Joanna L. Fawzy Morales, Esq.

Joanna L. Fawzy Morales, is a is a cancer rights attorney, author, speaker, and CEO of Triage Cancer, a national, nonprofit organization connecting people to cancer survivorship education through educational events, a speakers bureau, and online materials and resources.

Joanna has spent more than twenty-five years working on behalf of individuals with cancer, including five as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Loyola Law School, teaching a seminar in Cancer Rights Law, and eight at the John Wayne Cancer Institute’s Psychosocial Care Program and Positive Appearance Center.

Joanna has presented hundreds of educational seminars on employment, insurance, health care, and advocacy issues throughout the country for patients, survivors, caregivers, health care professionals, advocates, lawyers, employers, and the general public.

In addition, Joanna has served on numerous cancer community committees and boards, including as Chair of the Board of Directors for the California Division of the American Cancer Society, the National Advisory Board of CancerForward, the Stupid Cancer Survivorship Advisory Council, ZERO Prostate Cancer’s Medical Advisory Board, and the Executive Committee of the American Bar Association’s Breast Cancer Task Force.

She has been published in a variety of publications, such as Psycho-Oncology, Coping with Cancer, Women, and Ability Magazine. In 2009, she also contributed to a book entitled, “Work and Cancer Survivors.” In 2017, she wrote a book chapter, “Preventing or Minimizing Financial Toxicity Across the Continuum of Cancer Care,” for the Oncology Nursing Society’s book, “Cancer Survivorship: Transdisciplinary, Patient-Centered Approaches to the Season of Survival.” She has also co-authored a book on Cancer Rights Law for the American Bar Association.

Joanna has received numerous awards and recognition for her service to the cancer community and her work in the area of legislative advocacy, such as the 2009 Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Public Policy Advocate of the Year and the 2015 Legacy Advocate Award from Stupid Cancer. In 2010, she was also recognized by the Los Angeles Daily Journal as one of the Top 20 Attorneys in California Under the Age of 40.

Joanna received a Bachelors' of Arts degree in Political Science with an emphasis in International Relations from the University of California Los Angeles and a Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School Los Angeles.

Rebecca V. Nellis, MPP

Rebecca V. Nellis is the Executive Director of Cancer and Careers. Since 2004 she has helped evolve the organization from early concept to national prominence. Rebecca oversees CAC’s programming and fundraising strategies to ensure long-term growth and sustainability. Under her leadership, the organization’s services transform the everyday lives of survivors, while promoting lasting, systemic change for tomorrow’s workplace.

As an expert on cancer-workplace issues, she travels the country presenting at national conferences, leading hospitals and community events about the intersection of life, work and cancer. She has been an invited speaker for the American Public Health Association, the Association of Oncology Social Workers, the National Business Group on Health and 2018’s South by Southwest Conference, among others.

Over the years, Rebecca has launched many of CAC’s breakthrough initiatives, such as the National and Regional Conferences on Work & Cancer, accredited trainings for healthcare professionals and library of Spanish-language resources. As an active member of the cancer community, she has served on numerous committees and working groups, including for Workplace Transitions for People Touched by Cancer and “Women at Work: Multi-Ethnic Comparison of Cancer Survivors with Low-Status Jobs,” at the University of South Florida.

Rebecca holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from New York University and a Master of Public Policy degree from Georgetown University. Her graduate thesis was entitled “Implications of Cancer Survivorship on Financial Assets, Work Productivity and Employment Circumstances.”

Ali Schaffer, LCSW 

Ali Schaffer, LCSW, is a spark for change, a permission giver and an illuminator. She has a private counseling practice in Nashville and provides individual and group therapy for adults navigating life transitions, coping with health challenges, and desiring to live more fully. For over 16 years, Ali has worked directly with people impacted by cancer across the cancer care continuum in various clinical settings. Prior to starting her private practice, Ali was a faculty member and clinician with the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer (VICC) Center psycho oncology team and the manager of Patient and Family-Centered Care. Additional clinical social work experiences include working with at-risk youth and their families at an outdoor wilderness program and a residential psychiatric hospital. 

In life and in her work, Ali is deeply influenced by nature and incorporates inspiration from the natural world along with her super power of noticing to help people write their own stories, create meaningful change and reconnect with their joy and purpose. She is a dynamic national speaker and contributes content for articles, online blogs and webinars on a variety of health and wellness topics.