Strategic Plan 2026-2029
Our Strategic Plan outlines how Baja Cancer Outreach will expand cancer awareness, strengthen patient support, increase fundraising capacity, and build a sustainable organization to better serve the people of Loreto. We invite our community, donors, volunteers, and partners to learn more about our vision for the future.
Our Team
Our volunteer board of directors bring diverse passions and talents to Baja Cancer Outreach. All of us believe that BCO will have lasting impact in Loreto, BCS and all of Baja California Sur to improve access to cancer care in our rural communities by working in partnerships with regional Mexican organizations.
- Chair: Tracey Delaplain, MD, Ob/Gyn, Lifestyle Medicine and Vegan Chef
- Vice Chair: Yvette Matthiessen, RN, Nursing education and Hospice care coordinator
- Treasurer: Brian Samuels, MD, Medical Oncologist
- Secretary: “B” Betty Gorman, an Executive Coach and Chief Strategist at B Great Leadership
- Members:
- Tom Delaplain, IT and CFO
- Sara Poor, RN, Oncology nurse, consultant at Onco Loreto
- Pam Wheeler Marketing expert.
Leading with Care and Purpose
Tracey Delaplain, MD, DipACLM, Founder and CEO
Dr. Tracey Delaplain, MD, Dip ACLM is a retired gynecologist, health educator and lifestyle medicine specialist. She graduated from the University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine where she also served on the clinical faculty. She completed her residency in Ob/Gyn at OHSU in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Delaplain is the founder and CEO of Baja Cancer Outreach and has served as a consultant to Maria Elena Posadas at Onco Loreto. Tracey. is also a volunteer with Plant Diego in San Diego. Their mission is to promote healthy vegan diets. She divides her time between San Diego and Loreto, BCS, Mexico.
She is a vegan chef, water fitness instructor and writes fiction in her free time.
Her passions include plant based kitchen magic, wellness and fitness education with an emphasis on reducing chronic illness and cancer through lifestyle interventions.
Dr. Delaplain envisions building a strong foundation of cancer prevention and screening through education in Baja, Mexico for communities that lack access to basic cancer care. She believes that teaching the next generation of young Mexicans about lifestyle modifications could impact many generations.
Brian Samuels, MD, Founding Member, Treasurer
Dr. Brian Samuels, MD is a retired medical oncologist. Dr. Samuels received his oncology fellowship training at the University of Chicago, before joining the faculty there, and then subsequently, the faculty at the University of Illinois. He headed the medical oncology programs for adult sarcoma treatment and was active in clinical research in the sarcoma field for almost 4 decades.
Dr. Samuels is a founding member of the Baja Cancer Outreach Board of Directors. The mission of this organization to provide essential support for the people of Loreto who are suffering from cancer resonates with the principles on which Brian based his entire career.
