Advisory Committee

Steven D'Amato, BSPharm, BCOP, is the Executive Director and clinical pharmacy specialist at New England Cancer Specialists in Scarborough, Maine. He is a clinical associate professor at the University of Tufts College of Medicine. He is a member of ASCO, ACCP, ACCC, and HOPA.

A member of the Maine Medical Center Institutional Review Board in Portland, Maine, Mr. D’Amato has 30 years of experience in clinical oncology in both the hospital and private practice settings. He has extensive knowledge of EMR implementation, utilization, and practice management.

He has lectured extensively on pain management, end-of-life care, and oncology practice. He is a board member of the Community Cancer Center in South Portland, Maine, a non-profit organization providing education and support to cancer patients.

He is a past President of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC), and is the ACCC Delegate Representative for New England Cancer Specialists. He earned his undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy in Boston, Mass.

Amanda A. Henson, MSHA, MBA, FACHE, is System Vice President, Cancer Service Line at  Baptist Health, a health system comprised of nine hospitals throughout Kentucky and Southern Indiana, and headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. As System Vice President, Ms. Henson is responsible for the administrative oversight, financial management, and overall program development for the cancer service line. In addition, Ms. Henson has administrative responsibilities for several other departments at Baptist Health, including the hospital foundation office, environmental services, laundry, materials management, clinical research and community education.

Ms. Henson leads system-wide initiatives including Executive Sponsor of the Cancer Service Line Council and Co-Sponsor of the Research Resource Council for Baptist Health System. Ms. Henson helped lead the integration of federally funded oncology research collaboration for all Baptist hospitals under the Baptist Health Cancer Research Network. In addition, Ms. Henson has been involved in the development of Baptist Health’s first system service line council. This council is instrumental in standardization of oncology care, dashboard quality metrics, and strategic planning.

Throughout her career in oncology management, both in an academic medical center and community cancer centers, Ms. Henson has successfully led programs through accreditation surveys with the Commission on Cancer (CoC), as well as the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC). She has extensive experience implementing oncology EMR systems. Additionally, during her previous role as Administrative Director of Cancer Services at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Ms. Henson was responsible for overseeing the construction of a 90,000-square-foot cancer center.

Ms. Henson previously served on the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) Editorial Committee and Nominating Committee. She is Past President of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Graduate Program in Healthcare Administration Alumni Board. Currently she serves as a preceptor for healthcare management students from the University of Kentucky and is actively engaged in community programs and civic organizations, including serving on the board for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Lexington.

Ms. Henson received her undergraduate degree from Centre College, in Danville, Kentucky. She also received her MBA and MSHA degrees from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Ms. Henson is a Fellow within the American College of Healthcare Executives and is the 2015 recipient of the Early Career Healthcare Executive Regent’s Award from the Kentucky Chapter of American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE).

Una Hopkins, RN, FNP-BC, DNP, FACCC, is a registered nurse with more than 30 years of experience in oncology, 25 as a nurse practitioner. Dr. Hopkins is currently the director for research and evidence-based practice at the Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York, where she is responsible for the oversight and management of nurse engagement in programs of research and evidence-based practice, academic and affiliations, nursing internet and intranet development, and presentations and publications for the department of nursing. This includes the management of selected staff and operations, academic affiliations and funded educational projects, survey preparation, specialized training initiatives, education related to promotion of nursing research and evidence-based practice, oversight of project management, and funding attainment. 

Dr. Hopkins has received numerous awards for her accomplishments in clinical and research work and since 1927, has published over 20 articles in various medical journals. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Nursing Science from the College of New Rochelle where she also studied to become a family nurse practitioner. She received her doctorate from Pace University in New York City. Dr. Hopkins serves on the Advisory Committee for the ACCC Institute for Clinical Immuno-Oncology.

Barbara Jensen, RN, BSN, MBA, is a dynamic nurse leader and the Director of Operations with North Puget Oncology, a physician owned private practice group of medical oncologists serving Skagit Regional Health in Mount Vernon and Arlington Washington as well as Island Hospital in Anacortes, Washington.

Ms. Jensen has over 22 years of healthcare experience in a variety of settings to include oncology, home health, home infusion, orthopedic and surgical care, and wound care. She has spent the last 12 years as the Regional Director of Oncology for Skagit Regional Health, making the transition to the private physician practice group in 2021.  

During her tenure as the Regional Director of Oncology, she led her team through successful accreditation surveys for the cancer center to include the Commission on Cancer (CoC) with Commendation, National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC), and the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI) certification program. Her work with the multidisciplinary team of The Breast Institute to improve breast cancer screening volumes and technology in the Skagit Valley was culminated in 2019 with the opening of the Chris and Barb Jensen Women’s Imaging Center, bringing state-of-the-art imaging to include 3-D mammography to the region.

Jeffrey Kendall, PsyD, LP, is the Director of Oncology Supportive Care at M Health Fairview in Minneapolis, MN. He joined the University of Minnesota Cancer Care program in 2016 where he is dedicated to addressing the impact of cancer on individuals and families. Currently his professional time is divided among direct patient care, program administration, program development, and research collaboration.

Dr. Kendall speaks nationally and internationally and has published 40 journal articles and abstracts on topics related to psychosocial oncology and cancer survivorship. Dr. Kendall serves on committees for the American Psychosocial Oncology Society and the Association of Community Cancer Centers.

Dr. Kendall received his Doctorate from Indiana State University and completed his Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Psychosocial Oncology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York.

David R. Penberthy, MD, MBA, is Medical Director, Radiation Oncology, of PennState Health Milson S. Hershey Medical Center. After completing his MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia in 2011, Dr. Penberthy has served as the Medical Director of Radiation Oncology and Cancer Committee Chairman at Southside Regional Medical Center (SRMC) in Petersburg, Virginia. During his tenure as chairman, Dr. Penberthy led SRMC’s oncology program through two American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer accreditation surveys resulting in cancer program accreditation, each time earning an Outstanding Achievement Award, an accolade achieved by only a small fraction of community oncology programs in the country.

After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, Dr. Penberthy completed a surgical internship at Bethesda Naval Hospital. He then served as a U.S. Navy Flight Surgeon with Fighter Squadron 101 in Oceana, Virginia. His strong interest and knowledge of technology eventually led him to the field of Radiation Oncology. In this field, Dr. Penberthy applies sophisticated medical technologies to alleviate the suffering caused by cancer, one of the most pressing medical issues of our generation.

Dr. Penberthy is enthusiastic about patient care and he is intensely engaged in providing state of the art, patient centered, compassionate oncology care.