zoyak@ovariancancerosw.org
360-608-1687
Zoya’s passion for the alliance’s mission derives from her former mentor and friend passing from ovarian cancer and Zoya’s desire to help others and ease suffering.
She is an experienced executive bringing 25 years of experience within operations, fundraising, marketing, and human resource management. Her background in relationship development and fiscal oversight ensures the alliance extends a trusted resource for the community, benefactors, and contributors, while providing the highest level of customer service to internal and external stakeholders. Zoya ensures ongoing local programmatic excellence, rigorous program evaluation, consistent quality of finance and administration, fundraising, communications, and systems. She recommends timelines and resources needed to achieve the alliance’s operational, financial, and strategic goals.
Zoya welcomes the opportunity to meet and speak with our community. Please reach out to her with your comments, suggestions, or questions.
1. What is your connection to ovarian cancer and OCAOSW? I am a survivor
2. What is your biggest hope with regard to this disease? I hope for a cure and early detection.
3. What does OCAOSW do for our community that makes it unique? OCAOSW gives women and their families a great resource of education, support and financial assistance. Additionally, Survivors Teaching Students is a great learning tool for medical students which gives them a face to a disease.
4. What are your proudest achievements in life? Or what brings you the greatest joy? My greatest joy is my family!
5. What do you like to do in your spare time? I love to cook with my husband which results in dinners with family and friends.
6. Tell me something about you that most other people don’t know about you. I had the chance to work on a project with Gandhi’s grandson.
Q: What is your connection to ovarian cancer and OCAOSW?
A: I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2002 and co-founded the Ovarian Cancer Alliance with Diane O’Connor.
Q: What is your biggest hope with regard to this disease?
A: Early detection and a cure.
Q: What does OCAOSW do for our community that makes it unique?
A: We are small enough to do things nimbly and large enough to do them well. I’m especially proud of the Here4You program that provides financial support to survivors in treatment.
Q: What are your proudest achievements in life? Or what brings you the greatest joy?
A: My family and friends bring me great joy as does spending time in nature. I am proud to be a co-founder of this wonderful organization.
Q: What do you like to do in your spare time?
A: I like to hike, camp, take walks, read and spend time with my grandchildren.
Q: Tell me something about you that most other people don’t know about you.
A: I marched in the 1970 anti-war demonstration in Portland and came in 2nd place in the Portland Fire Department poster contest in 6th grade.
1: What is your connection to ovarian cancer and OCAOSW? I’ve known Diane and Terry O’Connor for many years, and agreed to set up the nonprofit when it was first organized.
2: What is your biggest hope with regard to this disease? My biggest hope is that we find a way to prevent the disease. But in the meantime, I would like the medical community to get better at early detection and treatment.
3: What does OCAOSW do for our community that makes it unique? Educating the medical community on early symptoms of the disease, and a group of survivors to help those who are dealing with the disease.
4: What are your proudest achievements in life? Or what brings you the greatest joy? My greatest joys are from spending time outdoors exploring this beautiful world.
5: What do you like to do in your spare time? I don’t find much spare time, but when I try to squeeze in bike rides, gardening, or some quiet time reading a good book.
6: Tell me something about you that most other people don’t know about you. I’ve run 13 marathons – that’s enough!
1. What is your connection to ovarian cancer and OCAOSW? I am an ovarian cancer survivor (since 2002), and the co-founder of OCAOSW.
2: What is your biggest hope with regard to this disease? I hope that a screening tool will be developed and eventually that we will have a cure for the disease.
3: What does OCAOSW do for our community that makes it unique? We provide support for newly diagnosed women or for women who are going through a recurrence. We are very proud of our Survivors Teaching Students program in which ovarian cancer survivors present to medical school students and other future health care professionals. We have an excellent website and a toll-free line. We also advocate for federal funds for ovarian cancer.
4: What are your proudest achievements in life? Or what brings you the greatest joy? I am proud of a successful 45+-year marriage and two wonderful sons, two lovely daughters-in-law and three adorable granddaughters. I find great joy in my friends, both near and far away. I value my career of 30 years of service as a high school counselor. Currently, my involvement with OCAOSW and the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance is my mission. I find meaning and satisfaction in helping others who are struggling with their cancer journey.
5: What do you like to do in your spare time? I love to take long walks with my Labrador Libby; and I love to swim, cycle, do yoga, travel and read.
6: Tell me something about you that most other people don’t know about you. My granddaughters recently taught me how to boogie board in Hawaii. They told me that I had graduated from “an amateur to a beginner!”
1. What is your connection to ovarian cancer and OCAOSW? I’m connected in several ways: I am an ovarian cancer survivor and started out as a volunteer with OCAOSW for the STS Program.
