Dr. Colby Wesner - President It has been my honor and privilege to serve as the President of ThinkBIG since it's inception. Working with our amazing board of directors and watching our organization grow has been one of the most valuable aspects of my life. I am extremely proud of how ThinkBIG has continued to grow to serve the needs of the families in central and northeast Pennsylvania who are unfortunately battling pediatric cancer. With the inspiration of the late Carmine Monacelli, in addition to witnessing the strength of other ThinkBIG families, I look forward to seeing ThinkBIG's continued growth towards being the best possible resource for families who have to face this terrible disease.
Carol Rheam Tevis - Vice President
Tabitha McCormick - Treasurer I’ve been volunteering with ThinkBIG as their Treasurer since October 2017. During the work week I spend my time leading the e-Banking & Customer Support department at First Columbia Bank. I feel very fortunate to have met Colby and fallen into helping make ThinkBIG’s worthy mission come to life. We’ve got lots of talented, dedicated, creative people on the Board, and I’m a better human because I get to interact with them. Thanks for the opportunity to serve!
Rebecca Herritt - Secretary
Larissa Monacelli My name is Larissa Monacelli and I have been a member of the board of directors for ThinkBIG since its inception in 2013. I am the proud mother of Carmine Monacelli who was the driving force and inspiration behind the establishment of ThinkBIG as a pediatric cancer non-profit. Carmine was 9 years old when he lost his battle with osteosarcoma on March 26, 2012. I am a wife and mother as well as a Spanish teacher at Pocono Mt. West High School in Pocono Summit, PA. It was my wish that Dr. Colby Wesner could somehow make sure that his patients and my son Carmine's legacy would never be forgotten. The creation of ThinkBIG and it's generous soul will continue to assist children and their families with the unique financial burden that pediatric cancer plagues upon a family. I am extremely grateful to the hard work and dedication that our board of directors brings to ThinkBIG and to our community.
Peggy Starkey We have lived the experiences of a child with cancer and the impact of kindnesses extended were met with the utmost heartfelt gratitude. This service of the ThinkBIG Pediatric Cancer Fund is an extension for me to continue my lifelong commitment to help provide assistance to the families on the rocky road of stresses with a child enduring the diagnosis of cancer. I am a former Adult Hematology/Oncology nurse, (and prior to our son’s diagnosis, CCU, ICU, ER nurse) - that knows what patients and their families go through in the tremendous impacts of a sweet child enduring cancer, day after day. Our child made it with a 1% chance of survival. We will be forever grateful and hearts filled with hopes of helping others.
Jason General I’m a nurse at the Janet Weis Children’s Hospital. I joined ThinkBIG because I got a first hand look on what these families go through during tough times. ThinkBIG gives families a little less to worry about during this time when they have to worry about the well-being of their child. It is very rewarding knowing you can help these families during a difficult time.
Diane Dutko When you touch my family's life, you touch my heart forever. In December 2017, my 3-year old granddaughter Emily was diagnosed with stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma. ThinkBIG was there to help by providing financial support to help ease the burden and give my son-in-law and daughter one less thing to think about. While our family suffered the unimaginable loss of sweet Emily in November 2018, we know first-hand how essential it is to pay-it-forward and celebrate the lives of these precious child warriors and their families. My work as the chief operating officer for The Luzerne Foundation often brings me into family situations where tragic loss has occurred. Just over a year ago, I received a call from a grandfather whose family had no resources to pay for their child's final expenses. ThinkBIG assisted this broken-hearted family with those expenses, and it was through that experience that I was invited to join the board. It's an amazing organization!
Dr. Jake Troutman I am a pediatric hematologist-oncologist at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children's Hospital in Allentown, PA. I attended medical school at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine and graduated in 2009. I did my medical training first at Geisinger Medical Center in pediatrics before moving on to the University of North Carolina for my pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship. I am on the board of directors of ThinkBIG because this organization helps families near and dear to my heart. I joined the board of directors to help this organization grow and help more and more families affected by pediatric cancer.
Bill Lavage I have served as a volunteer on the ThinkBIG board of directors since July 2017. It is an honor and a privilege to be part of the ThinkBIG family. I serve as a director to help ThinkBIG provide assistance to families having to deal with pediatric cancer. I am President and CEO of Service 1st Federal Credit Union.
Chad Evans I have had the pleasure to serve as a volunteer on the ThinkBIG board of directors since the very beginning. Helping families in this area has brought me great joy and satisfaction knowing we are able to be there to offer support in one of the most trying times a family could indore. ThinkBIG has a tremendous group of individuals working together to provide help for families battling pediatric cancer. I'm honored to be a part of this great organization.