Chair

Dr Julia Matheson
Breast Surgeon, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Royal Melbourne Hospital

Dr Julia Matheson is a Breast Surgeon at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Royal Melbourne Hospital. Her general surgery training was through Royal Melbourne Hospital, followed by Breast Surgery Fellowships at Monash Health and Fiona Stanley Hospital.

She has a DPhil from the University of Oxford, where she studied as a Rhodes Scholar. Her more recent research interests have been in the use of contrast-enhanced mammography in breast cancer surveillance and the patient experience of MRI at the time of breast cancer diagnosis. 

Speakers 

Dr Benjamin Anderson
Professor Emeritus at University of Washington

Dr Anderson is Professor Emeritus of Surgery and Global Health-Medicine at the University of Washington (UW). As surgical director of the UW Breast Health Clinic, Dr Anderson’s cared for patients with breast health issues and diseases from 1994-2020.

He served as president of the American Society of Breast Disease (ASBD) from 2005 2007 and vice chair of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Breast Panel from 2013-2020.

Dr Anderson worked internationally in global cancer control for over 25 years. With joint appointments at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Division of Public Health Sciences and the UW Department of Global Health, Dr Anderson chaired the Breast Health Global Initiative (BHGI), which pioneered the development of “resource-stratified” guidelines in low- and middle-income countries. Dr Anderson served on the Board of Directors of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) from 2012-2018.

In 2020, Dr Anderson joined the World Health Organization (WHO) and served as WHO Medical Officer to lead the Global Breast Cancer Initiative (GBCI) launched in March 2021. After overseeing the publication of the GBCI Framework in 2023, Dr Anderson transitioned from WHO to City Cancer Challenge (C/Can) as Global Technical Lead for Breast Cancer, where he led implementation projects based on the GBCI Framework in an ongoing partnership between C/Can and WHO. Dr Anderson retired from C/Can and GBCI leadership on World Cancer Day, February 4, 2025.

Dr Maira Caleffi
Breast Surgeon Chief of the Breast Center at Hospital Moinhos de Vento, Porto Alegre, Brazil Volunteer President, FEMAMA and IMAMA

Maira Caleffi MD PhD holds degrees in Pharmacy and Medicine, completed her residency in Gynaecology and Obstetrics, and specialised in Mastology at Guy's Hospital in London, UK. She earned her PhD in Medicine at the University of London, UK, and conducted postdoctoral studies in Genetics and Breast Cancer at Vanderbilt University, USA.

Dr Caleffi is Head of the Breast Center at Moinhos de Vento Hospital, in Porto Alegre, Brazil. She is a Technical Consultant for the World Health Organization (WHO), member of the Board of Directors of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and the President of the Board of Directors of the Institute of Governance and Cancer Control (IGCC) of City Cancer Challenge Porto Alegre, in Brazil.

Dr Maira Caleffi is the Founder of Brazilian Federation of Philanthropic Institutions in Support of Breast Health (FEMAMA). She is involved in academic, research, teaching, and patient care activities through a multidisciplinary team.

Dr Ana Rita González
President and CEO, Policy Wisdom

Ana Rita González, ScD, CPH is the co-founder and CEO of Policy Wisdom, LLC. She holds a Doctorate of Science in Health Policy and Management from Johns Hopkins University, with a master’s degree in hospital administration from the University of Puerto Rico. She also completed her graduate studies in health planning from Cornell University. Since 2009, she has been certified in public health by the National Board of Public Health Examiners.

Prior to founding Policy Wisdom, Dr González created the Global Public Health Policy Group at Fleishman-Hillard, where she led a variety of public health and health policy projects for a broad range of clients. Dr González also worked for nine years as a hospital and health systems advisor for the World Health Organization-Pan American Health Organization in various countries in Latin America. She has held various teaching responsibilities as a lecturer in health policy at the School of Public Health and Health Services at George Washington University, the Robert Stempel College of Public Health at Florida International University, and the School of Public Health at the University of Puerto Rico.

Since Policy Wisdom's creation in 2010, Ana Rita has led the company growth, the expansion of its portfolio of services and the resulting contribution to public health policies worldwide.

Naveena Nekkalapudi
Consumer representative

Naveena Nekkalapudi has lived expertise of early breast cancer and is passionate about improving the experience of future individuals diagnosed with cancer, with particular interests in equity of care, health system navigation, maintaining patient quality of life including sexual health and the reduction of financial toxicity as a consequence of cancer treatments.

In her previous (corporate) life, she was a senior professional with extensive strategy, research, M&A and management skills across a range of industries – dairy, trustee, funds management and private health insurance. Naveena is a consumer representative of Breast Cancer Network Australia, Cancer Council Victoria, Breast Cancer Trials, National Breast Cancer Foundation, Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre and Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research to name a few.