2. What is your biggest hope with regard to this disease? I hope scientists discover a cure for ovarian cancer for all of its different forms and improve treatment approaches to be less invasive, utilizing more effective immunotherapy techniques.
3. What does OCAOSW do for our community that makes it unique? OCAOSW takes a community approach to providing support and resources for women and caregivers facing this disease. As a statewide and regional organization, OCAOSW can provide outreach groups, events, and resources to women in this area enabling them to make local connections both virtually and in-person.
4. What are your proudest achievements in life? Or what brings you the greatest joy? Traveling brings me endless joy, and I have been fortunate to have a career that allows me to travel to unique places around the globe. Through my work, I have had the opportunity to drive wildlife conservation, habitat restoration, and international development across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
5. What do you like to do in your spare time? In my spare time I am an avid gardener, hiker, and look to find anyway to spend as much time outdoors as possible. I also enjoy spending time with friends or family, exploring new restaurants, and trying out every coffee shop in Portland.
6. Tell me something about you that most other people don’t know about you. My husband and I met swing dancing and still enjoy dancing whenever we get the chance!
1. What is your connection to ovarian cancer and OCAOSW? My mother had ovarian cancer. She passed away in 2013.
2. What is your biggest hope with regard to this disease? I hope researchers are able to develop a test to detect ovarian cancer earlier in the course of the disease.
3. What does OCAOSW do for our community that makes it unique? OCAOSW helps connect survivors and those currently in treatment; providing much needed emotional, social, as well as financial support.
4. What are your proudest achievements in life? Or what brings you the greatest joy? My proudest achievement is getting into medical school!
5. What do you like to do in your spare time? I enjoy reading and crafting.
6. Tell me something about you that most other people don’t know about you. While working at the Oregon State University Libraries Special Collections & Archives I had the opportunity to hold two Nobel prizes – both belonged to Linus Pauling and were a part of his collection.
2. What is your biggest hope with regard to this disease? Early detection and finding a cure.
3. What does OCAOSW do for our community that makes it unique? Providing education and peer support to women recently diagnosed and the Survivors Teaching Students program.
4. What are your proudest achievements in life? Or what brings you the greatest joy? My children, who are now young adults, are fun to hang out with, and I love every minute we get to spend together.
5. What do you like to do in your spare time? Summer is my favorite season; on weekends, you will find me enjoying the sunshine and paddle boarding.
6. Tell me something about you that most other people don’t know about you. I am a long-time Dallas Cowboys football fan through the good and all the bad. I checked a box on my bucket list in 2019 and attended my first game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. I was like a little kid on Christmas morning.
1. What is your connection to ovarian cancer and OCAOSW? I work with gynecological oncology patients, previously at UPMC in Pittsburgh and now at Providence Portland Medical Center.
2. What is your biggest hope with regard to this disease? That we develop early detection and ability to cure the disease.
3. What does OCAOSW do for our community that makes it unique? OCAOSW’s educational sessions are unique in that they provide insight and timely, relevant information to survivors and medical professionals across many disciplines.
4. What are your proudest achievements in life? Or what brings you the greatest joy? My kids and family are my proudest achievement, followed by obtaining my Doctor of Nursing practice. Spending time with my children and husband brings me joy.
5. What do you like to do in your spare time? Hiking with my husband and dog, reading, and I am learning to knit.
6. Tell me something about you that most other people don’t know about you. I can wiggle my ears!
1: What is your connection to ovarian cancer and OCAOSW? My wife, Diane, was diagnosed in 2001 with ovarian cancer. Her prognosis was not positive, however, Diane has been very fortunate to create her own statistic. She sees clearly how systems can be established that further support, education, advocacy and research. I’m helping in any way useful.
2: What is your biggest hope with regard to this disease? I hope for diagnostic methods at the earliest stages and a “gleevec” type drug for long lasting remission.
3: What does OCAOSW do for our community that makes it unique? It delivers HELP – like factual information and guidance presented in a caring mode to women during a most scary phase in their lives.
4: What are your proudest achievements in life? Or what brings you the greatest joy? I’m grateful for a rich and achievement-filled first 65+ years, and decades more to come. My personal highlights are two healthy sons who are responsible, playful, intelligent and caring; forty-two+ years of growing, learning, adventuring with Diane; forty-one+ years of consecutive St. Patrick Day parties — our annual celebration of our friends in our adopted Vancouver-Portland community.
5: What do you like to do in your spare time? I like to do lots of athletic stuff – snow ski, ocean sail, triathlons and their required training.
6: What is something about you that most other people don’t know about you. I enjoy recreational writing. I have written a few notebooks of essays, mostly capturing the stories about my Father, and poetry.
Cassandra.Niemi@providence.org
