About Us
Whipping Childhood Cancer
Whipping Childhood Cancer was founded in September 2014. We are a non-profit Organization recognized as exempt under Section 501(c)(3). Jenny Mena Silviano (founder) and Candice Genua (co-founder) met while their children were battling childhood cancer. They always knew they wanted to do something to advocate and be the voice for their children and all the children battling cancer. The movement and challenge was such a success that the decision was made to continue to bring awareness but more importantly to raise funds for much needed underfunded childhood cancer research. Our Organization is formed by Mothers of children battling some form of childhood cancer, We are ready to "whip childhood cancer out of the globe!"
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Our Board
Jenny Mena Silviano
Native of Costa Rica, Jenny came to the United States in 1985. Graduated High school and attended St Petersburg Junior College in Clearwater, Fl.
In 1996 Jenny started a career with Continental Airlines where she spent 10 years working and traveling, In 2006 Jenny decided to take and early retirement to start a family, relocated in Orlando Fl and Her beautiful daughter Katelyn was born in 2007.
Things did not turn out as Jenny expected and shy of her daughter’s 5th year little Katelyn was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, a form of childhood cancer. Jenny has enjoyed being a stay home mom and taking care of her little daughter regardless of the circumstances. Katelyn has been in remission since June 21, 2014.
Jenny is quite aware of how childhood cancer is so underfunded and that is where the idea of Whipping Childhood was born.
Candice Genua
Candice Genua was born and raised in Sayreville, New Jersey. She is an alumni of Rider University, Lawrenceville, NJ, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in both Elementary Education and Psychology in 2001. She was also a member of Delta Phi Epsilon sorority at the Delta Sigma Chapter.
After teaching in the public school system for 5 years, Candice relocated to central Florida. She taught for OCPS before homeschooling in Windermere, Fl.
Her son Caleb Blaise was born in 2007. Shortly after his birth, they became a two man team and was ready to take on the world together. She never anticipated to hear the news she did on her 33rd birthday. Caleb was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and their lives were turned upside down. Candice had to stop working to care for Caleb and be by his side. Caleb will complete his 3.5 year protocol this June. In addition to caring for Caleb, she also has a daughter, Hayden Skye.
After Caleb was diagnosed, Candice knew from that day forward she would be a childhood cancer advocate in some way. In August 2014, Whipping Childhood Cancer was just a thought that developed into so much more.
Ashley Finney
Ashley Finney was raised in Syracuse, NY, and relocated to the Daytona Beach area in 1999. She studied Travel and Tourism at Daytona Beach Community College, until meeting her husband and becoming a stay at home Mom at the age of 19. She is a mother of 4 amazing children including 3 handsome sons, Tyler, Ryan, and Dylan. And a beautiful daughter Logan, who is now 6, but was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at the age of 4. This came as a complete shock of course, especially since Ashley lost her sister to the same exact type of leukemia in 2006. She feels that there has to be some sort of genetic relation, even though there is currently no research to prove that. It just didn't seem possible that her family would have to relive this nightmare all over again.
She wants to make a difference for these children that are put through so much. Together with proper funding we can find a cure, or a cause for our precious children. She and her family are forever changed, and will never stop fighting until no parent has to hear the words "your child has cancer".
Leslie Garrison
Leslie Garrison was born and raised in Daytona Beach, Fl. in 1982. She is 1 of 5 children and has 2 younger brothers and 2 older sisters. She attended a private school as well as was home schooled and received her high school diploma. Relocating to Georgia for 2 years, she had her beautiful daughter Desiree and then moved back to Florida in 2009. She has been in the insurance industry for 12 years and is currently an SIU analyst at a homeowner’s company, Security First Insurance. Leslie and her husband were married and she now has 2 boys, as well as a step-son.
Desiree, a very outgoing and happy 5 year old was just starting kindergarten as well as her second year of soccer. After persistent symptoms, the last straw was bleeding gums that took us to urgent care and follow up the next day with her pediatrician who broke the news to her. Your daughter has leukemia. “It was like a knife in my chest and I felt as though it was a blurry nightmare.”
Leslie believes that there is definitely a genetic predisposition and is focused on working together to find what it is exactly to end childhood cancer once and for all. Whipping Childhood cancer is here to help find a cure and we won’t stop until we have done all that we can! Our children deserve so much more and raising funds for research as well as raising awareness is our top priority.
