Board of Directors

President, Founder, Founding Director

Birmingham, Alabama

Andrea Wilson Woods is a nonfiction writer, patient advocate and career coach. Formerly an adjunct faculty member at Kaplan University, she earned her master’s degree in writing from the University of Southern California (USC). Before focusing on her graduate studies, Andrea worked as a development writer and editor for USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. As a family service specialist at the Mattel Children’s Hospital at UCLA, she facilitated women’s groups in the Legacy for Children research study sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and managed by the Research Triangle Institute. During the seven years she raised her sister, Andrea worked as a primary and secondary school teacher. Andrea received her certification in fundraising with a focus on institutional development from UCLA Extension. She graduated cum laude from USC with a B.A. in humanities. After graduation, Andrea gained custody of her then eight-year-old sister Adrienne. Raising Adrienne has been Andrea’s greatest joy in life; losing Adrienne to liver cancer has been her greatest loss. Andrea started Blue Faery because she doesn’t want another person to lose a loved one to HCC, and she wants the world to know Adrienne’s spirit, strength and courage.

Download Andrea’s CV.

Treasurer, Secretary, Founding Director

Burbank, California

Born and raised in western Pennsylvania, Monique received her B.A. in Communication Arts from Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania. She currently lives in Southern California and has been managing animation budgets and schedules for over 15 years. Monique has worked at various studios including Disney, Sony and Nickelodeon, and is now the Director of Production, TV at DreamWorks Animation Television. Though she never knew Adrienne, Monique was inspired to volunteer because of Andrea’s love of her sister and dedication to Blue Faery.

Director, Strategic Advisor: Healthcare Improvement and Policy

Denver, Colorado

Matthew is a Principal Analyst focused on healthcare improvement and strategic foresight. As a certified knowledge management and process improvement practitioner with extensive international experience, Matthew brings a range of methodologies to bear on improving healthcare policy implementation, technology deployment, and workflow optimization. He has served in senior KM and customer service roles in the US and Australia and holds a master’s degree in knowledge management from the University of Canberra. Matthew is an author of textbook chapters and handbooks on qualitative data analysis and strategic foresight. Matthew’s pro bono roles have included support for the Queensland Emergency Medicine Research Foundation and the St. Andrew’s Medical Research Institute. Matthew is active on social media related to healthcare improvement and writes blogs on HCC, process improvement, and data analysis. 

Director, Legacy Volunteer

Simi Valley, California

Marina was born in the Ukraine but raised in Southern California. She graduated from California State University Northridge with her B.S. in applied mathematics. Her career goals include obtaining her master’s degree in statistics. Previously Marina worked as a Service Manager at Wells Fargo. Marina met Adrienne in the sixth grade, and they remained friends long after Marina moved to a different school district. Marina volunteers for Blue Faery because she wants to spread awareness of hepatitis and liver cancer, and she doesn’t want others to lose a dear friend to a relatively unknown, but extremely common cancer.

Research and Content Coordinator

Austin, Texas

Michelle received her B.A. at the University of Texas at Austin in 2021. She double majored in Sociology and Health & Society with a minor in business. She is currently an MPH graduate student studying Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences at UTHealth School of Public Health. After she finishes her master’s degree, she hopes to further her education through a doctoral program in hopes of contributing to the future of public health research in cancer treatment and prevention. Andrea’s journey as Adrienne’s guardian and caregiver has deeply touched Michelle’s heart and continues to spark her desire to support primary liver cancer patients through Blue Faery.