Executive Directors

Roberta Lombardi

President, Founder

Roberta Lombardi founded Infinite Strength in 2018 after her own fourteen-month, early stage breast cancer journey. While no stranger to the heartbreak of cancer (she lost many family members to various forms of cancer, including her dad when she was just nineteen), she gained a new understanding of the havoc a cancer diagnosis delivers not just physically, but emotionally and mentally as well.
Since then she has made advocating for women diagnosed with MBC her life's work, with an intense focus on women with health and racial disparities. In addition, she is an ardent supporter of their children and creates educational programs to support mother and child through the various challenges of living with this terminal illness. Roberta approves every grant herself, and personally calls grantees to ensure they feel supported and know they do not have to go through their journey alone.
Roberta serves on the board of the Yale Cancer Center Director's Council and she is a member of the American Cancer Society’s National Breast Cancer Roundtable. She lives with her husband and three daughters in Connecticut.

John Picard

Vice President

John Picard served as the tenth Mayor of West Haven, Connecticut from 2005-2013. He is a certified financial planner and has had many elected and appointed positions on various boards in the greater New Haven area throughout his career. John currently serves as Chairman of the Board for the Tweed New Haven Airport and Our Lady of Mercy Preparatory Academy. His dedication to improving the lives of others through his community involvement is unparalleled. John and his wife, Tara, reside in Madison with their three children.

Nancy Gagliano

Treasurer

Nancy has been a CPA for over 35 years working in a variety of industries as an auditor, controller, CFO, and sole proprietor.
She joined Infinite Strength in 2019 and is grateful for the opportunity to be of service to the most important nonprofit she has been involved with to date.
As her own mother passed away from metastatic breast cancer at age 31 leaving behind 3 small children, Nancy is passionate about Infinite Strength’s mission to help women with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer who desperately need the most basic of assistances - food, clothing, and shelter for themselves and their children.

Rachel Borelli

Secretary

Rachel Borelli has worked in the biopharmaceutical industry for over 15 years, specializing in breast cancer, and currently works for Gilead Sciences where she also serves on the VP Council.
Rachel’s life was personally touched by breast cancer on October 9, 2015 when her younger sister Michelle was diagnosed at only 30 years old with stage 3b, triple negative breast. Michelle was diagnosed with MBC in 2017 and Rachel then became her caretaker watching Michelle fight a daunting and painful battle for 3 and a half years while raising her young daughter as a single mother.
Throughout her sister’s journey, Rachel learned about the importance of patient advocacy and began working with Infinite Strength after meeting Roberta Lombardi in June 2019, only one month after her sister had passed away. A divine meeting, serving one purpose, to support single mothers living with metastatic breast cancer.

Jake Mauro

Board Member

Jake is the President of Mauro Motors, a Connecticut based automotive company with luxury automotive dealerships and collision centers in both New Haven and Fairfield County.
He is an entrepreneur and business owner with over a decade of experience in both the automotive and commercial real estate industries.
Jake and his wife, Melissa, reside in Durham, CT with their daughter, Mollie.

Medical Board

Maryam Lustberg, MD, MPH

Chief Medical Advisor

Maryam Lustberg, MD, MPH, is Director of The Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Chief of Breast Medical Oncology at Yale Cancer Center. She is also an Associate Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology). She has been recognized for her patient-focused care with awards that include being rated by Forbes as one of the top breast medical oncologists in the nation and named to the Castle Connolly list of “Regional Top Doctors,” and “Exceptional Women in Medicine” for 2020. She is currently participating in the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Leadership Development Program.
With an emphasis on improving the long-term outcomes for patients with breast cancer who have developed side effects associated with treatment, Dr. Lustberg will continue her research efforts at Yale. She is also focused on investigating novel blood-based biomarkers to identify recurrence and treatment toxicity earlier. She is an NCI-funded investigator and active in both ALLIANCE and SWOG Cancer Cooperative Groups. Dr. Lustberg collaborates widely with researchers from around the world, thriving in creating innovative multidisciplinary scientific teams. Her mentorship has been recognized by numerous awards including Best Teacher Award by Hematology Oncology Fellows and the Shining Star Award for Medical Student Mentorship.

Patricia DeFusco, MD

Dr. Patricia DeFusco has been in clinical practice caring for women with breast cancer for over 30 years. She has always believed that medicine is a profession not a job.
The relationship between a physician and a patient is a partnership characterized by trust, compassion, empathy and education. These elements are essential as women (and men) with breast cancer face their diagnosis with the whole range of emotions ranging from terror to acceptance and that initial response needs to be understood, accepted and validated to move on to the specifics of treatments and interventions.
Dr. DeFusco’s goals are to create a common standard across the hospitals in the Hartford Healthcare system so that no matter where a patient enters the system, she (or he) will be offered the same standard of care.

Nancy Borstelmann PHD, MPH, LCSW

Dr. Borstelmann is a licensed clinical social worker whose career has been focused on serving patients and families through direct clinical roles, program development, management, and leadership. Dr. Borstelmann has over 30 years of experience in interdisciplinary cancer and behavioral health care, including individual and family-focused clinical social work practice in oncology and psychiatry, support group leadership, and clinical research related to the psychosocial impact of cancer on patients and their families.
Her special interests are caregivers’ stress and adjustment, children’s and family coping when a parent has cancer, and the challenges of survivorship and bereavement. As of June 2022, she is a Clinical Instructor and Chief of Family Behavioral Health Services in Hematology/Oncology in the Yale Child Study Center.
Prior to starting her position at Yale, Dr. Borstelmann was the Senior Director of Social Work at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and Chief of the Division of Social Work in the Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, where she had been since 1997 and in her director role since 2013.
Dr. Borstelmann received her Master’s in Public Health from Yale, her Master’s in Social Work from the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill, and her PhD in Social Work from Simmons University.

