ACE Meeting. September 17, 2026. 1:00pm ET, 10:00am PT). This session will describe the development, evaluation, and global implementation of the Stronger Together peer support program. Drawing on experiences from Viet Nam, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Tanzania and ongoing expansion to the United States and Colombia, and Malaysia, it will explore building academic and clinical partnerships, securing research funding, developing the Toolkit, conducting implementation research, and contributing to the evidence base for peer and psychosocial support.
Carolyn Taylor is the Founder and Executive Director of Global Focus on Cancer, where she works globally at the intersection of people-centered cancer care, policy, and health system reform. Her work is grounded in the conviction that lived experience and psychosocial realities are not anecdotal, but essential forms of evidence for designing equitable and effective cancer systems. Carolyn’s portfolio spans research, policy engagement, and implementation, with a particular focus on embedding meaningful engagement of people with lived experience, psychosocial support, and gender-responsive approaches into cancer research and decision-making. She collaborates closely with the World Health Organization, City Cancer Challenge, academic institutions, and civil society partners to translate evidence into practice, especially in low- and middle-income settings. She contributes to multiple Lancet Commissions (Women, Power and Cancer and People-Centered Care for UHC), helping to advance global thinking on people-centered cancer systems, power dynamics, and accountability, while ensuring that policy and research remain anchored in the realities of those most affected by cancer.
