Cancer advocacy, storytelling, and survivorship with Dr. Veronika Panagiotou.
About Veronika Panagiotou, Ph.D.
She empowers and educates patient advocates on the most pressing policy issues facing quality cancer care to facilitate their engagement in public policy advocacy.
Veronika was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma a few days after celebrating her 25th birthday in Pittsburgh, PA. Eight years later, she uses her cancer diagnosis and the knowledge she has gained through the process to empower other cancer survivors to tell their stories and support their advocacy.
Dr. Veronika Panagiotou obtained her doctorate in Community Engagement at Point Park University. She holds an MS in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Veronika Panagiotou has presented research across the country on the topics of food insecurity, human-centered design, and civic engagement. She obtained her doctorate in Community Engagement at Point Park University in 2021. She defended her dissertation entitled, “Do Service-Learning Models Create an Opportunity to Cultivate Civic Engagement Outcomes at Point Park University? A Phenomenological Study of Students’ Perspectives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.”
Veronika currently serves as the advocacy and program manager at the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS). She supports over 700 advocates that are a part of the Cancer Policy and Advocacy Team (CPAT). She empowers and educates patient advocates on the most pressing policy issues facing quality cancer care to facilitate their engagement in public policy advocacy.
She has a long history of being an advocate with NCCS. She shared her story of how access to insurance through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) saved her life, advocated for paid leave for cancer survivors during the pandemic, and discussed meeting with and building ongoing relationships with her members of Congress.
Company / Organization Website URL: www.canceradvocacy.org
Guest LinkedIn URL: https://www.linkedin.com/in/veronikapanagiotou/
Company LinkedIn URL: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nccscanceradvocacy
Company or Guest Twitter URL:@veronikap88 & @canceradvocacy
Company / Org Facebook Page URL: https://www.facebook.com/cancersurvivorship
About Mindy – Host
Mindy Griffith, M.Ed worked as a Program Coordinator at the University of Arizona, an elementary school teacher, and a school administrator before joining BAG IT in 2016. Mindy has been engaged with a number of non-profits in volunteer, board, and leadership roles, having served as President of both the Junior League of Tucson and St. Luke’s Home, an assisted-living community for low-income Elders. Mindy has been touched by cancer as a daughter, granddaughter, and friend and is committed to making sure everyone knows they have a voice in THEIR healthcare team and how important that voice is to help one Fight the Fear of cancer. Knowledge is power!
