Anita Reynolds is a healthcare advocate whose journey began with the Patient Advocate Foundation while pursuing her bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration. Holding many diverse roles, including bilingual medical intake coordinator, bilingual fertility case manager, administrative coordinator, and relationship manager for patient programs, she showcased her dedication to patients. Now, as the manager of grassroots and community partnerships at the National Patient Advocate Foundation, Anita channels her expertise into fostering collaborations at the grassroots level, empowering communities to advocate for improved healthcare access. She collaborates closely with local organizations to amplify patient voices nationwide.

Catherine Schofield, BS, is a Senior Project Coordinator with the Serious Illness Care Program at Ariadne Labs, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and is an early career investigator. Driven by a passion for equitable, patient-centered care, Catherine focuses on empowering clinicians and patients to engage in meaningful conversations about values, priorities, and goals. Her team’s work on the Serious Illness Care Program includes revising tools like the Serious Illness Conversation Guide to reflect diverse patient voices, creating innovative resources such as the TRACE tool to address racism in healthcare, and co-developing the What Matters to Me Workbook to enhance patient-clinician communication.

Rhea Khurana, Research Associate at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, is an early career investigator committed to addressing healthcare inequities in cancer care for adolescents and young adults (AYA). Rhea aims to ensure that every AYA not only survives cancer but also thrives in their recovery by tackling disparities in health outcomes and financial toxicity.

Shalini Raichur, Senior Policy Analyst for Health Equity at AHIP, is an early career investigator. Shalini, driven by the Ubuntu philosophy of shared humanity, is passionate about addressing healthcare inequities. Her experiences with biased care and global disparities inspire her work to transform healthcare systems, focusing on equitable, patient-centered solutions.

Our summer intern Mia highlights the struggle of self-advocacy in a healthcare system that often overlooks subjective experiences, advocating for a patient-centered approach that fosters mutual respect and open communication.