Board of Directors

• JoAnn Pushkin, Executive Director, has coauthored educational courses, articles, grants, and speaks on the topic of breast density and inform/insurance efforts.
• Laurie Scofield, CPA, CIA, CRMA, Treasurer / Secretary, is an audit and risk management professional, and is also a patient advocate and the Founder of DENSE NJ.
• Wendie Berg, MD, PhD, FACR, FSBI, Chief Scientific Advisor, is Distinguished Professor of Radiology, Dr. Bernard Fisher Chair for Breast Cancer Research, at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC.
• Deepa Narayanan, MS, MBA,, is a healthcare innovation leader with over a decade of experience funding and supporting innovative startups in breast cancer.
• Sharon Smith, Honorary Board member, provides corporate and industry support.

Co-Founders

JoAnn Pushkin

JoAnn Pushkin, Executive Director, has coauthored educational courses, articles, grants, and speaks on the topic of breast density and inform efforts. She learned of her own breast density's masking effect on her mammogram after finding a palpable lump which went undetected by mammography several years in a row. Ms. Pushkin's initiative and advocacy served as inspiration for New York State's Breast Density Inform bill, signed into law in July 2012.

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JoAnn Pushkin, Executive Director, has authored/coauthored educational courses, articles, grants, and speaks on the topics of breast density and inform/insurance efforts. She was named the Society of Breast Imaging's 2025 Honorary Fellow. Her work began when she learned of her own breast density's masking effect on her mammogram after finding a palpable lump which went undetected by mammography several years in a row. Ms. Pushkin's initiative and advocacy served as inspiration for New York State's Breast Density Inform bill, signed into law in July 2012. On the federal level, Ms. Pushkin led the efforts for both the introduction of the Federal Breast Density and Mammography Reporting Act, as well as the FDA’s Mammography Quality Standards Act regulatory amendment consideration, on whose behalf she was invited to testify and organized advocacy efforts to support. She is also cofounder of the advocacy group DENSE (Density Education National Survivors’ Effort) and founder of DENSE NY which work to ensure that women are notified of their own breast density.

Wendie Berg, MD, PhD, FACR, FSBI

Wendie A. Berg, MD, PhD, FACR, FSBI, Chief Scientific Advisor, is Distinguished Professor of Radiology, Dr. Bernard Fisher Chair for Breast Cancer Research, at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC. Dr. Berg specializes in breast imaging and sees patients at Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. Dr. Berg has authored or coauthored over 150 peer-reviewed research publications on breast imaging and edited three editions of Diagnostic Imaging: Breast.

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Chief Scientific Advisor, is Distinguished Professor of Radiology, Dr. Bernard Fisher Chair for Breast Cancer Research, at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC. Dr. Berg specializes in breast imaging and sees patients at Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh, PA. Dr. Berg has authored or coauthored over 150 peer-reviewed research publications on breast imaging and edited three editions of Diagnostic Imaging: Breast. She has been the Principal Investigator of many important research studies in breast imaging, most notably, with support of the Avon Foundation and the National Cancer Institute, the ACRIN 6666 protocol, which evaluated screening ultrasound and screening MRI in women with dense breasts and also current studies supported by the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and Shear Family Foundation evaluating screening contrast-enhanced mammography. She continues to work to improve breast ultrasound interpretation through education and artificial intelligence approaches. In recognition of her research and educational/advocacy efforts with DenseBreast-info.org, Dr. Berg was awarded the Gold Medal from the Society of Breast Imaging in 2026.

Education, Program Administration

• Cheryl Cruwys, European Education Coordinator, works to extend DBI relationships at the European level with patient advocacy and medical societies, through reach out to international breast imaging experts, and attends/presents at key scientific symposiums. She has been instrumental in breast density education in the United Kingdom.
• Amy Pettis, Programs Administrator, has a Master of Public and Nonprofit Administration degree, with Certification in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership.

Europe Team

Athina Vourtsis, MD, PhD

Athina Vourtsis MD, PhD, European Liaison, is a dedicated breast radiologist based in Athens Greece. Dr. Vourtsis is the founder of the Diagnostic Mammography Center and the founding President of the Hellenic Breast Imaging Society. She has authored or coauthored 47 peer-reviewed papers, has coauthored in breast imaging books and has been the Principal Investigator in many research studies. Dr. Vourtsis has presented more than 300 lectures as an invited speaker and over 80 lectures on breast awareness programs.

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Athina Vourtsis MD, PhD, European Liaison, is a dedicated breast radiologist based in Athens Greece. Dr. Vourtsis is the founder of the Diagnostic Mammography Center and the founding President of the Hellenic Breast Imaging Society. She has authored or coauthored 47 peer-reviewed papers, has coauthored in breast imaging books and has been the Principal Investigator in many research studies. Dr. Vourtsis has presented more than 300 lectures as an invited speaker and over 80 lectures on breast awareness programs. Through her career she has actively supported non-profit associations and has received honorary awards for her efforts on the national breast awareness program in Greece called “Alma Zois”. She has special interest in educating healthcare professionals as well as women on the implications of breast density and the necessity of supplemental screening. She is also a member of the DenseBreast-info.org Medical Advisory Board, was instrumental in the development and launch of DB-I/Europe, and additionally serves as European Liaison.

