Resources for Your Community
Find educational programs, speakers and resources, along with opportunities to work with Cancer Center researchers.
Community Engagement in Practice
Community outreach starts with listening. The team works with residents, community organizations and Cancer Center researchers to understand local needs, strengthen connections and make cancer information and research more accessible.
Listening to Communities
Community conversations, partnerships and local events help surface cancer concerns, barriers and priorities across the region. What the team hears helps guide outreach, education and connections to Cancer Center resources.
Cancer Education and Screening
The team shares practical information about cancer prevention, early detection and screening in community settings. Outreach also connects people with screening resources and services available in their area.
Connecting People With Research
Community members learn more about Cancer Center research, clinical studies and ways to participate. At the same time, local experiences and priorities are shared with researchers to strengthen the connection between research and the communities it is intended to serve.
Clinical Trial Support
Patient navigators help people learn about clinical trial opportunities, understand what participation involves and work through practical barriers such as transportation, scheduling and other concerns that may make participation more difficult.
Meet Our Associate Director
Community outreach and engagement at the MCW Cancer Center is led by Staci Young, PhD, a lifelong Milwaukeean with more than 25 years of experience in research, advocacy and community partnerships. Her work focuses on culturally relevant, community-informed approaches to addressing cancer disparities and improving health across Wisconsin.
Staci Young, PhD
Associate Director, Community Outreach and Engagement
syoung@mcw.edu
Community Outreach and Engagement Team Members
Debra Nevels, MSHCM
Program Director
Deb has served as program manager of community outreach and engagement at the MCW Cancer Center since 2019. Her career spans 7 years leading healthcare initiatives at the American Cancer Society to support newly diagnosed cancer patients and decrease the cancer burden across populations.
Rachel Bloom-Pojar, PhD
Program Manager, Community Outreach and Engagement
Rachel started at MCW in 2026 after working for almost a decade as a writing and rhetoric professor and community-engaged researcher. She is fluent in Spanish and has extensive experience working with promotores de salud (health promoters). Rachel is especially interested in increasing visibility and support for community-engaged work in healthcare.
Melanie Burns
Program Coordinator, Women’s Health and Faith-based Outreach
Melanie is a leader in volunteer services, with extensive experience guiding program development for non-profit faith-based and healthcare organizations. She is an inspirational public speaker and an advocate for social justice.
Ambrose Wilson-Brown
Program Coordinator, Men's Health Outreach
Ambrose came to MCW in 2022 after a decade in public service roles in education, health, and well-being. He is using his passion for wellness coaching to support men’s health initiatives in the community, including a support group for prostate cancer survivors.
Adrena Luckett
Patient Navigator
Adrena has a deep-rooted passion for patient advocacy and healthcare accessibility. She is a certified oncology navigator and financial navigator, accredited by the George Washington University Navigation program. She brings a wealth of experience and a deep understanding of the healthcare system having previously served as Member Advocate, then Senior Community Relations Advocate at United Healthcare.
Community Engagement in Action
Different Patients, Different Needs
Precision medicine starts with understanding how cancer differs from one person to another and how those differences affect treatment. Community conversations help bring those differences into focus and show why matching care more closely to each patient matters.
Supporting Cancer Caregivers
Caring for someone with cancer comes with practical and emotional challenges that are often overlooked. Community events give caregivers a place to find useful information, connect with resources and hear from others who understand what that role involves.
Making Clinical Trials Easier to Navigate
Clinical trials can be difficult to understand and even harder to manage alongside everyday responsibilities. Patient navigators help people explore trial opportunities, know what to expect and work through barriers such as transportation, scheduling and financial concerns.