Eric L. Bolves
Eric has practiced law since 1983 in the areas of Business, Foreclosure, Bankruptcy and Social Security Disability. He has been appointed as Attorney Ad Litem by Judges in over 1,500 foreclosure cases over the last 15 years and has filed over 4,500 bankruptcies for business and individuals since 1988. Eric speaks Spanish fluently.
Stacie Brown Kelly
A true Floridian, Stacie was born and raised in Palm Beach County and is a graduate of the University of Florida. After college graduation she decided to call Central Florida home. Her real estate career began in 1999 with a national home builder. With determination, dedication and a good work ethic, in that ten year run Stacie establish a name for herself in the real estate industry.
In 2010, she married her best friend, John Kelly, and transitioned her real estate career to the world of general real estate, joining the Keller Williams Advantage office in Oviedo, Florida. Stacie's talents and abilities now expanded, allowing her to assist people with buying, selling, & investing in existing homes, as well as new construction. Her real estate team, SBK&Co, is dedicated to meeting & exceeding client’s needs & expectations. The team's mission statement of "Touching Lives & Building Futures" is a testament for their approach, practices, and success with business & relationships.
Continuing training and education are an important facet to Stacie's business. She has earned and been awarded the following designations: Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist, Certified Distressed Property Expert, Sales and Foreclosure Resource Certification, Master Certified New Homes Sales Professional, Certified Sales Professional, and Certified Marketing Professional.
While keeping her business thriving, Stacie and her husband John welcomed their first child, Cole Patrick, in July of 2014. As parents, their goal is to teach Cole by example, and stay involved with giving back to their community and opportunities to help others.
SBK&Co are relationship people, and work hard to have a positive impact and make a difference in any way possible with their family, friends, clients, and colleagues. Their passion for all things real estate, people, children and pets expanded in 2011, making strides into their community, to give where they live. They are proud to participate and sponsor local high school sport teams, travel softball teams, Team Isaac & the Down Syndrome Association of Central Florida, Cheering for Caitlin, and Team KK's Annual Toy Drive for Children with Cancer at Arnold Palmer Hospital. They are humbled and honored to be included in the efforts to raise awareness, medical research, and fundraising for Whipping Childhood Cancer.
Robert Sutphin
A member of the Center for Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children Orlando Health, Robert Sutphin, MD, is board certified in general pediatrics and pediatric hematology/oncology.
Dr. Sutphin completed his fellowship in pediatric hematology and oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and his pediatric residency at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando. He earned his medical degree from Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine Marshall University in West Virginia and his bachelor’s at Midwestern State University in Texas.
Dr. Sutphin’s research interests include the development of novel therapeutic agents, cancer immunology and notch signaling pathway activity in myeloid leukemia. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at annual meetings of the American Society of Hematology and the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. In 2010, he received the Samsung's Hope for Children Spirit Award, which was presented in recognition of his dedication to the children fighting cancer. He has received a $50,000 grant from T.J. Martell Foundation to explore new therapeutic pathways in pediatric leukemia.
Dr. Sutphin’s professional affiliations include memberships in the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Society of Hematology, American Society of Pediatric Hematology Oncology and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Jody Scheerer
I was born in Zambia Lusaka in Africa. Jody Ellis. When i was 2 my family moved to Johannesburg South Africa. I have an older sister and a younger brother who both live in the United Kingdom now. My Father passed when i was 17 and my mom passed when i was 35.
I had an amazing childhood, surrounded by lots of family, friends and love, at the age of 12 i started bowling, i trained and loved the game and at the age of 17 i got to travel and compete in the World Junior Championships in Caracas Venezuela, i made it to the top 12 for my country. Once of my dreams was to bowl on the ladies tour in the USA, i had got to meat Team USA on several occasions and new i had to go to college. In 1993 i traveled to Buffalo, NY where i bowled in College for 2 years, made all American team and sports women of the year.
I then joined the ladies professional bowling tour in 1996 for 4 year. I have many accomplishments such as Rookie of the year for the professional tour and collegiate circuit British open champion, MVP Collegiate player of the year. European World Championship. Etc.
I married my husband Timothy Scheerer in 2001 who was also on the men’s tour for a short period of time, we lived in Miami FL and moved to Orlando in 2002. We have two beautiful children aged 7 Trevor and age 9 Emily. They are my biggest accomplishments to date. We are living in Lake Nona FL and have an amazing neighborhood and support family.
