Breast cancer services existed. The disparities persisted.

The situation. Breast cancer screening and treatment programs were available across metro Atlanta, but significant disparities in access and outcomes persisted, particularly for Black women. Simply funding more of the same programs wasn't enough. The organization needed to align its investments, partnerships, and community outreach around a strategy for reducing preventable deaths.

What I did. I managed a $3 million community health grant portfolio, approximately $1.5 million annually, across 13 metro Atlanta counties. I developed a regional strategy with a five-year goal of reducing breast cancer mortality among Black women by 25%. I redesigned the grant application and selection process to better align funding with strategic priorities, strengthened financial oversight, and recovered nearly $200,000 from underperforming grants for reinvestment. I also worked directly with women seeking care, connecting them with funded agencies for screening, diagnostic services, and treatment.

The call that mattered. I worked with community partners, including faith-based organizations, to better understand why women weren't accessing available services. We needed to address more than awareness. We needed to understand how women perceived their breast cancer risk, whether they trusted the healthcare system, and what stood between them and care. That thinking helped shift the approach from simply promoting existing services to addressing the barriers that made those services difficult to use.