Our Board of Directors

We are very fortunate to have such a professional and diverse Board to guide us in our mission.

Ramona Azarnia

President

Ramona Azarnia brings more than 30 years of experience in technology operations with Hewlett-Packard to her new position on the ESCA CancerSupport Board. During her tenure at HP, she held director-level positions in information technology, process engineering, and strategy and planning, working in the US, Asia Pacific and Europe.

Ramona became a volunteer for the Paddle for CancerSupport Dragon Boat Festival as Team Coordinator in 2018, in support of close friends and family who have been affected by cancer. She is looking forward to bringing her organizational and management skills to her position on the Board, while continuing as a dedicated volunteer.

Ramona was born in Iran and spent her early childhood there before moving to the US. She received her undergraduate degree in Indiana and her graduate degree in Arizona before moving to California to begin her career with HP. She lived in the UK and Singapore before settling in Geneva in 2004.

Janet Voûte

Vice President

Ms Janet Voûte is joining the ESCA CS board in hopes of sharing her board, business and NGO management experience. She has recently stepped down from her position as a non-executive director at Bupa, a UK headquartered global health insurance and health care company. Currently she Chairs the Nestle Creating Shared Council, an expert advisory council focused on environment, social and governance issues.

From 2010 to 2016, she served as Vice President and Global Head of Public Affairs and was a member of the Nestlé-in-Society Board. Prior to joining Nestlé, Ms Voûte was Partnership Adviser at the World Health Organization focused on non-communicable diseases. From 2000 to 2008, she held the position of CEO of the World Heart Federation, helping to grow the funding and staff of the organization substantially. She began her career in strategy consulting holding the position of Vice President/Managing Partner Switzerland at Bain & Company.

In addition, she has served as President of the American International Club from 2003-2004, was a member of the American Swiss Chamber of Commerce Geneva chapter, was a member of the board of Project Hope Suisse, a board member at Bamboo Finance and an advisory board member at Al Rajhi Holdings.

Ms Voûte is an honors graduate of Smith College and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She is both Swiss and American, residing in Geneva since 1990. She is the proud mother of three daughters.

Dave Mason

Treasurer

David is a qualified UK Chartered Accountant and a retired partner from PwC Switzerland. Following his graduation from the University of Bristol, UK in Psychology and 2 years working in Meribel, France, Dave joined Coopers & Lybrand in London.

After qualification, he moved to Geneva in 1989 and was promoted to audit partner in 1995. During his career at PwC, Dave has provided audit and accounting services to many of the well-known corporations, NGO’s and UN Agencies which are the backbone of the Geneva economic landscape.

Since his retirement from PwC, he has started working as a teacher, preparing mature students for Swiss Federal qualifications and provides pro bono support to a number of organisations including WWF International and Sentinelles.

Dave has both UK and Swiss nationality and uses his free time fruitlessly trying to reduce his golf handicap.

Bill Laneville

Board Secretary

Bill joined the ranks of Geneva’s blissfully retired in June 2020.

Up until then, he was the Controller for the Vitol Group of Companies, responsible for the Group’s external reporting, internal controlling and analysis, and statutory financial reporting.

Prior to joining Vitol, Bill spent 18 years with KPMG, finishing as the managing partner of KPMG’s Geneva office. While at KPMG he audited many not-for-profits and foundations including the International Federation of the Red Cross, the Medicines for Malaria Venture, the World YWCA and many Global Fund national programs.

Bill has a BBA in Finance from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA in Accounting from the University of Minnesota. He is also a non-practicing US Certified Public Accountant.

In addition to his professional activities, he’s been Treasurer of St John XXIII Parish in Geneva and Treasurer of the Tennis Club Troinex.

Now that he has retired, he has begun to focus his time on travel, his family, and becoming more actively involved in benevolent activities.

Korin Avigdor

Korin has been a member, volunteer and peer supporter at ESCA CS for eight years. She is a frequent presenter on behalf of the association.

Her background is in education and she taught commercial subjects to young adults and trained unemployed persons for 35 years at a private, professional school in Geneva until 2013.

Korin is also a grandmother of 5, with wide social contacts in Geneva and speaks English, French, Spanish and Turkish. She has travelled extensively.

Jessica Silberman Dunant

Jessica holds a Degree in Business Administration from the University of Geneva. She spent her entire professional career working in the field of Human Resources in Switzerland and the US, predominantly for multinational companies but also the ICRC and most recently as CHRO of Geneva Airport.

Pre-retired, Jessica is currently providing HR advice to various not for profit organizations. She has been involved with ESCA CS, as a volunteer, dragon boat paddler and beneficiary over the past 12 years.

Originally from the USA, she has lived in both the French and German parts of Switzerland, totalling over 40 years. Jessica is the mother of 3 adult boys and married to a paragliding enthusiast. She keeps her feet firmly on the ground but can be found swimming in the lake if conditions are perfect!

Thea McFarlane

Thea McFarlane worked as a nursing sister after completing General Nursing. She got her MA in psychology from the University of Cape Town, with an internship in Health Psychology. She was involved in setting up a Cancer Care centre and helped set up and direct an NGO for people living with HIV/AIDS in Cape Town, South Africa. She has over 30 years of experience working with cancer patients after studying with Elizabeth Kubler-Ross.

Thea has been a counsellor with ESCA CancerSupport since 2003. Besides teaching at Webster University for 14 years, she has studied sophrology and various Mindfulness Based Interventions. In 2017 Thea moved to the UK and now shares her time working as a Clinical Supervisor in the Oncology Department at the Churchill Hospital, where she runs training programmes for volunteers for the Emergency Department at the John Radcliffe Hospital and an MBCT-Ca course at the Maggie’s Centre in Oxford.

Dr. Conny Vrieling

Dr Conny Vrieling has been working in oncology for over 20 years. She started her research with a special focus on breast cancer in the Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) in Amsterdam, resulting in a PhD. After her training as a radiation oncologist in the NKI, she continued working there with a specialization in breast and prostate cancer.

In 2006, she moved to Geneva where she works as a radiation oncologist at Clinique des Grangettes. Her current research focuses on the cosmetic results after breast-conserving therapy and the long-term outcome of patients with early breast cancer. Being a non-native French speaker herself, she fully understands the importance of the work of ESCA CS and is honored to serve on the board.

Dr. Gregory Wirth

Dr Gregory Wirth is a urologist specializing in cancer surgery. Trained in Geneva, Vienna and Boston, he practices at the Centre d’Urologie Générale-Beaulieu. He is a regular moderator at the annual Swiss urology conference and an auditor for prostate cancer centers at the German Cancer Society (DKG).

He grew up in an international environment in Strasbourg, France, studied in Freiburg, Germany and has been working in Geneva since 2004.

When he is done with work, he swaps his scrubs for his skiing outfit, bathing suit or hiking gear.

Stephen Wann

Stephen grew up in Dublin, Ireland and his career has taken him to Amsterdam, London, and Geneva where he is now living with his family. He has 20+ years experience in the US, Europe and Asia holding senior positions with General Electric, LBG and HSBC and most recently advising early stage Healthcare companies in Europe. Stephen graduated from Trinity College in Business & Economics, is a Chartered Accountant (KPMG) and has attended Harvard Business School and Säid Business School (Oxford) on Management Programs.

In his spare time he enjoys travelling, skiing, tennis, running and golf. Long since given up on any hope of his own success on the sports field, you will usually find him with one of his three son’s on the tennis court or football field or on the slopes.