Below are the speakers who presented at the 2024 Midwest Conference on Work & Cancer.

Click here for the 2024 Agenda!

Adam Goldberg

Adam is a Human Resources professional with close to 20 years of experience and has had the honor of working in large multinational companies in the beauty, retail, eCommerce, manufacturing, digital media, advertising, and publishing industries. Adam grew up as an HR Business Partner and moved into Talent Management, Talent Acquisition, Talent Strategy, and Learning and Development based roles as his career grew. Adam has been coaching leaders, managers, and employees throughout his career in an HR capacity but last year he started his path toward full International Coaching Federation certification and completed the ACSTH path. In addition to pursuing his ICF coaching certification, he is a Certified Change Practitioner through Prosci, Inc. and has been certified/had exposure to numerous leadership, personality, and strength-based assessments.

Much of Adam’s life has been surrounded by cancer starting at a young age with his grandmother who survived breast, skin, and lung cancer, and then in more recent years with his sister who is a breast and thyroid cancer survivor. In addition, Adam recently lost his mother to pancreatic cancer in late 2022 and has decided to dedicate some of his time to his amazing community.

Adam attended Rutgers University for his undergraduate studies and stayed on to receive his Master’s in Labor and Employment Relations. He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife who is a cancer surgeon and his daughter, who he calls the “mayor” of her elementary school.

Nicole Jarvis, LMSW

Nicole Jarvis joined the team in October of 2015. As Assistant Director of Programs, she oversees the Financial Assistance Grant Program, Regional Conferences, Ask a Career Coach message board and accreditation. Nicole also provides direct support and referrals to the many patients, survivors and healthcare professionals who reach out to the organization via phone and email as well as presenting on employment topics to patient and healthcare groups in the cancer in community.

Nicole received her Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a focus on women’s health. While in Madison, she was actively involved with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, pursuing work on legislative issues related to access to reproductive healthcare. Following graduation, she worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering for four years in the chemotherapy unit and for a renal oncologist, until attaining her Master of Social Work degree from Hunter College, in 2013. Nicole worked as a social worker in the child welfare arena, advocating for parents in family court, prior to joining Cancer and Careers. Nicole lives in Denver, CO with her husband, two human daughters and one dog daughter.

Ali Schaffer, LCSW

Ali Schaffer has a counseling practice in Nashville, TN and works with adults who are navigating life transitions, coping with health challenges and desiring to live more fully. Since 2003, Ali has worked directly with people impacted by cancer across the cancer care continuum in various clinical settings in Tennessee and Georgia. Additional clinical experiences include working with youth and their families at an outdoor wilderness program and at an adolescent residential psychiatric hospital.

In life and work, Ali brings compassion, humor and willingness to talk about the real and true things of life, which can be beautiful and messy. She is deeply influenced by nature and combines curiosity and inspiration from the natural world along with her super power of noticing to help people cultivate meaningful relationships with themselves and others, create desired change and build a life they love. Ali is a dynamic national speaker and enjoys talking about the complexities of being human in today’s modern world.

Scott Sinclair

Scott is a Senior Manager of Programs for Cancer and Careers. In his position, Scott oversees communications, including PR, social media and paid awareness efforts. He also manages CAC’s English website as well as the Balancing Work & Cancer Webinars — a 12-part series offering information and resources on targeted topics each month. Scott has been a member of CAC’s Young Professionals Committee since 2019.

In a previous life, Scott worked on Broadway for five years on productions such as Kinky Boots and Evita. He earned his BA from Emerson College.

Sponsors of the 2024 Midwest Conference on Work & Cancer

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Patron