• Board of Directors
• Medical Advisory Board

Board of Directors

Eleanor Anbinder
Eleanor F. Anbinder has been active in the breast cancer movement for the last ten years. She became involved just after her diagnosis of breast cancer and her commitment has been steadfast ever since. Ms. Anbinder was among the first active members of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition and she has served in several board positions including Public Relations, Rally Chairperson, Fundraising and Statewide Group Developement. In 1999, Ms. Anbinder and several friends formed ArtbeCAUSE, a non-profit foundation dedicated to funding research linking breast cancer and the environment. Ms. Anbinder has been in sales and marketing professionally for twenty years and is an expert on networking, customer relationship buildling, and referral sales.

Debra J.Cole
Deb became deeply committed to breast cancer advocacy soon after she was diagnosed in 2005. Her personal mission became finding a way to prevent her own daughters from ever receiving the same news. Some of Deb's proudest accomplishments in the fight against breast cancer include, lobbying on Capitol Hill , National Breast Cancer Coalition's Project Lead Graduate, Team Captain for many multi day breast cancer walks, Patient Advocate award recipient for the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, Strong Voice Advocate for the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, "Climb Against the Odds" team member for the Breast Cancer fund, founding member of the New England Leaders advocacy group, member of the RI Breast Cancer Coalition and model for the Art beCAUSE Portrait Project.

Deb has spent over 20 years in the information technology field and is graduate and current employee of the University of Rhode Island. She is also a founding consultant for Ava Anderson Non-Toxic personal care products.

Joyce Creiger, Founder Emeritus
Joyce Crieger has been involved in the arts for over thirty years. She graduated from Boston University with a degree in Art History . She was involved in the formation of the Danforth Museum in Framingham and has her own art consulting firm specializing in corporate art sales. Formerly the owner of Creiger Dane Gallery on Newbury Street, Ms. Creiger was involved in the formation of Art beCAUSE in 1999.

William E. Diercks , Co-Founder and Managing Member of Great Cove Advisors, LLC and Managing Director of Sperry Van Ness - Great Cove Advisors, LLC
Bill is a corporate finance and management consultant to owners and chief executives of closely-held companies. For over 35 years, Bill has developed strategic growth and corporate finance strategies and sourced bank and institutional financing for his clients. Prior to Great Cove Advisors, Bill was a Managing Member of Benchmark Consultants; Executive Vice President and Senior Lending Officer and a Director of Neworld Bank, Boston; Manager of Commercial Lending at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., Boston; and, Government Securities Representative for Morgan Guaranty Trust Company, New York. He earned his BS in Economics from Harvard College and an MBA in Finance from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. Bill was a Director of a publicly owned bank and is currently on the Advisory Board of several privately owned companies.

Lyn Kaplan
Lyn has over 27 years of experience in consulting and selling products and services that help businesses increase productivity and efficiencies while containing costs. She has helped industry leaders sell and service clients such as Verizon and AT&T. Now, with Administaff, (one of Fortune Magazine's "Most Admired Companies" for four consecutive years) Lyn shares the Company's dedication to helping businesses minimize their liability, leverage their human resources and offer their employees a quality benefits package.

Having watched too many relatives, friends and colleagues struggle with breast cancer, Lyn wants to contribute to the efforts of eradicating breast cancer and finding the correlation between environmental causes of this devastating disease.

Barbara LaRue
Barbara LaRue is a business management consultant, formerly with Arthur D. Little, Inc. She now heads her own company, Boston Business Brokers & Consultants, where she helps small to medium size business owners to sell their companies.

As a recent breast cancer survivor, Barbara is deeply committed to funding research on environmental causes of breast cancer. She is the auction chairperson the Art beCause 2005 Wine Pairing Dinner.

Ed Westerman
Ed Westerman is principal of Westerman Consulting, an independent firm providing logistics and business operations services. He has more than 35 years experience in distribution, logistics, off-shore sourcing and liaison, cost reduction, problem solving and general management. Prior to starting his own firm, he was Vice President of Operations for 3 New England based, national consumer products distribution companies.

Ed is a U.S. Navy veteran and holds a B.S. in Public Relations from Boston University. In addition to his work with Art beCAUSE, he serves on other boards including the Creative Club of Boston, the BU College of General Studies Alumni Board, and the Boston University Alumni Council Executive Board.

He resides in Framingham with his wife Arline. They have one son, Micah, a charter school co-founder and teacher in California. In his spare time, he enjoys gardening, reading, music, and occasionally, skiing and jogging.

Karen Whitley, Shareholder, Hanify & King
Karen is a shareholder with the Boston law firm Hanify & King, Professional Corporation, where she has practiced for nearly 15 years. Karen represents employers in all types of employment litigation, including discrimination and harassment claims, wage and hour disputes, and breaches of fiduciary duty or contractual obligations. Karen counsels employers of all sizes, across a broad range of industries, to ensure that their policies and practices comply with state and federal laws. Prior to joining Hanify & King, Karen served as a law clerk to the Associate Justices of the Superior Court of Massachusetts. Karen is a frequent lecturer and author on employment law topics.

Karen is a graduate of Wellesley College and Boston College Law School. She is active in the Wellesley College Alumnae Association, as well as several professional and networking groups, including the National Association of Women Business Owners. Karen is drawn to causes and organizations which improve the lives and success of women, and is committed to furthering the mission of the Art beCAUSE Breast Cancer Foundation as a critical step towards eliminating breast cancer.

Karen enjoys golfing with her husband or cheering on her three sons during their Little League games.

Eric Tapley
Eric is the Managing Director of Boldwerks, a new creative agency that focuses on delivering strong websites, graphic design, and marketing services to companies and nonprofit organizations. Eric brings unique insight and nearly 16 years of experience to each project and client.

Beyond the Web, Eric is most proud of his position on the Boards of the American Red Cross of Central Massachusetts and Art beCAUSE. He is frequently involved with student Entrepreneurship and Venture events, having been recognized himself as the 2001 New England Collegiate Entrepreneur, and works with numerous charities and causes.

When not behind a computer or working with students, Eric can be found spending time with his family, cycling around the Seacoast, or hunting for another great restaurant.

Eric holds a BS in Environmental and Social Policy Analysis with System Dynamics from WPI.