At AstraZeneca are proud to celebrate our US-based colleagues who go above and beyond to serve their local communities and who have made an exceptional impact through their commitment to volunteerism through our annual Power of Us Awards. This year seven winners have been selected, from 24 nominations, for their commitment to volunteerism, community leadership, and personal integrity.
These well-deserved winners were selected by a cross-functional review committee and received a $1,000 donation to the charity of their choice through the Power of Us program.
Learn more about our winners and the impact that they made within their communities below. Congratulations to our winners!
Christine Slattery, BSN RN – Senior PSS
Christine co-founded and runs the not for profit café, No Limits Café, that employs and trains neurodivergent individuals in order to empower them with job training and help increase awareness of their potential. Her colleagues say that Christine, a Board member for the café, spends countless hours volunteering her time and efforts and it has truly become a lifestyle to work with these individuals. This is truly her passion and way to give back.
Christine’s passion for this work is evident as she encourages her teammates to volunteer as well. Christine manages to do it all – fundraising, marketing, training employees, volunteering and creating training plans so employees can move on to other roles, all while being a stellar PSS at AstraZeneca. Employees at the No Limits Café have a sense of pride and purpose, while serving others in the community, in no small part to our Power of Us winner, Christine!
Brian Pagano – Business Relationship Manager, Kimberly Jo DeVoy – Learning Excellence Specialist, Compliance and Susan Collett – Senior Administrative Coordinator
Brian, Kimberly and Susan volunteered nearly 120 hours through the AZ Adopt a Family program to benefit the Domestic Violence Center of Chester County (DVCCC). The DVCCC is committed to empowering survivors of domestic abuse by providing information in English and Spanish and supporting them as they reclaim their lives. The non-profit provides services at their confidentially-located site and satellite sites in Coatesville, Kennett Square, Oxford, and Phoenixville.
The AZ Adopt a Family Team is passionate for the cause and drives fundraising efforts to provide these families with funds and presents to brighten their holidays and give them a sense of normality during difficult situations. The team helps to organize their colleagues in Wilmington to maximize the generosity of the everyone on-site, including a full marketing campaign (email, Workplace, Open Space TVs, Word of Mouth, etc) and takes personal time to deliver goods to the center. Last year, the team raised more than $22,000 dollars supporting over 400 people!
Celina D’Cruz – Global Clinical Program Lead, Capivasertib, Breast Cancer
Celina volunteers much of her time each year with the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition in Boston (NOCC). The NOCC is a nonprofit organization that support patients and caregivers affected by ovarian cancer. Their mission is to create a future where no woman loses her life to ovarian cancer. While the NOCC is a national organization, Celina donates her time to the Boson chapter. Celina is the captain of "Tough in Teal", a New England-based team that has been a top fundraiser for the annual walk "Together in Teal" for the past 2 years. In 2021, when the event was virtual, Celina organized a 5K walk for her team in her hometown and raised $27,000. Since fundraising for NOCC, the team has collectively raised over $55,000 that goes toward important programs for ovarian cancer patients, including meal delivery, counseling, and financial support to subsidize the cost of participating in clinical trials.
The resources and support provided by NOCC were critical to Celina when she was first diagnosed in 2021. She is now actively giving back to the organization that helped her so much through raising funds as well as creating more awareness around the risk factors and symptoms of ovarian cancer.
Celina carries her experience as a patient into her role at AZ, and seeks ways in which we can make our trials easier and communication more transparent for patients. Celina is part of the LDO Breast Cancer therapeutic area. In her current position, she is actively working to progress new therapies for metastatic breast cancer patients.
Ann Collucci – Executive PSS
Ann has been a passionate supporter of the University Community Social Services, also known as Meatloaf Kitchen, since 2020. The Meatloaf Kitchen was founded in 1982 by two professors who saw a great need among the many homeless people in their neighborhood. Together they started a soup kitchen open to anyone who needed sustenance. Their soup kitchen was one of the first to seat and serve its guest with the courtesy one might find at a restaurant, as opposed to the traditional food line. The Meatloaf Kitchen has never missed a Saturday in 40 years, including throughout holidays, blizzards, September 11th, Hurricane Sandy and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ann has served many roles, such as serving food or coffee, preparing the food for the lunch hour, packing food for the to-go bags, drying dishes/cleaning up, but her most recent role is hosting. The hosting role is one that she enjoys the most, because she can multitask by guiding the other volunteers on their responsibilities, while directing the guests to have a seat, to relax and enjoy a hot meal. But no matter the role she is given, all the roles impact the organization, because they ultimately provide guests with a warm, engaging, refreshing, clean and safe experience.
Guests particularly appreciate how Ann remembers their names, or even food allergies, and greets them individually each time they visit. Ann knows that even the little things can put a smile on someone’s face or make their day a little brighter.
Paula Fischthal – Global Clinical Operations Program Director
Over the last five years, Paula has shown exceptional leadership and dedication to helping patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis through the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation (CCF). She is committed to improving the lives of children and adults with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, lifelong conditions which have significant impacts on patients' health-related quality of life and for which major unmet need still exists in terms of effective treatments. Her efforts have helped enable the CCF to fund numerous innovative research and support initiatives to improve the lives of those living with these conditions, including Camp Oasis, a camp for children who are living with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Paula has held many roles over the years, including acting as a leader of the Metro DC Parent Support Group, organizing special events, and volunteering at local events, such as the Take Steps Walk, Spin for Crohn’s and Colitis, and Golf for Guts.
Along with several leadership roles within CCF, Paula spearheaded and organized the AstraZeneca Gaithersburg Brazikumab Team's participation in the 2022 Take Steps Walk. She also has raised over $20K for CCF greater Washington since 2012.
About the Power of Us
Power of Us is AstraZeneca’s US employee giving and volunteerism program, which allows employees to connect with the charities of their choice and give back through time, talent and financial support.