Co-Creating Health Equity by Including Lived Experiences

Dave Craig is a two-time cancer survivor, oncology researcher and patient experience champion. After 10 years of struggling to see his own cancer journey in the patient experience research he led for the pharmaceutical industry, he left to use his survivor heart and researcher brain to help other patients. In 2016, he co-founded Gryt (“grit”) Health, a digital oncology solutions company that empowers people to be in charge of their own health through connection, education and advocacy. At Gryt Health, he and his team of fellow survivors and caregivers, use their expertise and personal experiences to improve medicine development and access, while creating platforms to learn from and support the lived experiences of facing a diagnosis.

A native New Yorker and former senior executive in five preeminent marketing and communications companies, Sheila has spent more than two decades designing marketing, media and health education campaigns for the top 50 pharmaceutical companies across a broad range of therapeutic categories from molecule to market. A former high school teacher of foreign languages, she has worked on behalf of the healthcare industry throughout North America, Western Europe and Latin America with a focus on communities of color. She teaches and has lectured on health equity and cultural competency at Quinnipiac University School of Medicine, Rutgers, New York University and Queens College. She has given over 250 keynote presentations and conducting workshops on cultural competency, anti-bias and diversity. She is published in Pharmaceutical Executive, PharmaVoice, Medical, Marketing & Media and numerous articles published in a variety of consumer health and ethnic publications. Sheila is known for her unique ability to galvanize communities of color around health and social justice issues. She has been featured in Essence Magazine, Black Enterprise, The Positive Community, Madame Noire, The Network Journal and a frequent panelist during the sessions of the annual Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Health Institute and the Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum. Sheila has received numerous awards for her innovative health marketing strategies to reach people of color.

Brad Love works to help people thrive. At the University of Texas at Austin, he serves as University Distinguished Teaching Professor and an associate professor in the Center for Health Communication, where his work largely focuses on improving quality of life for young adults affected by cancer.  In particular, his research focuses on boosting access to mental health, social, and informational support. Love's projects have been supported by MD Anderson Cancer Center, the Livestrong Foundation, and the American Cancer Society, among others.

Neil has over 25 years’ experience in bringing the patient voice to life for healthcare decision makers. Neil has been a patient advocate in the field of HIV since the early 90s, and is the past chair of HTAi’s patient & citizen involvement group where he continues to work with HTA bodies around the world on improvements to patient engagement in HTA. Neil is also a board member of Patient Focused Medicines Development, an international multi-stakeholder effort to bring patients into the heart of medicine research and development. Neil regularly works with patient groups, healthcare decision-makers and the industry to collectively develop approaches that benefit patients. 

Utilizing over 17 years of medical education experience, Gary has developed a unique skill in forming, facilitating, and nurturing community collaborations to support mutually beneficial outcomes. He is an expert in identifying unmet educational needs, navigating sensitivities and co-creating alliances that strive to lift levels of knowledge. Gary applies his passion for co-creation and scientific rigor to all partnerships and the collaborations he supports.