Patient voices, advocacy leadership, and practical lessons for people working toward better healthcare.
Welcome to Advocacy at Work. I’m Tim McDonald, the host of this publication and podcast.
Here, you’ll find conversations with patients, survivors, caregivers, advocates, and healthcare leaders about how lived experience becomes meaningful action—and what others can learn from it.
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Why this work matters
Advocacy at Work began with a belief that guides every conversation here: the wound becomes the wisdom, and the wisdom becomes the work.
A diagnosis. A loss. A caregiving journey. An experience of being overlooked by the healthcare system.
These moments can change a person’s life. They can also become the beginning of work that supports others, improves access, changes policy, builds community, or makes healthcare more human.
The purpose is not simply to tell patient stories. It is to learn from them—and to ask what changes when lived experience is treated as expertise.
Find your place here
If an experience changed your life and you are looking for connection or a path toward advocacy, you belong here.
If your work affects patients and communities, you belong here too—with a willingness to listen, learn, and act on what you hear.
Our conversations bring patient and caregiver perspectives together with the work of advocates, healthcare teams, researchers, professional organizations, and mission-aligned partners.
The people closest to the experience remain at the center.
Begin with these conversations
There is no single starting point for advocacy. These three conversations explore finding your community, speaking up for yourself, and building organizations that help people create change.
Finding your people—and becoming a leader
The Only Young Person Here
Vanessa Ghigliotty · July 16, 2026
Diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer at 28, Vanessa describes the isolation of being a young adult in spaces that did not reflect her experience. Her conversation explores how finding peers, building relationships, and showing up consistently became the foundation of her advocacy.
Start here if you are looking for your place in advocacy—or want to understand how belonging can help people become leaders.
Learning to speak up for yourself
The Discipline That Almost Killed Him
Dr. Lawrence Henry · August 20, 2026
A retired Green Beret reflects on how a mission-first mindset shaped his response to symptoms, treatment, and asking for help. His story explores the balance between trusting a care team and making sure your own concerns are heard.
Start here if you have struggled to ask for help—or work with people who have learned to put their own needs last.
Building pathways from stories to action
The Long Game of Advocacy
Anjee Davis, Fight Colorectal Cancer · January 8, 2026
How does an organization help people move from sharing their experiences to influencing policy and research? Anjee discusses Fight CRC’s approach to developing advocates, sustaining long-term work, and protecting its mission while seeking funding.
Start here if you are building an advocacy program—or looking for different ways to contribute.
Stay connected
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Prefer to watch or listen? You can also find Advocacy at Work on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify. Follow me on LinkedIn for additional reflections and conversations.
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