The BRAVE (Breast Restoration AdVocacy Education) Coalition Foundation has appointed Lisa Shumpert as the new President of its Executive Board, effective immediately. Shumpert brings extensive leadership experience to the organization, having served most recently as Chief Human Resources Officer at Comar and authored the bestselling book Team Turnaround - Spark High Performance in Your Direct Reports.
The foundation, established in 2012 by Dr. Allen Gabriel and Dr. Christine Grogan, addresses significant gaps in breast reconstruction care for cancer survivors. Despite the Women's Health Cancer Rights Act of 1988 (WHCRA) mandating insurance coverage for breast reconstruction, many women continue to face substantial barriers to care. These challenges include difficulty finding doctors who accept insurance, inadequate insurance coverage for procedures, and persistent health disparities that particularly affect black women, who experience a 38% higher mortality rate than white women and have less access to reconstruction services.
Shumpert expressed gratitude to outgoing leader John Gwin for his two years of effective leadership that prepared the organization for future growth and scalability. In outlining her vision for BRAVE, Shumpert identified three primary goals: expanding the network of breast and plastic surgeons to assist more patients, increasing funding from donors, and continuing partnerships with Northwestern University to enhance funding and educational activities focused on improving access to care for black women.
The foundation's mission centers on educating breast cancer survivors about reconstruction options, advocating for legislative and insurance industry changes, connecting patients with resources, and restoring quality of life regardless of insurance status, socioeconomic background, education level, or race. Shumpert emphasized that providing essential resources to patients will remain a foundational goal under her leadership.
This leadership transition comes at a critical time for breast cancer care, as disparities in access to reconstruction services continue to impact patient outcomes and quality of life. The appointment signals BRAVE's commitment to scaling its operations and intensifying efforts to address systemic barriers that prevent many women from accessing medically necessary reconstruction procedures following mastectomy. More information about the organization's work is available at https://www.bravecoalition.org.
