Our Mission
The mission of the Yvonne Ashley Galiber Breast Cancer Foundation (YAGF) is to educate the community about the risk factors for breast cancer in the Virgin Islands and to advocate on behalf of women and men touched by this disease. The Foundation will provide financial assistance for breast cancer screening, diagnostic mammograms and other related services to those who are medically underserved and uninsured. Through our support groups and other activities, YAGF will establish a special bond with our clients, their family members and caregivers to emotionally encourage them to keep their spirits high throughout their journey. Candidates seeking to apply for YAGF’s financial support must reside in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Our Board
Cassandra Dunn, MA.Ed. | President
Cassandra Dunn, a breast cancer survivor, serves as Vice President of the Yvonne Ashley Galiber Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc. She is President of WSW Communications, a public relations and strategic communications firm. Prior to her retirement in 2013 from the Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority, she was employed as the Director of Corporate Communications and spokesperson with responsibility for managing the utility’s internal communications functions and community outreach activities. Prior to that, she served as human resources manager at the Authority and as an academic and career counselor at the University of the Virgin Islands.
Mrs. Dunn has earned awards and recognition for her professional and community involvement and serves on the boards of several organizations. Most recently, she has been a contributing author to a bio/anthology about the life of Caribbean-American poet, prolific writer, and publisher Audre Lorde, former St. Croix resident, civil rights activist, and New York State Poet Laureate 1991-1992, who battled breast cancer for many years before she succumbed to the disease. Mrs. Dunn holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in education from Howard University (1972) and a master of arts in educational administration from the University of the Virgin Islands (1987).
Dr. Sarah F. Mahurt, Ph.D. | Vice President
Dr. Sarah F. Mahurt has more than 30 years as an educator. In that time, she has worked as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, university professor, and administrator with a focus on improving instruction and student achievement. She is currently director of Visions Consulting and most recently was the Assistant Commissioner of Education in the US Virgin Islands where she led several initiatives to improve teaching and learning. Prior to that, Dr. Mahurt was a clinical professor at Purdue University where she led a school-reform program that included in-depth training of literacy coaches, providing administrator academics, and leading training sessions for school leadership teams. She was also a professor at the University of the Virgin Islands, teaching all graduate and undergraduate courses in reading as well as supervising student teachers. Dr. Mahurt has worked with over 100 schools and 30 districts across several states and the Virgin Islands to improve teaching and student achievement.
Dr. Mahurt’s publications include a variety of articles and two books titled, Building Bridges from Primary to Intermediate Literacy and Reading to Learn in Secondary Classrooms. She has made numerous national and international presentations on children's literature, literacy teaching and learning, and school reform in literacy education. Dr. Mahurt received the Celebrate Literacy Award from the St. Croix Chapter of the International Reading Association, the Teaching Excellence Award from the University of the Virgin Islands, and the Purdue University Department of Curriculum and Instruction Engagement Award for school reform efforts. Dr. Mahurt, a breast cancer survivor, holds a B.A. in Sociology, a M.S. in Education, and a Ph.D. in Literacy and Language with a minor in Education Administration. She is certified in the Virgin Islands as an elementary teacher, administrator, and reading educator.
Leslye Webb Keith | Treasurer
Leslye Webb Keith, a breast cancer survivor since 2012, serves as the Board Secretary of the Yvonne Ashley Galiber Breast Cancer Foundation. While working for the Treasury Department as a Senior Customs Officer she was attending the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She retired from Federal service in 2001, after which she volunteered with DVSAC, a local non-profit organization, where she was introduced to her current position in the Virgin Islands Police Department as Victim/Witness Advocate. Ms. Webb serves as the chairperson of YAG Foundation’s Dance Mammothon, an annual fundraising event which funds screening and diagnostic mammograms for the medically underserved men and women of the Virgin Islands.
Regina Flippin, DPM | Board Director
Dr. Regina Flippin, DPM is a respected national board-certified foot and ankle surgeon on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. She is a native of Memphis, Tennessee and a graduate of Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine.
In 2011, Dr. Flippin, a breast cancer survivor, founded her own charity. Flippin to a Cure, a non-profit foundation based in Milwaukee, to increase education and address the disparity of care to women in underserved and underrepresented communities. She migrated to the Virgin Islands in 2012 to support the medical services available in the community. A dedicated healthcare leader and entrepreneur, she is the owner of Urban Foot Care and Uzuri Spa, and co-owner of a local pharmacy serving the island community. In addition to her private practice, she also serves on staff at St. Croix’s Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital.
