Meet Our Advisors

Founder & Co-Founders

  • Wade Swenson

    Founder, President

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  • Emily Westergard

    Co-Founder, Board Chair

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  • Abigail Swenson

    Co-Founder, Treasurer

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  • Zack Schroeder

    Co-Founder, Secretary

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Leadership Team

  • Caroline Schroeder

    Director

  • Samson Mah

    Chief of Core Programs & Special Projects

  • Andrew Armstrong

    Co-Director of Education and Research Fellowship

  • Sahil Prakash

    Co-Director of Education and Research Fellowship

  • Payton Markly, MD

    Director of Screening and Prevention in Rural Areas

  • Valerie Davis, CNP

     Director of Rural Oncology Education Integration

Senior Research Fellow

Ingrid Jacobson is our Research Fellow. She helps organize and guide the research agenda.

The daughter of a two-time pediatric rural cancer survivor, she brings research expertise and professional experience in rural health, infectious diseases, social determinants of health, and health policy and advocacy. She earned her BA in Biology at Concordia College (Moorhead, MN) in 2020, and her MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Minnesota in 2023. In addition to her work with the Rural Cancer Institute, she also works at the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center (RHRC) on a wide range of rural health-related projects such as medical debt, aging in place, older adult mistreatment, and farmer mental health.

Student Research and Advocacy Fellows

Volunteers and Contributors

Interns