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Founder and Board Chair
Hope Through Grace, Inc.
Grace L. Butler, Ph.D., is the founder and board chair of Hope Through Grace and is a Stage III colon cancer survivor. Dr. Butler started Hope Through Grace in 2002 to help low income, uninsured and underinsured people gain access to a life-saving colonoscopy to prevent colorectal cancer. She earned two music degrees, a Bachelor of Science from Xavier University, and another from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. She also holds a Masters of Music, and a Doctorate in Higher Education Administration from New York University.
Her career began as a band and orchestra teacher in New Orleans. She also taught in the New York City public school system. Progressing in her career, she accepted faculty appointments at The Ohio State University, The University of North Texas, Texas A&M and settled in Houston to accept the position of Associate Vice President for Faculty Affairs at the University of Houston. Currently, she holds the distinctive honor of Professor Emeritus at the University of Houston. Butler is currently a member of the NCI Consumer Advocates in Research and Related Activities (CARRA) program. She most recently served on Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP) concept review panels and the NCI Initial Review Group Subcommittee A, reviewing Cancer Center grant applications. She has also presented testimony at the President's Cancer Panel. Additionally, Butler is a founding board member of the Camp For All Foundation, has served on the Advisory Board of the Texas Children's Cancer Center and has recently accepted an invitation to membership on the UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors. Butler was a panelist at a White House sponsored Roundtable on Advances in Cancer Prevention with President Bush and national health leaders, held at the National Institutes for Health.
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Olethia E. Chisolm, M.D., F.A.C.P.
Internal Medicine
Kelsey-Seybold Clinic
Dr. Chisolm serves as the Fundraising Chairperson on the Hope Through Grace board. Chisolm specializes in Internal Medicine with the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic at their main campus in Houston. She is affiliated with St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital and is a member of the Baylor College of Medicine faculty as a Clinical Instructor. Chisolm is interested in clinical hypertension. She was graduated with a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX in 1996 and from Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia, PA in 1993. She is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, member of the National Medical Association and member of the International Society of Hypertension in Blacks.
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Dianne Johnson
Financial Services Professional
New York Life Insurance Co.
Johnson is employed with New York Life Insurance Company as a financial service professional and holds a Texas license to sell Life, Health and Disability Insurance, Fixed Immediate Annuities and Fixed Deferred Annuities. She is a registered representative of NYLIFE Securities. Johnson has thirty years of experience in the banking industry including fourteen years in the financial service industry. She was graduated with a degree in Accounting from San Jacinto College. Johnson volunteers for the Women’ Resource Center, and the Cypress Fair School PTA.
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Aretha Johnson, B.S.N., R.N.
Chief Executive Officer
Liberty Island Community Health Center
Aretha Johnson, BSN, RN, currently serves as President of Liberty Island Personal Care Homes and Liberty Island Adult Day Care Facility, which she opened in 1995. She was graduated in 1972 from Hinds Junior College as a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) and obtained her Registered Nurse (RN) degree along with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from the University of Mississippi in 1977. Before opening the Liberty Island facility, she co-founded Silver Star Personal Care Homes in 1984 with her mother, Almether Johnson. Johnson currently serves as President of the Houston Association of Residential Care Homes, and is a member of the Advisory Board for the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services. She is a board member of My Fellow Man (Homeless), and volunteers for the American Cancer Society and the Fort Bend Black Nursing Association. Johnson also serves as Chairperson for the Democratic party, Precinct 13.
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Everett L. Sandles, M.D., F.A.A.P.
Pediatrics
Texas Children's Pediatric
Associates - Northshore
Dr. Sandles serves as the Vice President on the Hope Through Grace board. Sandles is a pediatrician with Texas Children’s Pediatric Associates at the TCPA – North Shore location. He is affiliated with St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Woman’s Hospital and Christus St. Joseph Hospital. Sandles was graduated in 1995 with a Doctor of Medicine degree from Hahnemann University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1988 from Texas A&M University, Houston, Texas. Sandles is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Board of Pediatrics, and the American Medical Association. Sandles is board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics.
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Dwight W. Scott, Jr.
Attorney-at-Law
McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC
Dwight serves on the Hope Through Grace board. He is a member in the law firm of McGlinchey Stafford, PLLC. with more than 15 years of legal experience in healthcare. Scott previously worked in administrative capacities within The University of Texas Medical Branch’s East Texas Area Health Education Center (AHEC) program, where he served as the Executive Director of the program’s eight county coastal region. He also served as president of the Coastal Area Health Education Center Foundation, a non-profit healthcare organization. Scott also worked in-house for a major hospital organization, where he was responsible for various risk management related issues, including the supervision of the system’s claims and litigation activities.
He was graduated with a Juris Doctor degree in 2000 from the South Texas College of Law and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Care Administration from the University of Texas where he graduated with honors in 1991. Scott is a member of theAmerican Bar Association, American Health Lawyers Association, Greater Houston Society of Healthcare Risk Management, Houston Bar Association, Houston Young Lawyers Association, State Bar of Texas, Texas Association of Defense Counsel and the Texas Bar Foundation.
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Victor Simms, M.D., M.P.H.
Internal Medicine
Kelsey-Seybold Clinic
Dr. Simms serves as the Screening Program chairperson on the Hope Through Grace board. Simms specializes in Internal Medicine for the Kelsey-Seybold Clinic at their main campus in Houston, TX. Simms is affiliated with St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital and is a member of the Baylor College of Medicine faculty as a Clinical Instructor. Simms is especially interested in counseling disadvantaged youth and in chronic illnesses in African-Americans. He was graduated with a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1999 from the Baylor College of Medicine and holds a Masters Degree In Public Health from the Baylor College of Medicine. (Fellowship: Baylor College of Medicine, Primary Care Research, University of Texas School of Public Health.) He is a member of the American Medical Association, Harris County Medical Society and the American College of Physicians. Simms is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
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Ann L. Cook, M.B.A. (placeholder only)
V. P., Business Development
Kelsey-Seybold Clinic
Check back in a short while for photo and bio.
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Dedicated to Colorectal Cancer Prevention,
Early Detection, and Cancer Survivorship
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