Tresha Sell

When Tresha Sell volunteered to lead the SYVCH Foundation’s (SYVCHF) fundraising campaign to bring the latest mammography technology to Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital, she knew it would save lives; she just never imagined it would be hers.

It all started at a Foundation board meeting in 2009 when Tresha and Gerry Shepherd raised their hands to co-chair a new fundraising campaign to support the purchase of a 2D mammography machine — the most advanced breast cancer diagnostic tool at the time — for Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital.

Thanks to the co-chairs’ persuasive passion and generous donor support, the Pink Ribbon Campaign raised $500,000, and the new 2D mammography machine was acquired and began operating at SYVCH in March 2011. Tresha was honored to be the first woman screened using the new diagnostic tool, encouraging other women to follow.