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Expanded Networking Opportunities Connect 2026 AACI LDW Attendees With Peers, Mentors
All photos by Randy Belice
Emerging cancer center leaders gathered October 24-25 in Chicago for AACI’s Leadership Development Workshop (LDW), a two-day program pairing cancer center-specific leadership skills training with direct access to the directors and executives leading many of North America’s top cancer centers.Panelists from many of the workshop sessions stressed the importance of having a mentor and someone to highlight your work, even when you’re not in the room.
The LDW program was designed to maximize opportunities for attendees to network, not only with one another, but with seasoned cancer center leaders who might serve as mentors. To expand networking capacity, AACI held this year’s workshop in conjunction with the 2026 AACI/CCAF Annual Meeting, which brings together cancer center directors and leaders, government health officials, and industry representatives.
For those attendees who also registered for the inaugural Leadership Advancement Program (LAP), the workshop was just a first step in their cancer center leadership development journey with AACI. In early 2027, they will join with previous LDW attendees for the new, yearlong learning opportunity tailored to the demands of cancer center leadership.
The LDW and LAP programs are developed by a steering committee that includes Brian Gonzalez, PhD, Moffitt Cancer Center, as chair; Thomas George, MD, FACP, FASCO, UF Health Cancer Institute; Anita L. Harrison, MPA, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and Rebecca Peterson, PhD, BR Peterson Consulting Partners.
2026 AACI LDW Sessions
Peter A. James, PhD, HCG Strategic Partners, and Thomas A. Sellers, PhD, MPH, Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, kicked off the workshop with a high-energy session on leadership styles, embracing strengths, and learning how to “manage up and around” to build productive, collaborative work relationships.
Harrison then moderated a panel discussion on cancer center funding models. Stephen D. Nimer, MD, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami; AACI Treasurer Julie C. Schaum, MS, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center; and AACI Physician Clinical Leadership Initiative Steering Committee Chair Lee Wilke, MD, FACS, University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, served as panelists. They offered perspectives from both public and private matrix-based cancer centers on institutional support, philanthropy, and grants in cancer center funds flow.
Dr. Peterson facilitated a workshop on effective communications before being joined by Dr. Gonzalez; Lauren E. Hackett, MPA, Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Jon Houtman, PhD, Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Iowa.
L to R: Drs. Brian Gonzalez, Gary K. Schwartz, Yolanda Sanchez, and Joann B. Sweasy
The day ended with the merging of the LDW, Impact Summit, and AACI New Cancer Center Directors Meeting into a large “fireside chat” on strategic leadership in cancer centers, moderated by Dr. Gonzalez. He was joined panelists Yolanda Sanchez, PhD, University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center; Gary K. Schwartz, MD, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center; and AACI President Joann B. Sweasy, PhD, Buffett Cancer Center.Day two began with a case study modeling how centers can maximize their external influence and advance the cancer center’s mission in the community through cross-departmental collaboration. Dr. George moderated a discussion with panelists from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Elizabeth Bouchard, PhD, MA; AACI Annual Meeting Program Committee Chair Candace S. Johnson, PhD; James Kennedy; and Kathy Smith.
Dr. Gonzalez returned to moderate a panel discussion showcasing various paths to leadership and offering insight into how emerging leaders can develop their own plans. Panelists were Hackett; Nadine Barrett, PhD, MS, MPH, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Benjamin Toll, PhD, Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina.
The workshop sessions concluded with a broad overview of the National Cancer Institute Cancer Center Support Grant, meant to give attendees the baseline knowledge necessary for application and sustainment of the grant. Schaum returned to the stage for this discussion, joined by Alison Ivey, MS, MBA, UF Health Cancer Institute, and Wendy Law, PhD, Fred Hutch Cancer Center.