On March 22, 2012, my son Trevor was diagnosed with Alveolar Rhabdomyasarcoma, a very rare sarcoma cancer. He had 55 weeks of chemo, 28 days of radiation and surgery. In August 2013 16 months later he was declared N.E.D, however we started a maintenance chemo regiment which he was on for 1 year. On December 5, 2014 Trevor relapsed and is now fighting for a second time and currently on treatment. I feel very passionate about making a difference and want to fight for a cure, to save my son and to all those fighters and the 43 kids and families that are newly diagnosed every day.
Mina Chambers
Mina Chambers is a Latin-American mother of 2 young children. She was born in El Salvador, and moved with her family to New Jersey at the age of 4. Before entering High School, her family moved to Central Florida, where she has lived ever since. Mina attended Oviedo High School, then went on to the University of Florida, where she mastered in Psychology.
Mina has been working in the medical field for the past 18 years, the last 13 of those years in an adult oncology office. Mina is no stranger to seeing what cancer can do to family members, having both parents battle cancer themselves. Her father beat prostate cancer almost 11 years ago and her mother is currently battling lymphoma for the 2nd time. Neither of those battles could prepare her for the day she heard the words “your son has cancer”. On February 28th 2013, her then 3 ½ yr old son, Joshua was diagnosed with Very High Risk Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). Although Mina had been around the oncology world for so long, the statistics of childhood cancer shocked her. It became her passion to not only help her son beat this ugly monster to but to spread Childhood Cancer Awareness. In June of 2014, after Joshua entered the maintenance phase of treatment, Mina and her husband Jeremy decided to give back to the Childhood Cancer community and started their own non for profit organization. She is the Executive Director of the Be Brave Foundation, an organization that provides financial assistance to local families battling childhood cancer.
Mina Chambers is determined to see the day that Childhood Cancer is a thing of the past.
Susan Kelly
Susan Kelly, MD, graduated from the University of Florida (UF) with both her bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary medical science in 1994 and her doctorate degree in 1997. After graduating, she completed a clinical investigation in the K30 program at UF. She completed her residency in pediatrics at UF in 2000, followed by two fellowships at the Duke University Medical Center. She completed the first, in pediatric hematology/oncology, in 2003, and the other, in pediatric stem cell transplant, in 2004.
Throughout her career Dr. Kelly has had a number of administrative responsibilities, including as director of the Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at UF and fellowship program director of the Pediatric Hematology/ Oncology Fellowship at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
In addition, Dr. Kelly has won several awards, including the NIH Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award in 2010, the Mortimer M. Bortin Award for Best Clinical Research in 2003, and multiple grants ranging from travel funds to project funds.
She is a member of the American Board of Pediatrics, Children’s Oncology Group, American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplant, American Society of Hematology and many more.
Homan Machuca
Homan Machuca from Colombia, winner of an Emmy Award in 2014, maximum award in the field of radio and television journalistic communications is in charge of the daily reports of Telenoticias Orlando. Further, he is the presenter of the weekly program, Telenoticias Xtra, a program of socio economic, political and community analysis.
He began in the Colombian radio when he was 16 years old as a recording assistant and ten years later he assumed the General Management position of the same station; known as Nuevo Continente of Bogota, the first Christian Evangelica Radio founded in Colombia.
He is a graduate of Colegio Superior of Telecommunications and the University of América in Bogotá. After a solid career in his country, in 1984, he arrives in the United States, together with his family and locates in the city of Kissimmee. There he works as a presenter of La Mágica 1220 news. He was the director of news for Noticias de 11Q radio, Cosmos 1270, Cadena Fantástica, and Viva 1160 AM.
Machuca was the first latino to transmit via satelite for all Latin America and Spain the space shuttles launchings for NASA, with United Latin Television. His name was among the list of reporter candidates to travel to outer space before the Challenger disaster. For his transmission of the disaster he was awarded with Reportaje del Año Award.
Homan, has a privileged voice, listened around the world in reports for NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, DISCOVERY, CARACOL, the chain SER of Spain among others.
The local community has recognized his career with the Paoli Award in 2005 and 2006 and with the Don Quijote Award in 2008. At the present Homan Machuca, is part of a prominent team of Telenoticias Orlando.
Dora Rebelo
Dora Rebelo, a pharmacy manager at Publix pharmacy, Corner Lakes in Orlando. Dora attended Arnold and Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy in Brooklyn, NY, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy.
She has been a licensed pharmacist in Florida with 23 years of experience providing excellent pharmacy services in a retail setting. Dora has outstanding interpersonal skills with a track record of establishing positive relationships with patients and medical professionals.
