Speak for Melanoma: Engaging the Melanoma Community in Advocacy at Home and with Policymakers

Kim Watkins, our Director of Advocacy, joined the MRF in July 2022.

She oversees our federal and state legislative and regulatory policy agenda and advocacy. Prior to joining the MRF, she served as the Policy and Advocacy Manager at the American Urological Association, harnessing the power of patients and physicians advocating together on behalf of urologic conditions such as prostate, kidney, and bladder cancers. In addition, Kim has been a strong advocate for children’s health through her work with the South Carolina Immunization Coalition, the Bradshaw Institute for Community Child Health and Advocacy, and as the founder of the parent-to-parent peer-led education group South Carolina Parents for Vaccines. Kim’s innovative approach to vaccine education and policy change attracted the attention of NPR, Kaiser Health News, and the CDC. In 2019, she was awarded the Childhood Immunization Champion Award and selected as the CDC’s national award spokesperson.

Kim has been featured on BBC One, NPR’s “All Things Considered,” and Kaiser Health News.

Jennifer Schultz is an educator, speaker and writer with a background in digital marketing, social media management and event planning. After receiving both her bachelor's and master's degrees from Concordia University in St. Paul, MN, she is actively involved in the community she now calls home. In addition to teaching public speaking at her alma mater, she serves on the Athletics Committee of their Alumni Advisory Council and works as an Academic Coach at Athletes Committed to Students (ACES) where she works with middle school students form underrepresented communities, using sports to engage them in Math and social-emotional learning.

As a four-time melanoma survivor, Jenn is passionate about spreading melanoma awareness and educating her community on sun safety. She is certified melanoma educator through the Melanoma Research Foundation and has built a community of other cancer survivors, thrivers and warriors through her website jennpatrice.com and her podcast Company You Keep. 

Kristin is a successful marketing professional with over 22 years of experience in search engine optimization, project management and marketing communications.  She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Marketing from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Terrilyn is a 7^th grad educator residing in Denver Colorado. She is a stage 4 cutaneous melanoma survivor and has been 27 years NED. Terrilyn has been an advocate, volunteer, and phone buddy with the Melanoma Research Foundation since 2016. Terrilyn began using tanning beds at the age of 15 and now chooses to educate teens and young adults about the harmful effects of the sun and indoor tanning.