Our Inspiration

This piece of art, created by Heidi Buck, symbolizes David Pearson and our quest to tame the dragon that is cancer.

David was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme in September 2010. He was just 16 years old. David was funny, quirky, intelligent and kind. He was well loved by all who encountered him throughout his life and known for giving warm hugs to his friends and family. He wanted to be a chef, and he was so honored to meet Gordon Ramsay and to call José Andres a friend. He always had a smile and a hug for the people he loved - and that was nearly everyone he met. Four hospitals, a clinical trial, and countless prayers couldn't save David, and he passed away after a 20-month battle. David was secure in the knowledge of where he was going after death, but he didn't want others to suffer from cancer. He asked his family to continue to try and find cures for others. Hoping to turn this tragedy into something positive and help solve the riddle of cancer, his mother and stepfather founded the Dragon Master Foundation, with the goal of using big data to help researchers identify patterns and further their research.

We'd like to thank Heidi Buck for creating this piece of art for us. You can find more of her work at hbdragon.com or find her on Facebook here.

Our Mission & Goals

Mission

To find and accelerate cures for cancers and other diseases by fostering and rewarding a community of collaboration and innovation. We seek to spread awareness, expedite research and kinder treatments, and improve the quality of life for patients and their families.

Our Goals

Develop a large-scale database that will transcend existing consortiums and databases and will house molecular, genetic, clinical and environmental data. Further, the database will be built for high-volume, high-velocity data processing taking advantage of the latest technologies while allowing for future growth and advancements. The initial primary focus will be brain tumors, starting with data collection in the pediatric population and then expanding into adults. Update: We are partnered with the Children's Brain Tumor Tissue Consortium on the Cavatica platform.
Reward qualified researchers and institutions who share data with the database by giving them free access to the database, leveraging existing grant funding, and creating new grants through fundraising efforts. Update: Access to Cavatica is free. We are currently advocating for other foundations to consider data sharing in their funding models, and we are involved in developing a data sharing award.
Provide opportunities for researchers to work with each other and with other experts outside of their field of expertise to expand the horizons of research by pushing their experiences outside the box. Update: Cavatica has a shared space for collaboration. Additionally, we have an outreach effort to encourage more academic use of the platform.
Provide a system for tracking patients from one clinical study and/or hospital to the next and give researchers better long-term data on deaths and survivors.

Board of Directors

First and foremost, we are people who want to cure brain cancer. Our board members come from all walks of life, creative to analytical. We share a passion to make the world a better place.

Amanda Haddock President

Amanda is a serial volunteer whose son, David, succumbed to GBM in 2012 at the age of 18. She was his caregiver throughout the 20 month battle and traveled with him to four different hospitals in four different states. The doctors and researchers they encountered on that journey led them to become passionate advocates for brain cancer research.

Amanda was named a White House Champion of Change for Precision Medicine because of her work with Dragon Master Foundation. You can see the White House archive page for that here: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/champions/precision-medicine/amanda-haddock

Amanda spent 11 years of her working career in the non-profit sector and spent the last 9 years working in the technology industry. She is very proud of her daughter, Austin, and her two bonus kids, Briston & Kinsley. Amanda enjoys travel, creative projects, and random acts of kindness.

Amanda's blog: https://thisgreymatters.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmandaHaddock
David Herrmann Vice President

David Herrmann is a career television and advertising sales executive, with over 25 years experience. David brings an enhanced sense of urgency (don't call him impatient) to every interaction. He is a former past President of the Advertising Federation of Wichita, and served 7 years on the United Way of the Plains Campaign Promotions Committee. David holds a BA in English from Kansas State University and a Mini MBA from Wichita State University. He and his wife Amy have two children and reside in Wichita.
Angela Millspaugh Secretary

Angela Millspaugh is the co-owner of an event rental and décor business in Wichita, Kansas. Prior to opening her business, she worked ten years in municipal government, serving on several boards and commissions. Several of Angela's family members have been diagnosed with various forms of cancer, most succumbing to the disease. She enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with her husband and daughter.
Chriss Brown Treasurer

Chriss is a Wichita based CPA at BAC & Associates.
Richard Haddock Board Member

Richard is an entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in the technology industry. Beginning his career as a programmer, he went on to serve on Apple's Advisory Board and was a founder of a national marketing group for Apple dealers. A native of Kansas, Richard is thankful to be the father of Briston and Kinsley and step-father to Austin and David. It is rumored that he spoils the dog and cats, but that has yet to be proven. Richard enjoys traveling, hanging out on tropical beaches with his wife, and solving the world's problems.
Dr. Eugene Hwang Board Member

Eugene Hwang, MD, is part of Children's neuro-oncology team and focuses on treating children with brain tumors. Dr. Hwang's undergraduate work was in Cellular and Molecular Biology at Rice University in Houston, Texas. After completing medical school at Duke University, Dr. Hwang completed residency at Brown University Medical Center before returning to Duke University Medical Center for both his pediatric hematology-oncology and neuro-oncology fellowships. While at Duke, he conducted research focused on finding new treatments for childhood medulloblastoma.

He is passionate about improving the care of children with brain tumors, and is currently involved in clinical research to quickly find new and effective treatments, leading studies to better characterize primitive neuroectodermal tumors and craniopharyngiomas, while also leading innovative therapeutic trials. Dr. Hwang is also director of the Neuro-oncology Fellowship Program at CNMC and is co-leading a national initiative to improve training of future pediatric neuro-oncologists.
Kerry Johnston Board Member

Kerry Johnston is a communications contractor and consultant with experience in myriad industries including hospitality, technology, non-profit and health insurance. For more than 20 years, her expertise has supported business-to-business and business-to-employee communications as well as corporate identity and wellness initiatives, the latter having become a particular passion. Described by a former supervisor as a “project bull dog,” Johnston’s tenacity also earned her the nickname P.I.T.A. Girl by her husband (either tenacity or her love of Greek food). She now lives in Savannah, Ga., with that aircraft engineer and their two daughters.

Johnston's work has been recognized by the International Association of Business Communicators and the Wichita chapter of both the Public Relations Society of America and American Advertising Federation. She is both an avid reader and writer in her personal life, writing poetry and fiction (but please don’t ask her how that novel is coming along). Her last non-profit board position was with the Kansas Writers Association. Johnston earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism with emphasis in advertising and public relations from Wichita State University in 1991.
Roger Kasten Board Member

Roger Kasten is a product visionary, incisive technologist, and savvy marketer all rolled up in a very friendly package. He was the SR VP & CTO of the world's largest Macintosh hardware development company for 15 years. He continued on to become the Director of Competitive Intelligence & Analysis for LSI/Engenio (computer storage) for 10 years. He currently is the Manager of OEM Competitive Intelligence and Analysis for NetApp, Inc (computer storage and the world's #1 storage management company). Roger is an avid four-wheeler, voracious reader, and a huge movie buff. He lives with his beautiful wife of 31-years, Leah, in Wichita, KS. He is immensely proud of his two boys, Joel and Jake.
Alexander Moore Board Member

Alex Moore is an award winning filmmaker who was diagnosed with a form of Brain Cancer in August 2011. He wrote a popular blog chronicling his treatment journey (the-new-normal.com). Through his experience he saw firsthand the urgency of both awareness and research and now is devoted to using his story to help families and patients navigate and endure the painful process of dealing with the disease. He enjoys hiking, going to sporting events, amusement parks, and spending time with his wife Amy and son Ridley in the hot (Southern) California sun.