Jacqueline Smith is a two-time stage III melanoma survivor who has dedicated the last decade of her life to patient advocacy, health policy and advancing the field of cancer survivorship. Currently, Director of Grassroots Advocacy and State Government Affairs at Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Jacqueline was formerly Associate Director for U.S. Oncology Advocacy and Professional Relations at Bristol Myers Squibb where she oversaw the melanoma, breast, and survivorship portfolios. Jacqueline is also a former staffer for U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand where she served as the Senator’s representative in the 11-county Central New York region and worked tirelessly to develop and forward the federal policy priorities of the constituents of that region.

Due to Jacqueline’s health advocacy efforts, she is a frequent speaker on Capitol Hill and beyond, including being a Spotlight speaker at the Biden Cancer Summit. She has been featured in InStyle, Self Magazine, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Yahoo Health, and other international publications. Jacqueline has also shared her melanoma journey and expertise on live news broadcasts, on NPR and in documentaries.

She is proud to be nominated to serve on the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Council of Research Advocates, appointed to external advisory board for H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center's Skin Cancer and Health Disparities/Health Equities SPORE program, and as a reviewer for the U. S. Department of Defense's Congressionally Directed Research Program in melanoma. She is a former appointed Commissioner on Montgomery County’s Commission on Health (Maryland), served on the Board of Directors for the Melanoma Research Foundation and served as the survivorship and palliative care co-lead for Washington D.C.’s Cancer Action Partnership.

Cheryl Shaw is an award-winning Associate Broker, and Realtor licensed in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Before her real estate career, she was a nonprofit executive for over 30 years and served as an executive at the Bay Area Black United Fund in Oakland, California, United Negro College, Fund-Pacific Northwest Region, Komen Puget Sound Breast Cancer Foundation, and ADRA International in Maryland. As a passionate servant leader, she has also led mission trips to economically depressed regions in various countries and served the homeless domestically.

 Cheryl is a two-time breast cancer survivor, a fierce advocate for early detection, and support for economic and health disparities for minority populations with high mortality rates. She has lobbied for government support of mammography screening and led outreach and fundraising efforts raising over $20 million for treatment and breast cancer screening throughout her career. 

 Cheryl received her Associate of Arts degree from the Fashion Institute in Los Angeles, Bachelor of Science in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, and graduate studies in Business Administration at Golden Gate University, San Francisco.

 She is a mother of two grown children and a g-ma to two beautiful grandbabies. A proud military brat born in Washington, DC, Cheryl is a long-time resident of the city.