LUNGevity Foundation Expands Management Team

Betsy Thurston joins LUNGevity as Vice President of Development

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- LUNGevity Foundation is pleased to announce that Betsy Thurston has joined the senior management team as Vice President of Development. In her role, Ms. Thurston will have overall responsibility for all fundraising and development activities including the development of key external alliances.

Ms. Thurston will be a part of LUNGevity's senior management team that drives the overall strategy for the organization and represents the Foundation on a local, regional, and national basis. She brings a wealth of experience to her new role. Most recently Thurston was Vice President for Strategic Development at the Council on Competitiveness. The Council is a membership-driven organization that recruits and engages America's most influential and innovative leaders to directly impact and influence the future competitiveness of the United States. Thurston was responsible for building and executing sustainable institutional growth through membership and development. She served in this position since 2004. Prior to the Council Thurston worked with the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust and the national headquarters of the American and International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies. 

"We are thrilled to have someone of Betsy's caliber join our team," said Andrea Stern Ferris, President and Chairman of LUNGevity. "Together we will be able to accelerate our growth and make a significant difference to all those affected by lung cancer."

About LUNGevity Foundation

The mission of LUNGevity Foundation is to have a meaningful impact on improving lung cancer survival rates, ensure a higher quality-of-life for lung cancer patients and provide a community for those impacted by lung cancer. It does so by supporting critical research into the early detection and successful treatment of lung cancer, as well as by providing information, resources and a support community to patients and caregivers.

LUNGevity seeks to inspire the nation to commit to ending lung cancer.

For more information about the grants or LUNGevity Foundation, please visit www.lungevity.org.

About Lung Cancer

• 1 in 14 Americans is diagnosed with lung cancer in their lifetime
• Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, regardless of gender or ethnicity
• Lung cancer kills almost twice as many women as breast cancer and more than three times as many men as prostate cancer
• About 55% of all new lung cancer diagnoses are among people who have never smoked or are former smokers
• Only 16% of all people diagnosed with lung cancer will survive 5 years or more, BUT if it's caught before it spreads, the chance for 5-year survival improves dramatically

SOURCE LUNGevity Foundation