Bonnie J. Addario

Bonnie J. Addario, Founder and Chair of the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) and a Lung Cancer Survivor, has been an activist, advocate, educator and change agent empowering patients and giving them a strong voice in the fight against lung cancer since receiving a stage 3B diagnosis more than a decade ago. Although thrust into a role that she had never envisioned for herself, she embraced it and now considers it to be her second career and a personal calling, driven by the goal of making lung cancer a chronically managed disease by 2023.

Recognizing the critical need for education, empowerment, advocacy and research to help patients and families, especially those without resources and support, Bonnie and her family founded the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) in 2006, and then went on to found the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI) with her husband, Tony Addario, in 2008. Since its founding, ALCF and Bonnie have raised over $25 million to support free patient education programs/services, research, community outreach, awareness, advocacy. Through ALCMI, an international research consortium of 20 academic and community medical centers in the US and Europe, Bonnie is helping to drive scientific and clinical research advancements through innovative projects, including: CASTLE (Collaborative Advanced Stage Tissue Lung Cancer Network); INHERIT EGFR T790M; and GENOMICS OF YOUNG LUNG CANCER Study.

Bonnie’s business acumen and skills honed in her first career as President of Olympian Oil Company and Commercial Fueling Network (CFN), as Past President of the CA Independent Oil Marketers Association (CIOMA) and as a community activist serving on diverse boards have all contributed to her work at ALCF in developing business strategies and being the Foundation’s patient voice.

She has been active as a presenter at numerous national/international conferences (ex. Speaker/Panel, Patients Powering Progress and Enacting Change, 14th Central European Lung Cancer Conference, Vienna, Austria/2014; Speaker, Patients Powering Progress, International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, Sydney, Australia/2013; etc), serves on diverse panels and boards (ex. Member and participant, FasterCures Train/The Redstone Acceleration and Innovation Network, Washington, DC; Member, IASLC, AACR, Research America; etc), and often acts as an adviser to industry leaders, clinicians and policy makers (ex. Panelist, Genentech, Patient Advocate, Global Intra-company meeting; Panelist, Partnering for Cures with Francis Collins, NIH Director, and Tony Coles, CEO, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, New York City; speaker, Executive Staff Strategy Meeting, Lilly, Indianapolis, IN; etc). Bonnie has received numerous awards/honors for her work, including WebMD Health Hero Award and League of Women Voters Honoree, “Women Who Could Be President."

Bonnie’s personal interests include collecting wine, travel, sports (Go SF Giants!) and spending time with family and friends at Lake Tahoe.

Former Editorial Board
Terms of Appointment: June 2017 - May 2018