Karen Peterson

Bio:

Karen Peterson is the Founder and Chief Patient Advocate of Karen's Club, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping cancer patients—particularly those from historically underserved communities—better understand precision medicine, biomarker testing, and clinical trials. A nearly decade-long survivor of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, Karen credits her survival in part to participation in an early-phase immunotherapy clinical trial. Inspired by her experience, she has dedicated her career to ensuring patients have access to the information and support needed to make informed treatment decisions. Karen is a nationally recognized patient advocate, speaker, consultant, community scientist, and patient engagement strategist whose work focuses on patient engagement, clinical trial awareness, and health equity. Through Karen's Club, she provides free one-on-one patient navigation, educational programming, and community outreach that bridges the gap between patients, providers, and research opportunities. As a Community Scientist with Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Institute, Karen's pioneering navigation work has helped inform the development of a future peer navigation model designed to improve patient support and clinical trial access. She is also a 2026 RTW Foundation grantee partner supporting culturally responsive cancer navigation services throughout New York City and beyond. Karen collaborates with healthcare organizations, researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and academic institutions to develop patientcentered engagement strategies and educational programs. Her story and advocacy have been featured in Health, Essence, Cure, and People magazines, as well as NBC's Today Show and ABC Radio Networks.