Dee Johnson has served as staff to the National Witness Project® (501c3) Board of Directors for ten years, Assistant Director of Training for the National Witness Project® for seven years and is the current Director of the program. Locally, she and the Witness Lay Health Advocates (LHAs) and survivors in Buffalo currently reach over 2,000 African American women a year and navigate over 1,000 women over 40 years of age to breast and cervical screening services in the area. 

She has over 18 years of experience in community outreach, recruiting and coordinating volunteers, performing patient and community-based navigation to health services, and building community contacts, trust, and networks. 

Dr. Julia Devonish is an Assistant Professor of Oncology in the Department of Cancer Prevention and Control who joined Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center’s faculty in 2022. Dr. Devonish is a New York State licensed academic physician who maintains an active medical practice at a Federally Qualified Health Center. Her professional agenda is driven by a commitment to a future without the health and cancer disparities in historically underserved populations that exist today. 

Dr. Devonish’s research focuses on health disparities, community engagement research, health literacy, behavioral interventions for chronic disease management, and cultural competency training of other medical professionals.