Feinberg School staff member Tim Volpe recently received the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) St. George Medal, the organization’s highest honor awarded in recognition of outstanding leadership, service, and commitment to the organization. Tim has served as a volunteer at the local and division levels and is a former board chair for the Illinois division. “He’s devoted to the ACS and has been instrumental in cementing our relationship with the organization,” says Steven Rosen, MD, director of the Lurie Cancer Center. “He’s a true advocate for all people in need.”

Interested in learning how Tim came to be a 22-year volunteer for the ACS, Expressions asked him to explain how his involvement started and grew, and to give us some insight into his current role at the Lurie Cancer Center.

Q: What prompted you to get involved with the ACS?

A: It was back in the early 1980s and in those days the American Cancer Society was preparing to eliminate a patient transportation program that was providing support to the major hospitals that had radiation therapy facilities. Several of my social work colleagues [Tim began his career as a social worker at Northwestern Memorial Hospital] and I went down to the ACS offices to plead the case that this program should not be discontinued and that in fact, there were significant unmet needs in the area of transportation for cancer patients to and from treatment. The result of the discussion was that they invited a couple of us to join a standing committee that addressed these issues. I joined and have been a volunteer with ACS ever since.

Q: Can you guess how many volunteer hours you have contributed?

A: During the two years that I was Illinois board chair, I spent 10-15 hours per week traveling all over the state and in meetings with a variety of standing and ad hoc committees. Lots of those hours were nights and weekends. Dr. Rosen was always supportive of my role and now he is a member of the board of directors himself. In my other roles, the time demand was not that extensive.

Q: Was there a particular contribution to the ACS that you are most proud of?

A: During my time as board chair, I drove the search process for now-CEO of the Illinois division, Steven Derks. There’s a real sense of pride in taking a wonderful organization and giving it new leadership that takes it to being one that is truly outstanding. 

Q: Tell me a bit about your job at the Lurie Cancer Center.

A: As the associate director for administration, I’m responsible for overall administrative operations including finance and accounting, grants and contracts administration, purchasing, human resources, community outreach and communications, information systems, plant operations, research safety, and more, including the oversight of developing  programs.