Denise Ballard serves as the Cancer Coalition's Vice President for Cancer Prevention and Control, providing leadership for all outreach, education and disparities research activities. She also heads the Cancer Coalition's Center to Reduce Cancer Disparities, the organizations cornerstone for eliminating cancer-related disparities suffered by minorities, the uninsured, and other medically-underserved groups in South Georgia. The Center places a heavy emphasis on early detection and risk reduction, and works with academic partners to design research studies that explore root causes of cancer disparities in our 32-county region. With more than 20 years of experience in cancer control, Denise joined the Cancer Coalition in 2005 after serving as Midwest regional program manager for the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Information Service (CIS). While with the CIS, she provided programmatic oversight for cancer education and behavioral research initiatives that addressed cancer-related disparities in a three-state region. Denise earned both a Bachelors degree in communications and a Master of Education from Wayne State University, Detroit, MI.