About Us

Mission Statement:

Are You Dense, Inc. is dedicated to informing the public about dense breast tissue and its significance for the early detection of breast cancer.

President

Nancy M. Cappello, Ph.D. is founder of Are You Dense, Inc. which was borne out of her own tragedy of an advanced stage breast cancer diagnosis in 2004. Her cancer, because of dense breast tissue, was not found by mammogram even though she had yearly "normal" mammograms since she was 40. In addition to her breast cancer advocacy, Dr. Cappello spent 34 years in public education as a teacher, an administrator and a state department consultant and manager. She received her doctor of philosophy in Educational Administration and Leadership in 1995 from the University of Connecticut.

Vice-President

Ramona Harrison, MBA, has worked in the field of Human Resources/Organization Development for 15 years. She has a unique background and education in Engineering, Quality and Business including experience in global multinationals (GE and Ingersoll Rand), and small high growth public and private firms. She has start-up experience in high tech and manufacturing and is a change leader who has delivered creative solutions that align people and business strategy. She has a passion for International HR Management, Organization Development, Acquisitions and Divestitures, Talent Acquisition and Retention, Training and Development and Compensation and Benefits Design. Ramona became interested in participating on the Board of Directors after a long history with Nancy and Joe Cappello through her parents. Ramona and Nancy built their own personal relationship over the past 5 years through regular biking challenges increasing their total mileage each season and discussing opportunities to grow Are You Dense!

Treasurer

Rita Guerrera, MBA, has been an accountant and financial analyst for twelve years in the Manufacturing, Aerospace and Banking industries. She lives in Prospect, CT with her husband and two children. She lost her aunt in 1975 and mother in 2004 to breast cancer. After her 2005 breast cancer diagnosis, she decided to have a double mastectomy against her doctor's recommendation. This resulted in finding another cancer in the same breast. She was able to make this informed decision because she requested a copy of the mammography and hospital pathology reports that her doctor received. Due to her experience, she believes the key to breast cancer survival is education and awareness.

Directors

Charlene M. German, B.S. in Computer Technology & M.S. in Management Engineering. She currently works as a Software Integrator/Software Quality Engineer for a leading semiconductor equipment manufacturer. She has worked in the semiconductor industry for more than 18 years and it was at a previous semiconductor company where she met Ramona Harrison. Through Ramona, Charlene met Dr. Nancy Cappello and learned about the risks of dense breast tissue. Charlene’s mother and grandmother had breast tumors, one benign and one in-situ. As a precaution, her grandmother went through several radiation treatments. Charlene believes the key ingredients to good health are education and awareness.

 

Susan A. Katz is a poet, author, language arts consultant, and business owner/jewelry designer for her company, EarthWhorls, LLC. She designed the "Exposing the Secret" pendant and earrings for Are You Dense, Inc. Susan also owns a distributorship for the whole food supplement, Juice Plus+. Susan’s dedication to furthering the cause of dense breast tissue and Are You Dense, Inc.comes from her family experience, having lost both grandmothers and her mother to breast cancer. She believes that, "what women don’t know, can kill them" and wants to be a contributing part of the efforts of Are You Dense, Inc.to make sure every woman knows!

 

Inga Lee Puentes, MBA has been in the Accounting/Finance field for over 10 years in both a commercial multinational tech company and a leading defense aerospace company. Along with her affiliation with Are You Dense, Inga has been an advocate for various women empowerment organizations to include founding and leading the Sikorsky Finance Women’s Forum, UTC Friends and Family team captain for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, and the Jane Doe No More victim advocacy group. Inga’s experience with breast cancer has been through the pain and suffering of loved ones who have battled the disease first hand for which Inga was only able to offer support. Inga became aware of “Are you Dense” when her husband Dave forwarded an email from Nan and Joe with information regarding dense breast tissue, since then both Inga and Dave have done everything they can to help further the Are you Dense organization helping to expose the "best kept secret".