Erica Fortune, PhD

Erica E. Fortune, PhD, joined Cancer Support Community (CSC) in 2020 as the Director of Research at our Research and Training Institute (RTI). Holding a Ph.D. in Cognitive and Experimental Psychology from the University of Georgia (2013), Erica brings a wealth of academic and professional experience to her role. Prior to joining CSC, she served as a tenured Associate Professor of Psychology at Arcadia University in Glenside, PA.

Erica's research is deeply rooted in cognition, decision-making, and risk-taking, with a recent focus on patient experiences, outcomes, and communication within healthcare settings. Erica has experience with various clinical populations including cancer, HIV, and addictive disorders, and her expertise extends to psychometrics as well as advanced analytical techniques.

At CSC, Erica has been instrumental in several key initiatives. She spearheaded CSC’s longitudinal cohort study during the COVID-19 pandemic and played a pivotal role in the development and validation of the CancerSupportSource suite of tools and the VOICE measure. She also leads the Cancer Experience Registry and oversees program evaluation efforts, assessing the impact of CSC programming and support on individuals and communities. Additionally, Erica is deeply committed to addressing health disparities, particularly among Spanish-speaking Hispanic and Latino communities, and is interested in better understanding the intersection of technology and healthcare as it relates to patient perceptions and access to care.

Erica enjoys baking, exercising, reading, traveling, and meeting new people when she’s not spending time with her husband and cats.