COA promotes two leaders to senior director roles

The Community Oncology Alliance elevated Shiela Plasencia and Tracy Havens to senior director positions on Sept. 16, recognizing expanded responsibilities as the nonprofit grows. The promotions deepen COA’s support for independent community oncology practices, operations and patient access work.

Why it matters: - The promotions formalize leadership changes at the Community Oncology Alliance as the organization expands its work in community oncology. - COA links the moves to its effort to support independent practices and keep high-quality cancer care available close to home.

What happened: - COA announced promotions for Shiela Plasencia and Tracy Havens on Sept. 16, 2026. - Plasencia became Senior Director of Practice Support. - Havens became Senior Director of Projects and Operations.

The details: - Plasencia will continue leading support for community oncology practice administrators and operational leaders through the COA Administrators’ Network. - Plasencia’s portfolio also includes practice engagement and education, patient experience initiatives and the COA Fellows Initiative. - The Fellows Initiative introduces the next generation of oncologists to career opportunities in independent community oncology. - Havens will oversee organizational operations, major projects, COA’s events team and event portfolio, and IT and web services. - Havens also oversees project management, digital platforms, data infrastructure and development of the member portal, MyCOA. - Nicolas Ferreyros, COA’s managing director, said Plasencia and Havens have been “indispensable” and that the promotions recognize the leadership and impact they already bring to the organization.

Between the lines: - The title changes signal that COA is assigning more weight to internal operations and practice-facing support as the organization scales. - The promotion of both leaders suggests COA views execution, infrastructure and member services as central to its policy and advocacy mission.

What's next: - Plasencia and Havens will keep running the programs and systems tied to practice support, events, operations and digital infrastructure. - COA says the expanded roles will help sustain its growth and support independent community oncology practices nationwide. - Learn more at the organization's website.