Breast Cancer Endowment

By: Valerie Mehl
Date: December 1, 2009

For Frank and Charmayne Dierker, fighting breast cancer is a family affair. The Chestertown, Md., couple recently made a $1 million gift to establish the Frank and
Charmayne Dierker Endowed Leadership Fund in Breast Cancer. They were inspired
by their daughter, Lillie Shockney, administrative director of the Johns Hopkins Avon Foundation Breast Center and two-time survivor of breast cancer. The endowment funds Shockney and those that follow her as administrative director of the Breast Center.

“My parents promoted leadership in their children and are proud of the pioneering
work I’ve done in the field of breast cancer, and they want to make sure it continues,” says Shockney. A force in the battle against breast cancer, Shockney has dedicated her career to breast cancer patient advocacy and education. Her work has earned many honors and awards, including becoming the first nurse to receive a Johns Hopkins University distinguished service professorship.