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Chris Draft to Deliver Annual Meeting Keynote
Chris Draft will deliver a keynote presentation at 9:00 am eastern time on Monday, October 20, during the 2025 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. An internationally recognized speaker, community leader, and advocate, Draft is the founder, president, and CEO of the Chris Draft Family Foundation, co-founder of Team Draft, an NFL ambassador, and a national spokesperson on health-related issues, including asthma and lung cancer.
Draft spent 12 years in the NFL, playing for the Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, St. Louis Rams, Buffalo Bills, and Washington Redskins. Shortly after Draft’s NFL retirement in 2010, his partner, Keasha Rutledge, was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. A physically active non-smoker, Rutledge was a picture of good health – her only symptom was shortness of breath.
The Team Draft initiative was launched at Chris and Keasha's wedding in November 2011, just one month before Keasha passed away. On Super Bowl Sunday in 2012, Team Draft launched its National Campaign to Change the Face of Lung Cancer through a video on ESPN.com that captured Keasha’s cancer journey and Chris’s experiences as her caregiver.
Team Draft has launched several initiatives, including a national lung cancer screening event for veterans. The Team Draft Survivor Series and Super Bowl Challenge, which have allowed more than 200 survivors and caregivers to attend NFL, NHL, NBA, and college football games; meet current players and sports legends; raise funds for their cancer centers; and share their stories.
Draft has built deep relationships with oncologists, patients, caregivers, and survivors at more than 130 cancer centers and uses the Team Draft platform to raise awareness about lung cancer. He believes that more awareness leads to more research, which leads to improved treatments and to better, longer lives for patients with lung cancer. He has also partnered with pharmaceutical companies and cancer organizations, including Genentech, Lilly, American Cancer Society, Livestrong, and LUNGevity, to promote lung cancer awareness, screening, treatment, and research.
The annual meeting is scheduled for October 19-21 at the Salamander Washington DC. Late registration begins Friday, September 26.