“In All Places Where Decisions are Being Made” | A Conversation with MSK Female Veterans & Military Members
In celebration of Women's History Month, we shine a spotlight to hear the stories of our female MSK colleagues who are also military Veterans. These women embraced the idea #ChoosetoChallenge in their brave commitments to serving our country.
Rachel Duff, Care Coordinator II, MSK Monmouth (National Guard)
Rachel served in the New Jersey Air National Guard for a total of seven years as an F-16 Fighter Jet Mechanic. During her time in the military she served a tour oversees in Afghanistan supporting Operation Enduring Freedom as well as a foreign military training mission in Las Vegas, Nevada. Rachel worked in a completely male-dominated field being a mechanic and was the highest ranking female in her shop. In the beginning of Rachel’s career many of her male counterparts were nervous about working with a female initially thinking she wouldn’t be able to handle the physical labor involved with the job. Rachel worked extremely hard to prove herself upon arrival to the unit to make sure that her counterparts were aware that she was able to handle the workload and any of the physical requirements necessary for the job. While working at MSK Rachel has been a Care Coordinator working within our Medical Oncology, Infusion, and Symptomatic Care Clinics at Monmouth specifically the Leukemia and Multiple Myeloma teams.
Image of Rachel Duff
Image of Hillary Esposito
Hillary Esposito, Administrative Assistant (Army)
Hilary joined Memorial Sloan Kettering as an Office Coordinator for Dr. Jason Konner (GYN) in 2018. She presently works as an Administrative Assistant supporting the Chairman of the Department of Medicine (Dr. Philip Kantoff) and Senior Director (Tanya Gelfand).
Her Army Experience includes Army ROTC through Valley Forge Military College (Early Commissioning Program) then continued at Rutgers ROTC. Hilary has worked as a Platoon Leader with the 50th Chemical Company and an Executive Officer in the Medical Detachment unit. She currently serves as a Brigade Medical Operations Officer a part of Support Operations Shop (SPO). Hilary was activated within this role this year from March 2020-June 2020. Hilary worked with the Joint Surgeon’s office- Medical representative working with the Pentagon to report NJ’s COVID-19 Operations.
Jo-Ann Thompson, Radiology Manager (Army)
When Jo-Ann’s scholarship for SUNY Albany ended after two years, she joined the Army Reserves with an interest for Radiologic Technology- it was an easy decision as she came from a military family. Jo-Ann enlisted in June of 1990, with the MOS of 91P (X-Ray Tech). Jo- Ann went to bootcamp at Fort Dix, NJ. In August 1990, she was stationed at Fort Sam Houston located at San Antonio, Texas. She attended the US Army Academy of Health Sciences for her Advanced Individual Training (AIT) until February 1991. Jo-Ann was then stationed at Keller Army Community Hospital (KACH) at West Point, New York for her on the job training (OJT). Jo-Ann’s training took place during the Gulf War.
Image of Jo-Ann Thompson, Radiology Manager
All training military personnel were activated as full duty. Though, she was never deployed Jo-Ann felt proud that she was taking the place of someone who was and ready to leave if given the orders. Jo-Ann remained at West Point until September 1991, with all training completed, she was released to the civilian world obtaining the rank of E-4, Specialist. The next week she was able to obtain a position as a Radiologic Technologist in a City Hospital. After 2 years, Jo-Ann was hired as a Radiology Manager at a major hospital in the Bronx for 23 years. She remained an Army Reservist for the next 6 years.
Jo- Ann joined Memorial Sloan Kettering as the Radiology Manager in Westchester, NY in June of 2017. The military instills discipline, leadership, teamwork, resilience and a focused mindset. In the Army, she was trained to be goal orientated with a “get the job done, ask questions later” mentality, while meeting deadlines. She was taught to make quick decisions, take initiative, multi-task and use teamwork as second nature. Jo-Ann has used her military training to shape her career, which has provided a great sense of accomplishment. While working at MSK, she obtained her Bachelors in Health Care Administration. MSK’s VETERaN Program is important to her because Jo- Ann feels as an organization it shows recognition and support to the military community. Jo-Ann shares she took great pride in serving her country (and continues to do so). The yearly meeting celebrating MSK Veterans is a time to network with fellow military personnel, hear their stories and feel the comradery among the staff within the MSK Organization.
Image of Rene Fox, Assistant to the Chair, Department of Medicine
Rene Fox, Assistant to the Chair, Department of Medicine
Renée Fox joined Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in 2015 as Assistant to the Chair, Department of Medicine, Dr. Philip Kantoff. Before joining MSK, Renée served as Dr. Kantoff’s assistant at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA and worked as a Senior Public Policy Assistant at the Guttmacher Institute in Washington, DC. Renée is a graduate of Georgetown University
Simone Samuels, Lead Nursing Support Services
Simone Samuels signed up for the service while still in high school and was on the delayed entry program until her graduation. She left for the service 09/07/1995- 3 months after graduation. She was stationed in Fort Jackson, SC (FT Hollywood as it was known by some) for both basic training and Advanced Individual Training. Simone was a 71L/F5- an Administrative Specialist/Postal Clerk. After basic training and career training Simone was given her official duty station Kaiserslautern, Germany. After only 1.5 months of being in Germany, Simone was deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina for Operation Joint Endeavor a Peace Keeping Mission. Simone was downrange for approximately 7 months before her unit returned home. She was then sent back state side 2 years later to Fort Stewart, GA before returning to New York.
Image of Simone Samuels, Lead Nursing Support Services
Simone joined MSK in November 2017. She is a firm believer in “when it is your time be ready great things are about to happen.” Simone started in the Nursing Support Services department as an Assistant Dispatcher/Patient Escort. While still on Probation, a new opportunity became available as a Dispatcher- Simone applied and started the position in June 2018. Simone has been a Dispatcher for over 2 years. As of January 31, 2021, she is the lead in the NSS department- Her plans are to be a supervisor within the next 2 as dictated in her 5- year plan.