Local briefs: Pardee oncologist appointed; United Way names new board members

Pardee UNC Health radiation oncologist S. Yaseen Zia has been appointed by Gov. Roy Cooper to serve as a member of the North Carolina Advisory Committee on Cancer Coordination and Control, according to a news release.

The mission of the Advisory Committee is to facilitate the reduction of cancer incidence and mortality for all North Carolinians, enhance statewide access to quality treatment and support services and maximize the quality of life for all North Carolina cancer survivors, patients and their loved ones through educating and advising government officials, policymakers, public and private organizations and the public, the release said.

Dr. Zia’s appointment is effective immediately and will last through Aug. 31, 2026.

“During my tenure at Pardee, I have communicated with the statewide leaders on the need to amplify our efforts in cancer care, prevention and research in Western North Carolina,” Dr. Zia said in the release. “It is my hope that in this new role, I can bring the challenges that we face here in oncologic care to the state level.”

Dr. Zia is a board-certified radiation oncologist and has been with Pardee since 2018. He earned his medical degree from Drexel University College of Medicine and completed his residency training at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

“Dr. Zia is an exceptional radiation oncologist and highly-regarded provider among patients and medical staff,” says Dr. Greg McCarty, chief medical officer at Pardee UNC Health Care. “We are proud that the Governor sees the same passion we do that Dr. Zia has for improving cancer care and we look forward to supporting him as he takes on this new role to serve our community.”

United Way of Henderson County adds seven new board members

The United Way of Henderson County added seven new community leaders to its 2023 Board of Directors recently, according to a news release. The new board members are Paula Aguilera-Johnson, Joe Canning, Debi Gould, Brandon Nudd, Michelle Reynolds, Misty Zemla and Melissa Witmeier.

“We are thrilled to welcome these new members to the United Way Board,” said Lew Holloway, UWHC Board Chair, in a news release. “Their industry knowledge, community connections, and passion for our community and United Way’s mission and work will make them real assets to our group. Our organization is fortunate to have a diverse group of leaders serving on our board who are fighting for the health, education, financial stability and basic needs of everyone in our community.”

Aguilera-Johnson is the Member Engagement and Events Coordinator for the Henderson County Chamber of Commerce. Her professional career began as an assistant sales manager for Verizon Wireless. In 2012, Aguilera-Johnson began working with AFLAC, where she led an initiative to educate Charlotte’s Hispanic community on healthcare reform. Through this work, she was introduced to the Latin American Chamber of Commerce of Charlotte, which pivoted her professional career to the non-profit sector. According to the release, she was later recruited to work for the organization, where she served as the director of membership and programs for three years before relocating to Western North Carolina in 2019.

Canning, the Plant Manager for Kimberly-Clark Berkeley Mills, originates from Ohio. Upon graduating from the University of Toledo with a bachelors of business administration degree, he started his career with Kimberly-Clark in supply chain management. Over the course of his 17-year career with Kimberly-Clark, Canning has held various supply chain and operations leadership positions across six manufacturing and staff locations. He holds an MBA from Georgia State University. He’s led the Berkeley Mills site since October 2021, where his focus has been on employee safety and engagement, developing long term site strategy and delivering results for the Kimberly-Clark Global Nonwovens business.

Gould is the accounts payable/customer relations manager at Dampp-Chaser Corporation, where she has worked for the past nine years. Her first career was in nursing where she primarily worked mental health and chemical dependency settings. She later held administrative nursing positions in quality assurance and risk management. Gould has been an active volunteer with United Way for many years, serving on program evaluation panels, as the employee campaign coordinator at Dampp-Chaser, and is in United Way's Rising Leaders Program.

Nudd is the president and chief executive officer for AdventHealth Hendersonville. He began his time in this role in August 2021 and oversees the day-to-day operations. Prior to joining AdventHealth Hendersonville, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Castle Rock Adventist Hospital in Castle Rock, Colorado, which is part of Centura Health, AdventHealth’s joint operating company with CommonSpirit Health.

Reynolds is the administrative director of support services for Pardee UNC Health. She has lived in Henderson County since 1983 and began employment at Pardee Hospital in 1990. She has developed professionally through more than 25 years of experience in leadership and completed an Advanced Leadership Academy in 2016. Before her position at Pardee, Reynolds worked for a family business, Lambs Grocery in Hendersonville, and ran operations at The Country Market in Flat Rock. She has co-chaired the United Way campaign at Pardee in years past and volunteers for supported events.

Zemla joined Cummins Meritor seven months ago as senior manager of human resources for the company’s Forest City and Fletcher locations. She attended Indiana Wesleyan University and earned her bachelor’s degree in business management with a minor in HR management.

Witmeier joined the Council on Aging for Henderson County as the new executive director in March 2023. Prior to her work with COAHC, she was the vice president of grant strategies for the Girl Scouts of Gateway Council in Jacksonville, Florida. In previous positions, she was the director of operations at EPIC Behavioral Healthcare in St. Johns County, Florida for over two years where she was the quality assurance officer; managed the prevention department and data team; wrote grants and proposals which created programs in the St. Johns County School District for mental health linkages and care coordination and peer support for people with substance use disorders.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Local briefs: Pardee oncologist appointed; United Way names new board members