Dara Hamilton, Ph.D. | Board Director
Dara Hamilton is a licensed clinical psychologist from the island of St. Croix. She is a full time tenured Associate Professor at the University of the Virgin Islands and owns and operates a small private practice, The Lotus Center for Well Being. Community health is Dr. Hamilton's passion. She enjoys interacting with the community and encouraging systems to change to support the well being of all. Dr. Hamilton, herself, is a breast cancer survivor, who looks forward to turning this experience into profound mission to continue to support the health and mental health of all with whom she comes in contact. Dr. Hamilton believes in living every moment of your life. She enjoys reading, going to the beach, spending time with friends, binging on streaming networks, adoring her cat Sweet Pea, playing tennis, and dancing.
Kemit-Amon Lewis, M.Sc. | Board Director
Kemit-Amon Lewis was born and raised on St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Savannah State University in 2004, and later a Master of Marine Science from SSU through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Living Marine Resource Cooperative Science Center. Upon returning home, he worked for the University of the Virgin Islands and the Department of Planning and Natural Resources Division of Coastal Zone Management. He was also the Coral Conservation Manager for The Nature Conservancy’s Caribbean Program leading the development of the Caribbean coral restoration strategy and coral restoration programs regionally and and globally. He also coordinated the Virgin Islands Reef Resilience Program, the Virgin Islands Reef Responsible Sustainable Seafood Initiative, and managed TNC’s Sea Turtle Monitoring Program.
Kemit started dancing at St. Croix Central High School under the direction of the talented Lisa Lenhardt. He danced with and served as president/instructor for the Savannah State University Dance Ensemble and trained with several schools and dance intensives, further refining his technique through annual participation in the Black College Dance Exchange. He was an instructor/choreographer for the Caribbean Dance School on St. Croix and continued to build his dance vocabulary through classes wherever he traveled -- Sydney, Amsterdam, New York, etc. He has worked as the Development Director for Perry Institute for Marine Science and as Marine Resource Habitat Specialist for NOAA. Kemit, a Wilson 360 Advisory Staff member, recognized in 2022 by the Legislature of the USVI for his accomplishments in marine science, is always quick to remind others that he’s Crucian before anything else!
Dante P. Galiber, MD, FACP, FACC, FASNC | Medical Advisor
Dr. Dante P. Galiber, Medical Director of the Yvonne Ashley Galiber Breast Cancer Foundation, is a board certified invasive and nuclear cardiologist and a staff cardiologist at the Juan Luis Hospital and has a private practice at St. Croix’s The Heart Center, PC. He graduated from St. Dunstan’s Episcopal High School in 1982 as the valedictorian, was a National Merit Scholar, an UVI Early Admissions Student, and the 1982 St. Thomas Carnival King. Dr. Galiber is a Phi Beta Kappa National Competitive Scholar and magna cum laude graduate of Howard University. He completed medical school (1989) and internal medicine residency training (1992) at Indiana University. In 2000 he spearheaded the development of the first cardiac laboratory in the US Virgin Islands, introduced invasive cardiology, and performed the first heart catheterization in the territory. He has published five articles on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and congestive heart disease in The Journal of Respiratory Diseases.
Dr. Galiber is board certified in internal medicine, cardiology, nuclear cardiology, and cardiovascular computed tomography and the only physician in the USVI and the Caribbean who is certified in both Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiovascular Computed Tomography. He has presented on a wide range of topics including Preoperative Cardiac Risk Assessment, Einthoven’s EKG, A Century of African-American Medical Pioneers, Alcoholic Cardiomyopathy, Congestive Heart Failure, Cardiac Masses, and Hypertension. He has been a member of St. Croix Toastmasters since 2008 and is a life-member of the Association of Black Cardiologists, a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, American College of Cardiology, and the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology. In 2011, he was inducted into the UVI Golden Key International Honor Society and was also honored by Rotary Harborside in a Roast, Toast and Boast fundraiser for the Lighthouse Mission and The Gift of Life Project.
On February 19, 2015, Dr. Dante Galiber was commissioned Major in the Virgin Islands Army National Guard.