Patient Navigators
Melissa Krall, LMSW
Survivorship Programs Director, Nevada Cancer Coalition
Since childhood, Melissa has been interested in the medical field and helping people. Initially, she thought of a path as a doctor, but in college she became enthralled with the field of social work and the diversity of arenas where she could contribute. Her dual passions combined when she became a medical social worker for more than 18 years.
Like so many people, cancer touched the lives of close friends and family. When one of her co-workers was diagnosed with leukemia, her medical and first-responder community rallied to support the family through their journey. At the time, not realizing the lasting impact of that experience, Melissa and several others were inspired a decade later to train for half-marathons while fundraising for cancer research.
Melissa’s career as a licensed social worker has been varied and non-traditional. In addition to her work as a non-profit manager, her focus has often led her to specialized in end-of-life issues, death, dying and bereavement. She has extensive work and volunteer experience in hospice, death investigation, critical incident stress management, and organ donation.
Having partnered with NCC through shared community work, Melissa jumped at the opportunity to work within the agency as the Survivorship Programs Director. This role of working collaboratively with organizations and agencies matched with direct service as a patient navigator is the perfect combination.
Valerie Martinez-Gutierrez, CHW1
Community Navigation Manager, Nevada Cancer Coalition
Valerie found her passion in helping others within her community at a young age. She grew up in an environment where there wasn’t a lot of knowledge about available resources. Her two aunts and two cousins were diagnosed with breast cancer at an early age. Her uncle was also later diagnosed with gastric cancer. Valerie lost two family members due to the disease. Finding out that her family has a history of cancer motivated her to get a bachelor’s degree in Human Services Counseling.
In 7 years as a case manager working for nonprofits in Las Vegas, Nevada, Valerie has assisted a diverse population within low-income communities find and access resources. She helped them to find housing, financial assistance and food banks; complete SNAP and SSI applications; connect with transportation, family court and employment assistance; and get help addressing mental health, setting up medical appointments and learning basic life skills.
Valerie has helped many individuals and she will continue to help others and share her knowledge of community resources as a bilingual ThriveNV navigator.