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Andrea Miyahira: Joining me today is Tawana Thomas Johnson, Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at the American Cancer Society. Thank you so much, Tawana, for joining me today.

Tawana Thomas Johnson: Thank you for having me. I'm glad to be here.

Andrea Miyahira: Tell me about your roles at the American Cancer Society. What do you do there?

Tawana Thomas Johnson: My role at the ACS, I am the Chief Diversity Officer, but my role is a little bit different than that of traditional Chief Diversity Officers, in that it's both internal and external facing. So, my team is responsible for all of the internal facing DEI work around workforce diversity, which includes our employees as well as our volunteers. ACS is an organization supported by more than 1.5 million volunteers, and so, there's a lot for us to do. As it relates to the diversity of our volunteer base, we also lead our internal efforts around employee engagement, all of our employee engagement groups, as well as learning and development opportunities for team members and volunteers. I also provide oversight to our health equity work, which is where the external facing aspect comes in. So, working with stakeholders from diverse sectors to support ACS's work to advance cancer-care equity for all is certainly a part of what we do, and we also lead our environmental social governance work.

Andrea Miyahira: Thank you. You have such an important role there at ACS. Can you tell us about your career path and how did you get there?

Tawana Thomas Johnson: My career path has been a little bit non-traditional as well. So, undergraduate and graduate work in political science. I also have a master's in Divinity. Came to the ACS 17 years ago after having been a stay-at-home mom for eight or nine years, just about nine years. I was very interested in returning to the workforce and working for an organization that had a mission that aligned with my personal values and purpose, and what I saw as the work that I've been called to do, so to speak.

And so, only looked at two organizations, one of which was the American Cancer Society. There was an opportunity to develop a large faith-based initiative for the ACS, and I was very excited about the opportunity and was equally excited that ACS was excited about me as well. So, came to the organization as a consultant, eventually became a member of the staff after two years. I have been working in a variety of health disparities and DEI roles since then. Prior to coming to the ACS, my career, postgraduate school, was largely about working around social justice issues. I've always worked for organizations that serve communities, both communities within the US and globally.

Andrea Miyahira: Thank you. Are there any inspirations that you'd like to highlight?

Tawana Thomas Johnson: That's a big question. Certainly I'm inspired by the work that change agents do. I really do believe that service should be part of everything that we do as human beings. And so, certainly coming up in the black church, had a number of role models who were involved with the civil rights movement. My pastor worked very closely with Dr. Martin Luther King. He was Dr. King's right-hand person in New York City. And so, grew up around a number of people that were change agents here in the US, and so they've certainly shaped the way that I see the world and what I believe that I'm here to do.

Andrea Miyahira: That is so inspiring to hear. Thank you. Are there any barriers that you've had to face in your career path?

Tawana Thomas Johnson: Well, it's interesting. I think certainly as a woman and as a black woman, there are always issues related to equity and comfort and belonging and inclusion within spaces. But interestingly, one of the things that I think this is, it was such a moment for me when I returned to the workforce. I remember saying to a friend, "Oh my goodness. Things are so different. I don't know. After being a mom, being a stay-at-home mom, full-time mom for so many years, I wonder how I'm going to do." And I remember starting at ACS and having to take a conference call, and I didn't know how to get on a conference call, because that wasn't something that we had done eight years prior to coming to ACS.

What I learned from that is that if you have an opportunity to do something, recognize that you belong and that everything that you need to be successful, in whatever it is your purposed to do, will be provided. I've learned how to be in spaces, sometimes where I'm not always welcomed and sometimes not always understood and or appreciated, but if I stay consistent and true to what I believe my purpose is, then I found that things do work out and we are able to make a difference and have an impact.

Andrea Miyahira: Are there any tips you would give to people who are earlier in their career, particularly women who want to follow in your career footsteps?

Tawana Thomas Johnson: Yeah, I think the biggest thing is to just go for it. I think you have to believe that it's possible. You have to be tenacious. You have to be able to press forward even when you're surrounded by people who don't quite see your value, or maybe don't see you as belonging. I think that you just have to keep at it. I have a daughter who's a first year med student. I remember just when she started a few weeks ago, she called me and she said, "Mom, I'm not sure I can do this." I said to her, "Everything you have done in your short life has prepared you for this moment in time and you can do it." So I think as women, we have to encourage each other. We have to be supportive of those coming behind us, and we have to make space for people to feel comfortable and feel as if they belong.

Andrea Miyahira: DEI is so critical for medical advancements, for patients, and for research advancements as well. What kinds of DEI programs do you think are most important and critical for our institutions to implement?

Tawana Thomas Johnson: That's such an important question, so thank you for asking. And I say it's an important question, because certainly in this landscape, there's a lot of conversation happening about the value of DEI programs. And what I say in response to that is, we live in a country where the majority of this country will be people of color by 2030. And the reality is that those of us in public health and in healthcare, our patient population is a reflection of the ever-changing demographics. And we have to be prepared to meet people where they are, which means understanding who they are culturally, what their beliefs and values are, so that we're able to provide care to them and support to them as they are engaging with healthcare systems. I think one of the most important things that institutions can do is learning and development. We've got to continue to create learning experiences, DEI learning experiences, cultural competence opportunities, so that all of us are growing in our cultural competence.

It's not a one and done. It shouldn't be a check the box kind of thing. It has to be a commitment that we make as professionals in the space to growing our own competence and meeting our patients where they are. The second thing is around community engagement. I believe that institutions have to be part of the community. I know that a lot of us, very smart people, brilliant people, are talking about health inequities and are coming up with interventions and programs to address health inequities. But I believe that the solutions often lie within the community. When health institutions can partner with community-based organizations and individuals to address the challenges that exist within these communities, I believe that we're better positioned to be successful and improve science and health outcomes for all.

Andrea Miyahira: Thank you. And are there any specific ACS DEI initiatives that you'd like to share about?

Tawana Thomas Johnson: Well, we have a number of initiatives that we do across our three pillars, discovery, patient support, and advocacy that advance health equity. Health equity is at the core of everything we do as an organization. Our vision is to end cancer as we know it for everyone, and it is the "for everyone" piece that correlates to health equity. One of the things that we are tremendously proud of is the launch of our impact initiative, which is about addressing prostate cancer outcomes for all men, but particularly black men. We know that in working with key stakeholders from diverse sectors, that we have an opportunity to meet men, and black men in particular, where they are and provide resources and education and information related to prostate cancer disparities that can change the trajectory of their health outcomes.

We do that in partnership with, we work with a number of national black organizations. We've trained more than 2,200 health equity ambassadors who are volunteers, our boots on the ground in communities, providing our resources and education to men and their families. Additionally, we're providing grants to historically black colleges and institutions and other minority serving institutions. There's a range of strategies that we have implemented to support our work to address prostate cancer disparities.

Andrea Miyahira: Well, thank you so much for all the work that you do, and thank you so much for sharing about your career with me today. Thanks, Tawana.

Tawana Thomas Johnson: Thank you so much for having me.