History
WitnessCARES, LLC is a new company formed by Dee Johnson and Deborah Erwin based on experiences and progress accomplished by over 25 years of research and experience with the 501c3 sister organization, The National Witness Project® (TNWP). Deborah Erwin is the co-founder, developer and research director for the Witness Project (WP) model, and has been investigating, implementing and disseminating this model for behavioral change since 1991. Based on Erwin’s recent R01 (CA 171935) 4-year study funded by the National Cancer Institute to investigate factors influencing colonoscopy screening by African American men and women, Johnson and Erwin established WitnessCARES, LLC to provide evidence-based services to optimize screening for the “hardly served.” Realizing the needs and tremendous challenges of increasing colorectal cancer screening among Medicaid and minority patients, WitnessCARES can significantly increase screening rates, decreasing gaps in care and ultimately reducing disparities in colorectal cancer.
Core Principles
Integrity
Always act with integrity
Compassion
Provide compassionate service
Community
It's in our DNA
Social Justice
Strive for social justice and equality in health care
Teamwork
Teamwork is essential for success
Founders
Detric “Dee” Johnson
President & Founder
Before founding Witness CARES, LLC, Dee Johnson served as staff to the National Witness Project® (501c3) Board of Directors for ten years, Assistant Director of Training for the National Witness Project® for the past seven years and Director of the program for the past two years. Locally, she and the Witness Lay Health Advocates (LHAs) and survivors in Buffalo currently reach over 2,000 African American women a year and navigate over 1,000 women over 40 years of age to breast and cervical screening services in the area. Over the past six years, Johnson has become proficient in coordinating research between the National Witness Project® membership and scientific investigators through her considerable work on many research studies. Dee served as the Project Coordinator, recruiting over 1,000 participants for Erwin’s R01 study to investigate factors influencing colorectal cancer screening for African American men and women in NY. She has over 18 years of experience in community outreach, recruiting and coordinating volunteers, performing patient and community-based navigation to health services, and building community contacts, trust, and networks. She is accountable for managing the delivery of critical projects, and for providing managerial support for all the projects conducted by The National Witness Project and Witness CARES. Over the last 2 years, Johnson has increased the value proposition of Witness CARES, LLC and The National Witness Project® in the Buffalo, New York region through local hospitals, insurance companies, and medical practices. Dee has a bachelor’s degree in Business and Economics from Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Dr. Deborah Erwin
Co-founder & Research Director
Dr. Erwin is co-founder of the Witness Project, a breast and cervical cancer education and screening intervention for African American women. The Witness Project, developed in rural Arkansas, has been replicated nationally at more than 30 program sites in 22 states. Since 2001, Dr. Erwin’s ethnographic research has expanded to include the growing Latino/Hispanic population in the U.S. She has investigated and published on the efficacy of the culturally tailored interventions, Esperanza y Vida (Hope and Life) and The Witness Project to increase breast and cervical cancer screening in Latinas/Hispanics and African American women in Arkansas and New York She is one of three Principal Investigators on an NCI funded (R01 CA 171935) to investigate the efficacy of a community-based intervention to increase colorectal cancer screening with African American men and women in Buffalo and New York, NY. Most recently, Dr. Erwin is investigating the effectiveness of social media and breast cancer risk reduction messages to increase positive intent to breast feed by African American mothers (NIH 1R21CA202263) as an important translational study of research at Roswell Park. Dr. Erwin’s research has been funded by the American Cancer Society, National Cancer Institute, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Defense. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Arkansas and a doctoral degree in Medical Anthropology from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.