VCU and VCU Medical Center faculty and staff are named in Style Weekly’s Top 40 Under 40

By Michael Ford
University News Services

Three Virginia Commonwealth University and VCU Medical Center employees have been named to Style Weekly magazine’s Top 40 Under 40 list of successful professionals — under age 40 — in Metro Richmond.

Named in the Sept. 28 issue were Robyn Dillon, licensed clinical social worker at VCU Medical Center; Cecelia H. Boardman, M.D., associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the division of gynecologic oncology at VCU Medical Center; and Susan Tinsley Gooden, Ph.D., director of graduate programs, VCU’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs.

Robyn Dillon, 39, first worked with patients and their families at the VCU Medical Center in 1996 during the field-placement requirement for her master’s degree. That internship included rotations through pediatric hematology/oncology, the neonatal intensive care unit and the burn unit. In 1997, she joined the hospital full time as a research assistant in substance abuse and psychiatry and accepted her current assignment in pediatric hematology/oncology in 1999.

Dillon works with children diagnosed with cancer or blood disorders. She provides psychosocial interventions for the children and families at the time of diagnosis and throughout their treatment. She also maintains a relationship with the children and families after the treatment has ended. While the diagnoses may be similar, she deals with each family individually, assessing its strengths and weaknesses and offering assistance in the challenging journey through diagnosis, treatment and recovery. That assistance includes providing supportive counseling and support groups, offering assistance with navigating financial and insurance issues and making referrals to community services.

Dillon is an ex-officio member of the board of directors of the Association for the Support of Children with Cancer, known as ASK, and serves on its patient-care committee. She assists in organizing special events for pediatric patients.

In addition to her work with the pediatric hematology/oncology population, Dillon is part of the hospital’s pediatric palliative care consult team, serves as an associate instructor for interns enrolled in VCU’s Master of Social Work program and is involved in collaborative research projects with the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and VCU’s Department of Psychology. Dillon serves on the advisory boards for Stop Child Abuse Now and Noah’s Children Pediatric Hospice program. She is currently serving a three-year appointment on the Governor’s Advisory Board for Child Abuse and Neglect for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

This summer Virginia Gov. Mark Warner announced nine appointees to the Governor’s Task on Cervical Cancer, and four were from VCU Medical Center, including another Top 40 Under 40 honoree, Cecelia H. Boardman, M.D. She is the principal investigator for the Gynecologic Oncology Group at VCU, providing leadership in several gynecologic cancer treatment trials, including ovarian cancer, cervical cancer and uterine cancer. Boardman, 39, is a member of the VCU School of Medicine admissions committee and mentors young women pursing medical careers.

Boardman's professional areas of interest include early detection of ovarian cancer, biological therapies for gynecologic cancer, management of advanced and recurrent cervical and endometrial cancer and palliative care. Boardman speaks to women’s groups to raise awareness of cervical cancer and other gynecologic cancer. She frequently lobbies lawmakers on Capitol Hill for funding for women’s cancer. Last year she taped a national public service announcement for Ford Motor Co. to raise awareness of cervical cancer screening and diagnosis.

Boardman graduated cum laude from Yale University. She received her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and did her residency and post doctoral training at the University of Pittsburgh. In 2000, she completed a gynecologic oncology fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, where she holds an appointment as a visiting scientist.

Susan Tinsley Gooden, Ph.D., has spent a quarter of her life in undergraduate and graduate schools. Her scholarly achievements are the result of hard work, dedication and a commitment to excellence nurtured by her parents. But for Gooden, personal achievement is not enough. She believes high achievers have a responsibility to reach back and assist someone else. For years she has mentored high school seniors and college undergraduates seeking their own educational achievements.

Gooden has become a resource for students seeking advice about higher education, financial aid and choosing the right career path. Many of the students, more than 20 in the last eight years, have a connection to the Martinsville area where she grew up and still has community ties. Gooden said she does not push a particular university or major, just the value of higher education and the rewards of achievement.

Gooden, 37, an associate professor and director of graduate programs at VCU’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, conducts research in the areas of social policy and social equity. She leads graduate courses in public policy analysis, public policy process, program evaluation, research methods and social welfare policy.

She is also a consultant to the Manpower Demonstration Research Corp., a nonprofit employment and training research firm based in New York City.

Gooden earned an associate’s degree in natural science from Patrick Henry Community College, followed by a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in political science from Virginia Tech. She then earned a second master’s and her doctoral degree from Syracuse University. From 1997 through 2004, Gooden was an associate professor at Virginia Tech’s Center for Public Administration and Policy.

Gooden is married to Basil Gooden, Ph.D., chief deputy director for Virginia’s department of housing and community development.