When Vanderbilt-Ingram’s web coordinator, Anna Belle leiserson, was trying to decide on a major in college she didn’t go with her instincts. “I wanted to be a computer science major, but I had this thought run through my head that computers weren’t for women.” So she became a librarian instead and landed her first job as the librarian at a men’s prison in Massachusetts.

Eventually Leiserson and her husband moved to Nashville where she became a law librarian for Vanderbilt University. That’s when her first love reappeared. “When computers returned to my life, I latched on to them. And when the Web showed up I fell in love. The Web is such a natural for a geeky librarian – it’s information at your fingertips.”

Leiserson did more than just surf the Internet for interesting information. She devoured primers on computer programming and Web site design.

“Early on, Web programming was pretty simple, so it was easy to teach yourself just by reading books,” explained Leiserson. She continued to hone her computer skills until she was ready to design her first Web portal, an international Web site for librarians. Since Leiserson’s family moved around a great deal – she lived in England and Zimbabwe as a child – her international perspective proved invaluable for a Web site with global reach.

Officials with Vanderbilt Law School soon recognized her growing expertise and asked her to become their Webmaster. Nearly a decade later she moved across campus, bringing those Web design skills to the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. Her first task was to revitalize the Web site, making it a more powerful tool for cancer patients and caregivers. Patients can now learn more about cancer research under way at Vanderbilt-Ingram, search for a physician in the “find a doctor” directory, find out how to become a patient, and get tips for cancer prevention. The site allows Vanderbilt-Ingram’s renowned cancer researchers to reach out to patients and share information about clinical trials. The Web site also provides seamless links to other partner organizations like the National Cancer Institute, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network or the American Cancer Society.

“You have to be very holistic in your approach and consider more than just the look and feel of the site,” explained Leiserson. “It’s not just the programming, it’s not just the content, it’s not just the information architecture. You have to work with all of those pieces, tend to them and get them to play nicely.”

Leiserson’s attention to detail is evident on the revamped and expanded Web site, www.vicc.org, which rolled out in 2007 and now receives more than 17,000 unique visitors per month.

“Since Anna Belle took the reins of vicc.org, our traffic has just about tripled,” said Cynthia Manley, the center’s associate director for communications. “Research shows that one of the first places patients and families go for information when they face a cancer diagnosis is the Internet, so we can’t underestimate the Web site’s importance.”

Though not involved in direct patient care or research, Leiserson is motivated by the center’s mission to heal. She recently learned that a woman in the country of Lebanon found one of Vanderbilt-Ingram’s physicians through a simple Google search, traveled to Nashville for treatment, and is now a cancer survivor. “This job is wonderful because the mission is so meaningful. Just to work here is truly a privilege.”

Leiserson is equally attuned to the world outside the cancer center. “My church is my passion,” Leiserson said with a smile. “I love parenting my two daughters, and I love to cook.” She shares those duties with Alan, her husband of 33 years and an attorney specializing in environmental law.

Leiserson dishes up her own insights on her church and work on the personal blog she recently launched. She also is one of the founders of the local “Ada Loveless Society,” named after Lord Byron’s daughter, the first known female computer scientist. “She was an amazing woman, helping Charles Babbage back in 1843 write about computing, and even visualizing things like digital music,” Leiserson said.

Following in Ada Loveless’s footsteps, Leiserson is making her own mark in the digital world – all because she decided that women could be computer experts, too.

- by Dagny Stuart

Check out Anna Belle’s blog at www.happywebdiva.com.