St. Jude that she discovered her mission when she joined the Department of Global Pediatric Medicine earlier this year.

“What inspires me most in my work is knowing that the small contribution I can make each day with my colleagues is helping St. Jude achieve our goal,” she says. “Our team is incredibly passionate and dedicated to saving the lives of children around the world.”

Da Silva met a Venezuelan doctor earlier this year who told her about the difficulties he faces in treating children because getting medicine to the country is problematic. But even when he has it, some patients can’t receive treatment because they’re too malnourished.

“He was looking for ways to help with meals and treatments for families so that he could carry out the protocols,” she says. “That conversation helped me see that there is a reason I’m here at St. Jude, and that I’m going to do what I can to help prevent more children from dying from cancer and other catastrophic illnesses in Venezuela as well as any country in the world.”

Alejandra Gonzalez Ruiz first learned about St. Jude from a piece of mail: a donation request from ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness arm of St. Jude.

“While I was a physician in Mexico, I had a patient with HIV,” she says. “I saw the stigma that surrounded her treatment and I decided that I had to do something for her and for any patient that needed help. Years later, I received some mail that featured a child from Mexico that inspired me to learn more about the hospital. I wanted to know what else I could do to help.”

Once Gonzalez Ruiz learned more about St. Jude, she was moved by the vision of founder Danny Thomas.

“Everyone should have access to health care no matter where you’re from, your economic status or your heritage,” she says. “I feel like everyone at St. Jude is driven by this same goal. Coming here every day doesn’t feel like work—it feels like passion.”

Working as a project coordinator for the hospital’s Critical Care Unit, Gonzalez Ruiz helps to train physicians and nurses from partner sites in countries around the world to use an early warning system (EVAT) developed by Asya Agulnik, MD, Assistant Member from St. Jude. This system is designed not only to make patient care safer and more effective, but also to minimize costs at those institutions.

Alisha Gray, MPH, finds inspiration in stories, specifically the ones that are written daily at St. Jude. But in addition to Danny Thomas’ dream that “no child should die in the dawn of life,” she finds inspiration in the hospital’s place in history.

“I did a deep dive in terms of trying to better understand why St. Jude was created, and I also discovered that Danny Thomas had another serious goal,” she says. “He wanted doctors, nurses and researchers of color here. That’s huge, especially in the South and at that time. Moving that forward is super inspiring to me.”

As project coordinator for both the Sub-Saharan Africa Region and the Disease Burden and Simulation Unit, Gray works at the heart of numerous initiatives that will expand pediatric oncology care to low- and middle-income countries. That includes the creation of a pediatric cancer registry that will track patients and help hospitals better understand what resources are needed.

“It’s a combination of a tool for patient tracking and quality improvement that will empower other countries to improve their care,” Gray says. “I believe in this vision.”

On Ana Shuler’s first day in Memphis, she was immediately drawn to St. Jude. “I saw the hospital as we were crossing the Mississippi river and I had to know more about that incredible place. Once I started reading about St. Jude, I knew that I had to work here.”

In the 17 years she has since dedicated to St. Jude, Shuler has been working with a global focus in mind. Early in her tenure, Shuler was promoted to the Cure4Kids team, where she has worked for the past 16 years. Cure4Kids is a web-based platform that provides online medical education and operates as a collaboration and information exchange for health care providers around the world. In her current role, Shuler supports more than 2,100 members worldwide in both English and Spanish and coordinates more than 180 live web conferences each month.

“Being able to provide support to the Cure4Kids collaborative groups to improve the care needed to effectively treat children worldwide has been amazing,” she says. “I like to feel as though I’m making a difference. Knowing that the training that we provide can positively impact the care of children in low- and middle-income countries is incredible. I like being part of our vision that every child with cancer has access to quality care no matter where they live in the world.”

Cesar Villegas, MD, was first drawn to St. Jude by the stories he heard from survivors. 

“I have had the opportunity to interact with families whose children were St. Jude patients in my previous experience as a surgeon in Venezuela,” he says. “The way that the families talked about St. Jude was inspiring. It was intriguing for me because they were more than thankful for everything that St. Jude did for them. It made me wonder: what was this hospital, and what can I do to work there?”

Initially working in the Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, Villegas recently moved to the new Department of Global Pediatric Medicine. There, he coordinates and implements projects focused on pediatric leukemia in low- and middle-income countries.

“I was drawn to St. Jude because how they combine basic science, treatment, patient care and research is unique,” he says. “There’s no place like this. I love being able to work with survivors and find out what happened with them. What were the consequences of their treatment, what did they go through, and what obstacles are they facing now? I’ve worked for other institutions and nothing compares to the research that we’re doing here. Because of St. Jude Global, I have the opportunity to give back to patients in low- and middle-income countries and I’m so excited about that.”

