Get Empowered
Find Your Voice. Become a Champion.
We’re looking for passionate patients from all backgrounds, condition areas, and regions across the United States who have experience with infused or injected therapies. If you’re ready to learn legislative advocacy and share your patient story, we want to hear from you.
As a Champion, you’ll leave our weekend with:
- Real connections to a diverse, ten-person cohort of fellow patient advocates from across the country.
- The skills to navigate policy conversations around various insurance barriers
- Practice turning your lived experience into a clear, compelling story for lawmakers and the public.
- A professionally filmed, individually produced video story — yours to keep and use for advocacy, media, or your community, for life.
- Hands-on practice through mock legislative meetings, so you know exactly what to expect before you ever set foot on Capitol Hill.
Countdown to
Champions Weekend
February 4-7th, 2027
Austin, Texas
Travel and housing assistance will be provided
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What happens at Champions Weekend?
Champions Weekend is a 4-day, immersive leadership retreat held in Austin, TX. Designed around a collaborative “train-the-trainer” model, the weekend blends skill-building workshops, professional media production, and community connection to equip you with the confidence and tools to advocate for care access.
The Post-Weekend Journey
The impact doesn’t end when you fly home! After the retreat, you will:
- Receive your finished, professionally edited video story to share on social media, with media outlets, or during advocacy events.
- Join the exclusive Champions Slack network to stay connected with your cohort and collaborate with past classes.
- Access opportunities to participate in federal or state Hill Days, contribute to media campaigns, and speak at industry events or conferences.
What You Can Expect at Champions’ Weekend
Thinking about applying for Champions Weekend but want to know what it's really like? We're pulling back the curtain to give you a sneak peek into our patient retreat in Austin, TX. Champions' Weekend is more than just a conference; it's a supportive and...
The Champions Weekend Application Process
Every year, Champions Weekend brings together an incredible cohort of patient advocates from across the country to connect, train, and amplify their voices for better healthcare access. We often get asked: “How does the selection process actually work?” Because...
5 Reasons to Apply for Champions Weekend
Are you a patient driven to make a tangible difference in healthcare? Do you possess a unique story that deserves to be heard, and a desire to learn how to shape policy? If so, Champions Weekend offers a pivotal opportunity to transform your passion into powerful...
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where is Champions Weekend 2027?
Who will be considered for Champions Weekend?
We are seeking passionate patients from all backgrounds, condition areas, and regions within the United States who have experience with provider-administered therapies (infusions/injections). If you are interested in learning about legislative advocacy and sharing your patient experience, we encourage you to apply!
How Champions Are Selected
How many champions can come?
How much does it cost to attend?
What happens after the weekend?
Recap
Meet our 2026 Champions!
The 20-Year Diagnosis: Stasha’s Battle with Rheumatoid Arthritis
https://youtu.be/CdncN9Io9Yc For nearly twenty years, Stasha lived with mysterious swelling, pain, and stiffness that began in her teens. Because she lacked consistent insurance and faced a system that refused to approve testing for her "temporary" symptoms, she was...
Jawan: A Hidradenitis Suppurativa Journey from Silent Suffering to Fearless Advocacy
https://youtu.be/mJEh7_L6gGU Jawan’s battle with Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) began when he was just seven years old. For 13 years, he lived without a diagnosis, while doctors and family downplayed his agonizing symptoms as mere "boils." It wasn't until age 20, while...
Sheldon: How a Law Graduate Took on Insurance Greed to Treat Small Fiber Neuropathy
https://youtu.be/oJaEootYKVA In the summer of 2023, Sheldon was at the peak of her career and social life, balancing a full-time job with rigorous study for the Bar exam. When she first felt numbness and tingling, she dismissed it as stress. But soon after the exam,...
Sarah: How Multiple Sclerosis Taught Me to Find Freedom in Stillness and Advocacy
https://youtu.be/0UFQlpm5_iM Before her diagnosis, Sarah was always in motion—a ballet dancer, tennis player, and climber who believed that hard work could overcome any physical obstacle. That illusion was stripped away in a matter of days in 2011. After experiencing...
Nya’s Story: From Pediatric Lupus Patient to Future Pediatric Rheumatologist
https://youtu.be/rJUnwjWUNxU When Nya was diagnosed with Lupus at just 12 years old, her world came to a sudden, painful halt. While her peers were attending football games and school dances, Nya was spending her weekends in hospital beds, traveling four hours each...