Neil M. Iyengar, MD

Dr. Neil Iyengar is a medical oncologist and clinical investigator with a practice dedicated exclusively to the care of patients with breast cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering. As a member of MSK’s multidisciplinary team of specialists, Dr. Iyengar treats patients with an individualized and multifaceted approach based on cutting-edge technology and the most up-to-date research.
Dr. Iyengar’s practice is focused on providing patients with state-of-the-art care plans using advanced technologies and innovative strategies to treat breast cancer while also providing support for general well-being, such as nutrition and exercise. Ultimately, Dr. Iyengar is dedicated to providing clear communication and understandable information regarding standard therapies as well as new and exciting research options so that patients are empowered to make informed decisions about their care.

Sarah Sammons, MD

Dr. Sammons is a medical oncologist specializing in the care of patients with all stages of breast cancer. Her research focuses upon improving the outcomes of people living with metastatic breast cancer. She has led multiple clinical trials which have led to new treatment options for patients with metastatic breast cancer. She also has expertise in the treatment of brain metastases.
In 2018, she joined the staff of Duke Cancer Institute and ultimately served as Associate Director of Breast Cancer Research. She joined Brigham and Women's and Dana-Farber in 2022, where she is a medical oncologist and clinical investigator in the Breast Oncology Center. She serves as Associate Director of the Metastatic Breast Cancer Program.
Dr. Sammons received her medical degree from Sydney Kimmel Medical College. She subsequently completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Maryland and fellowship in hematology and oncology at Duke University.

Tiffany A. Traina, MD

Dr. Traina is the Vice Chair of Outpatient Operations for the Department of Medicine and The Section Head of the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Clinical Research Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering.
Dr. Traina is a board-certified medical oncologist whose clinical practice is dedicated exclusively to the care of patients with all stages of breast cancer. She is part of a large, multidisciplinary team of devoted specialists who share her goal of providing exceptional care to patients fighting breast cancer. Through her research activities, she works to develop new therapeutic options for the treatment of breast cancer and to ultimately eradicate this disease.

Patient Advocate Advisory Board

Julia Maues

Diagnosed with HER2+ breast cancer at 29 while pregnant, Julia received four rounds of chemotherapy while still carrying her son and delivered a healthy baby in July 2013 (full of hair while she was completely bald!). Scans she could only do after the delivery showed that the back pain she had during the pregnancy was caused by metastasis to her spine, and it was also in her liver and brain.
After many treatment setbacks, including heart failure due to chemo and recurrence of brain mets treated with a craniotomy, her cancer began to respond to treatment and she found herself with the gift of time that she did not expect to have.
After leaving a career as an economist and as her son got older and more independent, she decided to turn this tragic experience into a drive to improve the lives of people living with this disease and got involved in advocacy.

Marlena Murphy APC, NCC

In 2018, Marlena Murphy confronted a life-altering diagnosis of stage III triple-negative breast cancer while providing for her then 11-year-old daughter. Enduring rigorous chemotherapy and a lumpectomy, she pursued radiation and chemo pills to thwart reoccurrence, grappling not only with physical challenges but also the profound mental and emotional impact of her journey. In March 2022, Marlena faced a metastatic triple-negative breast cancer diagnosis, prompting ongoing chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and scans every three months. Balancing these treatments with raising her now 17-year-old daughter every three weeks has been her paramount challenge.
Determined to derive meaning from her diagnosis, Marlena volunteered as a patient advocate. Motivated to aid others, she returned to school, earning a Master's in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with certificates in Marriage & Family Therapy and Sex Therapy in May 2023. Marlena Murphy's narrative transcends personal adversity, reflecting a steadfast commitment to advocacy, education, and a positive impact on those affected by breast cancer.

Deltra James

Deltra is a Connecticut based mama of 5 amazing girls who she strives to raise with cultural and health awareness. She’s a chain tea drinker, wig hoarder, and lover of singing loudly and dancing unabashedly.
Since being diagnosed with Triple Negative MBC de novo in 2019 she has focused on thriving through education, advocacy, connecting and radical self-care. She is passionate about mental and emotional wellness, creative expression as a means of coping, community building and connecting BIPOC women with people and spaces that can care for their whole selves.
She is a member of Cactus Cancer Society’s YAC advisory board, the inaugural class of For the Breast of Us Baddie Ambassador, the Our MBC Life podcast staff and serves as Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator for Project Life MBC.

Our Team

Patient Resource Navigator and Communication Specialist

Kristina Borelli

Kristina joined the Infinite Strength organization with a very special connection to its mission. She lost her sister to Metastatic Breast Cancer in 2019. She was only 33 at the time and she left behind her 5 year old daughter, Sophia. The devastation this loss brought to Kristina and her family was immeasurable.
Kristina always knew deep down that she wanted to share her sister’s story and get involved with helping other women who are in the same shoes she was in. It took a few years before she was ready to be involved after losing her sister, but in perfect timing she joined Infinite Strength in June of 2023 with a background in Marketing and Graphic Design.

Dana Spinelli

Visual Design Specialist

Dana Spinelli founded Clean Slate Design Studio after her extensive corporate, agency and freelance journey. Now with 10+ years of design experience, Dana has elevated brands across multiple industries including healthcare, non-profit, real estate, retail and more.
Dana’s relationship with Infinite Strength started back in 2018 after working on the company logo. From there, she has worked closely with Roberta to fine tune the brand identity, produce creative marketing, showcase a defined web presence and help design and oversee fundraising platforms.
With her Master’s Degree in UX and Bachelor’s Degree in Graphic Design, Dana has dedicated significant time studying interactive media, user behavior and the fundamental principles of design.