The Georgia Ovarian Cancer Alliance (GOCA) has appointed Sheena Virji to its board of directors to help guide and support the nonprofit’s mission to increase awareness and education for ovarian cancer throughout the state. 

Virji has called Atlanta home for most of her life and is passionate about women’s health. Her inspiration in the fight against ovarian cancer started with her mother, Freda, whom Virji lost to the disease in 2016 

Having a strong maternal history of ovarian and breast cancer positioned Virji to be proactive with her health, and she credits her mom with saving her life. 

“I’ve been fundraising for GOCA’s Teal Trot event every September since my mom’s passing and recently felt the pull to get more involved with the organization,” Virji said. “I feel strongly about advocating for women's health and proactive decision-making. Education is so important— particularly with a disease like ovarian cancer, which is hard to diagnose— in order to prevent others from losing their mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, or loved one.”

Virji holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Samford University and a Master of Science degree in Human Resource Management from Georgia State University.  She is a member of the Chi Omega sorority, where she currently holds a role on the Nancy Walton Laurie Leadership Institute. In this national volunteer role, Virji travels to Chi Omega collegiate chapters across the country to facilitate conversations and workshops with young women about leadership training and life skills development. She works as a Senior Human Resources Manager at The Home Depot Store Support Center in Atlanta, GA. In her spare time, Virji enjoys running half marathons, reading, and traveling with family and friends.

The mission of the Georgia Ovarian Cancer Alliance (GOCA), a 501c-3 nonprofit, is to increase awareness and educate Georgia’s women of all ages and their families, as well as the healthcare community, about the risks and symptoms leading to early detection. GOCA serves the state of Georgia with public outreach programs, education and awareness efforts, and fundraising events.  With no sure way of predicting ovarian cancer and no single screening test to identify it at the earlier, pre-symptomatic stages, awareness and education are an urgent priority for all women in order to protect themselves from late-stage ovarian cancer. For more information, please visit www.gaovariancancer.org.