Center Staff

Michelle Manning, MPH
Carolina Well Center Coordinator

Michelle Manning, MPH is the Center Coordinator for Carolina Well: the UNC Lineberger Cancer Survivorship Program.
Michelle is a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill's School of Public Health where she obtained a MPH degree in Health Behavior and Health Education. After graduation, Michelle served as an intern for the National Cancer Institute before becoming Director of Patient Support Services for the Washington Cancer Institute. In this position, Michelle had oversight of all cancer patient education, nutrition, counseling and community outreach services for the cancer center. Prior to joining Carolina Well, Michelle coordinated a UNC Chapel Hill health disparities grant funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Mindy Gellin, RN, BSN, CH
Education and Outreach Coordinator

Mindy Gellin, RN, BSN, is the Education and Outreach Coordinator for Carolina Well. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor's Social Science and Communication Program and a graduate of the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Nursing. She has worked in home health, rehabilitation, migrant health, women's health, developed the first researched pet-therapy program for homebound elderly and outpatient adolescent mental health facilities in the country. Prior to joining Carolina Well, Mindy served for 8 years as program director for Cornucopia House, a local non-profit cancer support center. Her own survivorship informs her work with other survivors.

Liz Sherwood, BS, MS, ANP
Coordinator for Survivorship Programs

Liz completed her BS at University of Colorado in Nursing (1978), MS at University of Colorado in Psych/Mental Health Nursing (1984), and Post-Master's Adult Nurse Practitioner Certificate at University of North Carolina (2003). She has been a patient counselor/advanced practice nurse at Lineberger Clinical Cancer Center since 1998 working with all the multidisciplinary programs at UNC. Groups she has worked with include Caregiver Support Group, Stress Reduction/Mindfulness Groups, Various Educational Groups, Seasons of Survivorship Groups. She is an integral part of multidisciplinary programs including patient assessment and interventions for patients and family members during active treatment stage and after. The survivorship collaboration has greatly benefited Liz's role and efforts as patients and families have increasingly requested more services in this area throughout the years. With emphasis on addressing these issues with all of our patients, she has worked as a team member in a clinical center to make sure patients are more aware of the resources for survivors available and to advocate for patients to get the services they need to transition from someone who is in active treatment and beyond.

Salli Benedict, MPH
Community Outreach Coordinator

Salli Benedict is the Assistant Director for Community Development, Implementation & Dissemination at the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. She is the director of the Center's Core Research Project, HOPE Works, which addresses obesity, hope and economic empowerment among ethnically diverse low income women. Salli received her Masters in Public Health in Health Behavior Health Education from UNC Chapel Hill. Her areas of interest include community-based participatory research, health promotion for women; community and worksite health promotion for blue collar and underserved populations; fitness for older adults; and the development of culturally appropriate health education programs and materials for diverse populations. Ms. Benedict is an adjunct faculty in the Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, UNC School of Public Health, and was awarded the department's Eunice N. Tyler Practice Award in 1994. She has been teaching "Salli's Senior Workout," a fitness class for older adults in the community, since 1987.

LaSonia Melvin, BS, MA
Carolina Well Community Outreach Coordinator, Zimmer Cancer Center

LaSonia Roberts-Melvin is a graduate of Shaw University in Raleigh, NC with BS Degree in Criminal Justice, and an MA Psychiatric Counseling from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. LaSonia has worked with the special education population in the New Hanover School System, has served as a member of the Parent Advisory Board for Dreams of Wilmington, and volunteered with Summer Youth Programs. From October 2005 – December 2008 she has been a Patient Navigator for the Zimmer Cancer Center. She is a member of the North Carolina Oncology Navigation Association and the Local American Cancer Society Leadership Committee and a breast cancer support group facilitator. Lasonia began working for the Carolina Well Program in January 2009.

Neda Padilla, BS
Carolina Well Community Outreach Coordinator, Greensboro Area Health Education Center

Neda Rosaura Padilla is a recent graduate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a degree in Public Health Education with a concentration in Community Health. She started working for the Carolina Well program in July 2008 as the Community Outreach Coordinator in the Greensboro AHEC region. In this role, Ms. Padilla is expanding our cancer survivorship outreach efforts to the GAHEC region, developing collaborations with local community organizations interested in cancer survivorship, and working closely with the leadership to develop a peer counseling program.

Terri Wallace
Community Outreach Coordinator,
Tri-County Community Health Council

Terri Wallace is a graduate of Elon University with a BA in Human Services. Terri has an extensive social work and hospice background supported by many years as a volunteer in various capacities and facets of the community. She started working for the Carolina Well program in January 2009 as the Community Outreach Coordinator in the Tri-County region. In this role, Ms. Wallace is expanding our cancer survivorship outreach efforts developing collaborations with local community organizations interested in cancer survivorship, and working closely with the leadership to develop a peer counseling program. Terri Wallace is a life-long resident of North Carolina.