The Seronegative Struggle: Mahsa’s Journey with Mikulicz Disease & IgG4-RD
https://youtu.be/AVQ_d6-Tda0 From infancy, Mahsa’s life was defined by chronic infections, fatigue, and pain, yet her bloodwork always appeared normal. For over three decades, her symptoms were dismissed as stress or allergies, even as she suffered undiagnosed...
Julie: The 7-Month Insurance Battle for Thyroid Eye Disease Treatment That Put My Sight at Risk
https://youtu.be/a5czC4HumUI For over 20 years, Julie lived a high-energy life defined by half-marathons, skiing, and travel. But in 2018, the reflection in the mirror began to change. What started as subtle shifts in her facial features and slight fatigue was...
From 12-Year-Old Patient to Empowered Advocate: D’andre’s Crohn’s and HS Journey
https://youtu.be/IcR-T420j1g D'andre’s chronic illness journey began in 1999 when, at just 12 years old, she transformed from a healthy child into a malnourished adolescent in just five months. Diagnosed with Crohn’s, she was told life would never be the same. Beyond...
The Rare of the Rare: Betty on Living with Seronegative Myasthenia Gravis
https://youtu.be/O30OKBJxOg8 Betty was once the "anchor" of her large Nigerian American family, a firstborn of 17 siblings who moved through the world with quiet confidence. As a dedicated educator and facilitator, her voice was her power—until the summer of 2011,...
Amy’s Journey: Fighting Step Therapy for Chronic Gout and Rheumatoid Arthritis
https://youtu.be/jS7uoyQn-yc For most of her life, Amy was a "busy mom on the go," keeping up with the chaotic schedules of her four children. But in her 40s, her body began to fail her. What started as unexplainable aches soon turned into debilitating joint swelling...







Recap
Meet our 2024 Champions!
Katy’s Story: Turning an MS Relapse Into a Mission for Advocacy
My experience with multiple sclerosis (MS), which began in late 2015, has been marked by challenges, resilience, and a profound sense of gratitude. In the few years following my diagnosis, I faced numerous relapses and rounds of steroid infusions. I tried various...
Turning Pain Into Purpose
When Racquel Dozier first began feeling ill, she had no idea how much persistence and resilience it would take for her to access treatment. What she did know, even in the uncertainty, was that her life was about to change—and that she would need to become her own...
From Flaring to Flourishing: My Road to Remission
My First Signs of Ulcerative Colitis It was May 2018, the end of my senior year of college. I was going out with my friends to celebrate our remaining college days together. I had been accepted into graduate school to study for a master's degree in public policy and...
Balancing Gratitude and Grief in a Life with Rare Disease
Gratitude for a Swift Diagnosis Whenever I’m having a terrible day, I try to remind myself of something positive. One I often go back to is the amount of time it took for me to get diagnosed. It was remarkably swift. It took just two months from the onset of symptoms...
Misdiagnosed at 17: The Cost of Not Being Heard
The First Signs and the First Dismissal Picture this. You’re a 17-year-old girl who hasn’t been back to in-person school since March of 2020, during your sophomore year of high school. While most of your peers returned after the initial COVID-19 outbreak, you did not....
One Foot in Front of the Other, Like a Mountain Goat
I always say, “I was born an over-the-top optimist,” and I know this has shown in my chronic and rare disease journey. Sudden Paralysis, No Warning Ten days after my 40th birthday, I was suddenly paralyzed. I had some strange symptoms, my primary care provider was...
We Shouldn’t Have to Choose Who Gets Treated
I was diagnosed with a primary immune deficiency disorder in 1980, before anyone knew much at all about immune deficiencies. A man from my small town spent time at the NIH and received a diagnosis. As luck would have it, my mom was a huge advocate for me, and on...
I Didn’t Want to Be a Burden: My Journey to Healing and Advocacy
At the beginning of my health experiences, when I was 12 years old, it took about six months to a year to be diagnosed, as we didn’t know there was anything wrong until my appearance started to change. Then, in 2015, I was diagnosed with a secondary condition that I...
Walking Her Down the Aisle, and Through It All with MG
Before being diagnosed in 2019, I was very active. I still played tennis at a very high level and had attended a couple of USTA national championships a few years prior. I was still playing baseball and going to national tournaments in Arizona and Las Vegas. I had...