Fabiola Alarcón-Varkevisser

“I think that I get to meet the best of humanity in this work,” said Fabiola, who has worked for 14 years at ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude.

When Fabiola was growing up in Tecate, Mexico, the little nephew of a family friend got cancer. His family initially couldn’t find him treatment, but when they were able to send him to St. Jude, the news spread quickly. “It always stuck with me,” she says.  

As part of her work for ALSAC, Fabiola has visited several partner sites in Latin America to help train them on the St. Jude model, an experience she describes as the highlight of her career. “I could see for the first time how St. Jude was this hospital without walls,” she said. “It was life-changing for me.”

Gaby Maron Alfaro, MD, remembers the first time she learned about St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. She was a pediatric resident at Hospital Nacional de Niños Benjamin Bloom, El Salvador – the first international site to partner with St. Jude.

“I knew St. Jude was exactly where I wanted to train,” Maron Alfaro says. More than a decade later, she uses her training as a clinician and researcher to prevent, detect and cure infections in children with life-threatening diseases.

Maron Alfaro says, “Seeing children who at some point were extremely sick with severe infections doing well is the most inspiring and wonderful feeling ever.”

Last year, Maron Alfaro completed the requirements to become a certified translator for patients and families with a limited proficiency in English. While Maron Alfaro extends care to families from around the world, she says, "I have a very special place in my heart for our St. Jude Latino families.” 

On Jerry’s first day in Memphis, after moving there as a child, his father told him the story of St. Jude founder Danny Thomas as they drove past the hospital. "I relate to Danny Thomas being the son of immigrants, even though I was not born in the United States like him," said Jerry who grew up in Monterrey, Mexico.

Jerry joined ALSAC eight years ago as part of the Donor Services team, answering calls from donors. Since then, he’s worked in a variety of positions, and now he works on innovative solutions to serve marketing with technology. But his favorite things about working at ALSAC are the people, and the opportunities to serve.

“What I like most is volunteering, especially in the places that host the patients and their families,” he said. “Having contact with the patients and their families is very gratifying.”

Marta Jarquin-Pardo, PhD,  a program manager in Global Pediatric Medicine, uses her scientific and management skills to extend the St. Jude mission to other parts of the world. Eighty percent of children diagnosed with cancer live in developing countries.

Jarquin-Pardo, a St. Jude employee for 10 years, worked as a scientific recruiter in Human Resources before she moved to Global Pediatric Medicine. Now, she helps manage projects that are designed to increase the cure rates for pediatric cancers in Central and South America.

"The best part about coming to work each day is when I have lunch outside and see the patients," Jarquin-Pardo says. She recalls watching one patient happily playing in the Danny and Rose Marie Thomas Memorial Garden—living the present moment, enjoying the sunny day.

Jarquin-Pardo wants to create more sunny days, in countries a world away, for children with pediatric cancer.

A native of Mexico, Blanca Martinez Jimenez often interprets for Hispanic patients and families. “I can see their faces,” she says, remembering past introductions. “They light up.” 

A three-year employee of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, she is a graduate of the University of Memphis Health Care Interpreter Program and a Certified Medical Interpreter.

“I never thought that I was going to be a medical interpreter,” says Martinez Jimenez. Then she watched a poignant story on TV about a St. Jude patient. “It broke my heart,” she remembers. 

She called Volunteer Services and accepted a position in the Linda R. Hajar Family Resource Center. Even then, she empowered patients and families to take an active role in treatment.

Eventually, Martinez Jimenez pursued the educational requirements for medical interpretation. Bilingual competence alone is not enough to be a medical interpreter, she explains.

As a fulltime employee, she delights in delivering good news—telling a patient “no more chemo” and singing the “No More Chemo” song. “We’re like a bridge between the provider and the families,” she says. “I love what I do.”

Working at ALSAC has a special meaning for Enrique. It means giving back to the hospital that worked tirelessly on behalf of his daughter, Arianna, after she was diagnosed with cancer. 

When Arianna was 3, she was found to have a rare cancerous tumor and started treatment at St. Jude. Weeks before her eighth birthday, she passed away, leaving an indelible mark on the organization. Mr. Shadyac truly loved Arianna," said Enrique, speaking of ALSAC President and CEO Richard C. Shadyac Jr. “Her picture is in his office.”

“It’s definitely my purpose in life to help families like mine,” said Enrique. “I speak the same language that patient families speak. I’ve been through everything they’ve been through as a patient parent. I feel like I’m giving back to everything that St. Jude did for us.”

If Enrique ever switched jobs, he would want to continue working for St. Jude. “I feel like she’s next to me at the hospital. Just having the connection to the hospital is big for me.”