Passion rewarded for Lakewood Ranch resident

When Country Club’s Shelly Glenn was a child growing up in northern New Jersey, she watched as her father, Stephen Halperin, make a condolence call after his friend had died from a blood cancer.

“It was the first time I saw my dad cry,” Glenn said. “You think of your dad as being this big guy, … strong, … and everything like that.”

That moment sparked Glenn’s passion for health care. 

Her fear of needles and blood kept her from becoming a nurse or doctor, but she knew she wanted to be involved in the health care industry in some way.

Now, at 58, Glenn is serving her community as the new chief development and community partnership officer for the Florida Cancer Specialists.

“It’s important people understand as a nonclinician, I look at things from common sense and basic awareness,” Glenn said. “I’m not a physician, I’m not a rocket scientist, but I care about my community. I want to help those that live here. I want to make sure I’m the individual who doesn’t block but connects our community to all of those experts.”

Florida Cancer Specialists works to provide cancer treatment and offers its patients access to clinical trials. FCS is one of the largest medical oncology and hematology practices in the country.

Glenn works out of the offices in Lakewood Ranch, her home for eight years.

As the chief development and community partnership officer, which is a new position for the Florida Cancer Specialists, Glenn is tasked with strengthening patient advocacy and community partnerships, overseeing growth initiatives and bringing Florida Cancer Specialists to the forefront of community oncology.

“Over the years, Shelly has helped nurture key relationships with many other cancer-related groups, as well as a variety of community-based organizations,” said Nathan Walcker, the CEO of Florida Cancer Specialists. “Her expertise in bringing people and organizations together will serve her well in this new position.”

Glenn will also oversee referral base management, physician recruitment and the FCS Foundation.

“During her tenure at FCS, Shelly has developed an outstanding referral management program, which has boosted new patient growth annually,” said Dr. Lucio Gordan, FCS president and a managing physician. “Additionally, as a founding board member of the FCS Foundation, she has helped increase patient grants significantly. Even in this very challenging year, the foundation has distributed $1.7 million to needy cancer patients undergoing treatment in Florida. We are pleased that she will continue to provide leadership in both of these areas.”

Glenn said her position is more crucial than ever as the COVID-19 pandemic persists, and people are hesitant to go to the doctor or get themselves screened for cancer. She wants to assure the community that it is safe and important to be screened.

One of her first goals is to increase awareness of some key advocacy initiatives, which include getting more people screened for cancer. Another goal is helping local employers educate their employees on how to reduce risk factors and what resources are available to them. She also intends to grow the number of patients FCS serves.

Besides the challenges the pandemic poses, Glenn said another challenge will be informing people they could get high quality care in their community rather than traveling to another health care provider or academic center.

Glenn has been with Florida Cancer Specialists since 2012, previously serving as the chief sales and marketing officer. She also has worked for many nonprofits in the area.

“It’s about doing what’s right for the greater good,” Glenn said. “Each one of us, I think, wants to give back and wants to contribute, whether that’s through work or volunteerism.”