Cheryl Cruwys

Cheryl Cruwys, European Education Coordinator, is British. While living in France, she was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in 2016 and credits the early detection of breast cancer to the French standard practice of performing supplemental screening on dense breast tissue. She works to extend DBI relationships at the European level with patient advocacy and medical societies, attends/presents at key scientific symposiums, and through reach out to international breast imaging experts.

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Cheryl Cruwys, European Education Coordinator, is British. While living in France, she was diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in 2016 and credits the early detection of breast cancer to the French standard practice of performing supplemental screening on dense breast tissue. She works to extend DBI relationships at the European level with patient advocacy and medical societies, attends/presents at key scientific symposiums, and through reach out to international breast imaging experts. She is patient representative on the ecancermedicalscience international Editorial Board, member of the European Society of Radiology’s Patient Advisory Group and is an active member of the ESR-PAG social media team and an invited speaker at the annual European Congress for Radiology, Vienna. She is co-founder of Breast Density Matters UK and has been instrumental in the UK Breast Density Education effort for both healthcare professionals and patients to raise awareness about the screening and risk implications of dense breasts. 

Medical Advisory Board

• DaCarla M. Albright, MD, FACOG, OB/GYN, Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Wellness, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
• Shusheila Appavoo, MD, FRCPC, Clinical Professor, Department of Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging, University of Alberta, Canada Chair, Patient Engagement Group, Canadian Society of Breast Imaging
• Emily F. Conant, MD, FSBI, Professor Emerita, Department of Radiology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
• Stamatia V. Destounis, MD, FACR, FSBI, FAIUM Partner Attending Radiologist, Elizabeth Wende Breast Care, Rochester, NY
• Elizabeth Etkin-Kramer, MD, FACOG, OB/GYN, Assistant Professor, Florida International University School of Medicine, Founder Yodeah.org, Miami Beach, FL
• Paula Gordon, OC, OBC, MD, FRCPC, FSBI, Clinical Professor, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC Canada
• Lars Grimm, MD, MHS, FSBI, Associate Professor, Division of Breast Imaging, Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
• Jennifer A. Harvey, MD, FACR, FSBI, Dr. Stanley M. Rogoff & Dr. Raymond Gramiak Professor and Chair, Department of Imaging Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York
• Regina Hooley, MD, FSBI, Professor Breast Imaging, Yale Radiology & Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven CT
• Linda Hovanessian Larsen, MD, Professor and Chief, Division of Breast Imaging, Department of Radiology, Los Angeles General Medical Center and Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, CA
• Daniel E. Lehrer, MD, DenseBreast-info.org Spanish Language Advisor, Breast Imaging Specialist, Medical Director of CERIM, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Phuong L Mai, MD, MS, Associate Professor, Medical Director, UPMC Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Clinical Genetics and Genomics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
• Ellen B. Mendelson, MD, MA, FACR, FSBI, FSRU, Professor Emerita of Radiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
• Flavia Sarquis, MD, Coordinator of the Breast Imaging Department, Argus Diagnóstico Médico, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Staff mastologist, TCba Buenos Aires, Argentina. Accredited Mastologist by the Argentinian Society of Mastology.
• Jean M. Seely, MD, FRCPC, FSBI, Full Professor of Radiology, University of Ottawa. Head of Breast Imaging Section, The Ottawa Hospital, Ontario, Canada
• Priscilla J. Slanetz, MD, MPH, FACR, FSBI, FAAWR, FAAR, Professor of Radiology, Geisel School of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Radiology, Boston University Chobanian & Avedesian School of Medicine, Boston, MA
• Athina Vourtsis, MD, PhD, DenseBreast-info.org European Liaison, Director and Founder of Diagnostic Mammography Center, Athens, Greece

Patient Advisory Group

• Kim Armstrong, a print/digital media marketing manager, first visited the website when seeking accurate information about breast imaging insurance coverage. She was impressed by the wealth and depth of information available and the ease of quickly finding the answers. She is passionate about women’s wellness and empowerment and shares her input to advance those goals.
• Patti Beyer, is an educator, breast cancer survivor and the lead advocate for the Illinois “inform” law. She discovered the website when researching her own diagnosis and appreciated that it was medically-sourced and direct about giving answers to women. She continues her work with DBI as she feels women must come together and assist in every way they can with all things that affect women’s lives.
• Katherine H. Friedman, has a background in finance. As a high-risk breast cancer patient, she discovered the DBI website when researching a question about insurance coverage and is grateful for the depth and breadth of website content. That the website is medically sourced and clearly fueled by a “huge amount of brainpower” motivates her to lend her own support to improve outcomes for patients.
• Diana King, is a patient advocate who discovered that her later-stage breast cancer was missed on a mammogram due to her breast density. She became aware of DenseBreast-info.org/Europe through fellow patient advocates. She finds the wealth of trustworthy information on the website invaluable and shares her experience and expertise to help DBI inform, educate and empower women for better outcomes.

With Gratitude

• Cindy Henke-Sarmento, RT(R)(M)(BA), DenseBreast-info.org website designer, Co-Founder and former Technology Director