Kevin Honeycutt was named CEO and president of Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy in December 2018 and elected to its board of directors in June 2022. As chief executive officer, Mr. Honeycutt’s role is to help realize and enhance the vision of ACGT’s co-founders, Barbara Netter and her late husband Edward, by focusing the organization on solving the next generation of challenges brought by metastatic cancers while continuing to build organizational alliances and joint ventures.

Prior to joining ACGT, Mr. Honeycutt served as president of the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade and executive director of the Avon Foundation for Women. Through his consulting firm, Honeycutt Partners, he served in a variety of roles helping lead major projects for the American Diabetes Association, the New Venture Fund, the Entertainment Industry Foundation, the United Cancer Front, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and other leading nonprofit organizations.

Mr. Honeycutt currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Global Cancer Institute and Friends of Mozart and is a member of the National Council of the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. He is a past Board member of the Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Named for the 1965 hit song by the Beach Boys, Barbara Ann Lavery has a passion for creativity. Whether she’s transforming the landscapes of Ireland, Iceland and California into large-scale abstract paintings or finding and funding life-changing opportunities to cure cancer, Ms. Lavery is guided by an inspired sense of appreciation for innovation. 

“Cell and gene therapies embrace an entirely new paradigm,” says Ms. Lavery whose years of experiences with non-profit and for-profit organizations, government agencies, and academic institutions helped build her framework of knowledge in life sciences. “Since its inception, Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy has led the way in recognizing and advancing revolutionary new ideas that really matter.” 

As chief program officer of Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy, Ms. Lavery is responsible for programmatic initiatives, including leadership of the Academic Research Program and the Biotechnology Investment Program.

“This is my dream job,” says Ms. Lavery. “It combines science and research with business development and venture philanthropy in a forward-thinking, non-profit environment that’s dedicated to brilliant people who are finding creative new solutions to some of cancer’s toughest challenges. I love it!” 

Keri Eisenberg joined Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT) at the beginning of 2023 as the chief philanthropy officer. Her near-20 years of fundraising and stewardship experience includes: a nonprofit organization for people with Parkinson’s disease; and one of the top university-affiliated medical institutions in the world.

As ACGT’s  chief philanthropy officer, Ms. Eisenberg is responsible for strategically developing ACGT’s fundraising initiatives and fostering philanthropic alliances with individual donors, corporations, medical institutions, nonprofit partner organizations and other stakeholders committed to advancing cell and gene therapy for cancer.

“My role is to serve as a bridge between passionate donors whose dream is to have a lasting impact and the scientists and researchers who are making transformative discoveries in the new frontier of cancer treatment,” says Ms. Eisenberg, who has a personal reason to help drive the progress of new cancer therapies.

When a loved one was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma, Ms. Eisenberg put faith in the physicians and researchers at the comprehensive cancer center where her loved one received treatment, including immunotherapy. Despite the discouraging prognosis, her trust was rewarded – and this experience inspires her to give hope to others experiencing the same fight with cancer.

“He has now been in remission for a year and untethered by his diagnosis while he enjoys life with his wife and children. His story is one of hope and optimism, but like many, I have been devastated by the loss of loved ones and friends to cancer,” says Ms. Eisenberg, who combined her passion for fundraising with the medical field in 2013 when she became the Senior Director of Development for UCLA Health Sciences. “I am honored to join ACGT where our acute focus is on realizing a cancer-free future following promising ideas from bench to bedside. I cannot think of greater reward than helping people fulfill their dreams, foster hope and deliver new therapeutics to patients faster.”

Sharon DaCosta, who joined Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy in November 2021 as the Foundation Administrator, has more than 15 years of administrative experience.

Ms. DaCosta served as administrative assistant or executive assistant in various industries, including finance and hospitality. She has an emotional connection for the work done at nonprofit organizations like Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy, which is dedicated to researching new avenues to create a cancer-free future.

“It’s meaningful to me because I’ve lost family members to cancer,” says Ms. DaCosta, “and I really feel working for a non-profit is more meaningful than working for a large corporation. I feel more purposeful in what I do on a daily basis.”

She handles administrative duties for Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy, including but not limited to management of the donor database, prepare donor communications, oversight of grant requests and payment timelines, assistance with external communication efforts, such as email newsletters and donor correspondence, and help with event planning and management.