Session moderator Dr. Lynn Durham, President and CEO, Georgia CORE, with George Ray, JD, Senior Associate at Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough; Rep. Matt Dubnik, Georgia 29th District; and Marcus Downs, Director, State Government Affairs for the Southeastern Territory, U.S. Public Affairs Div., Takeda Pharmaceuticals America, Inc. They discussed how to turn passion into effective action through advocacy efforts.
The 2023 Georgia Cancer Summit, held at the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center in Atlanta on Jan. 31, brought together 124 public health professionals, providers, advocates, researchers and community-based organizations to catalyze efforts to advance cancer health equity and reduce the burden of cancer in the state.
The summit is co-hosted by Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Georgia Cancer Control Consortium, Georgia CORE and the Georgia Department of Public Health. Other partner organizations include the American Cancer Society, Georgia Cancer Center, Georgia Rural Health Association, Georgia Rural Health Innovation Center, Regional Cancer Coalitions of Georgia, Phoebe Cancer Center and Lewis Cancer and Research Pavilion.
With the theme "Advancing Cancer Health Equity through Innovation and Partnerships," this summit featured 27 presenters and 13 plenary talks, small group sessions and panels. Renée Branch Canady, PhD, MPA, chief executive officer of the public health non-profit MPHI, delivered the keynote talk titled “Achieving Health Equity: The Opportunity and the Mandate."
"After years of virtual interactions, the ability to meet in person with so many community partners, researchers, clinicians and advocates from across the state was a highlight of the Georgia Cancer Summit," said Theresa Gillespie, PhD, MA, FAAN, associate director for community outreach and engagement at Winship. "Thanks and recognition go to the speakers and organizers, especially the summit co-chairs: Denise Ballard from Winship, Lynn Durham from Georgia CORE, James Hotz from Albany Primary Care and Kia Toodle from the Georgia Department of Public Health, for their superb work."