Education
Past webinars from our monthly speaker series with oncologists, researchers, advocates, and survivors.
Jamie Escoto, California State Lead Ambassador for ACS CAN, shares her eight-year advocacy journey after losing her father to lung cancer in 2014. She discusses leading DEI work on the Asian caucus leadership team and pushing California lawmakers to expand access to breast and cervical cancer screenings at California Cancer Action Day.
Join Zoom MeetingKira Sano, founder of the ACS CAN California Emerging Leaders Council and the Society of Emerging Leaders, reflects on becoming a caregiver to her mother during a stage-four brain cancer diagnosis and how that experience drove her to build SEL from a handful of members to 100+ student volunteers. Recipient of the ACS CAN Young Leader Award.
Join Zoom MeetingMary Kemp, Grassroots Organizing Director for ACS CAN and co-founder of the California Emerging Leaders, talks about meeting Kira Sano at a 2019 Relay For Life event and partnering to grow youth engagement from 10 to over 100 volunteers. She oversees field organizing strategy and volunteer development across California's youth advocacy network.
Join Zoom MeetingDr. Reena Thomas, MD, PhD, Clinical Professor of Neuro-Oncology at Stanford Medicine, integrates clinical expertise with CAR-T cell therapy and immunotherapy research. She secured a $12 million award for glioblastoma CAR-T innovation and established the standard of care for melanoma brain metastasis immunotherapy. Featured speaker at the 2025 ACS CAN Leadership Summit.
Join Zoom MeetingCelena Donahue, California ACT Lead for ACS CAN Congressional District 2, is Pueblo Indian with Hupa and Yurok heritage raised on the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation. A Cancer and Health Disparities Eliminator with 17 years in clinical pathology, she develops programs to improve health outcomes and increase cancer screenings across tribal communities throughout Northern California.
Join Zoom MeetingCesar Gonzalez, PhD Candidate in Biomedical Sciences at City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, researches the molecular and genetic mechanisms behind brain cancers. Inspired by his grandfather's death from stage IV lymphoma, he has volunteered with ACS CAN since 2021 and plans to pursue science policy after completing his PhD.
Join Zoom MeetingMarie Kennedy, California ACT Lead for ACS CAN Congressional District 6, is a stage IV ovarian cancer survivor whose diagnosis took a full year to receive. A health care communications strategist by career, she now advocates for early detection access and equitable cancer care for all.
Join Zoom MeetingGladys Arias, MPA, Principal of Health Equity Policy Analysis & Legislative Support at ACS CAN, advances health equity policy across the cancer care continuum. A recognized voice on LGBTQ+ cancer health disparities, she has been featured as a speaker at ACS CAN's California health equity events and the SEL's advocacy programming.
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