Association of Cancer Executives

10/31/2026

🇮🇹 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 | 𝗜𝗢𝗟𝗖𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

The 10th International Oncology Leadership Conference - IOLC begins this Sunday, Sunday, November 1, welcoming oncology executives for three days of discussion and professional exchange under the leadership of Conference Chair Cindy Chavira, MBA, FACHE.

As Presenting Partner of , ACE is pleased to support another year of candid conversations and the opportunity to learn from the experiences of international colleagues.

The conference opens with an optional walking tour through Florence's historic streets on Sunday afternoon, followed by the Welcome Reception at The Hoxton. Monday's program takes participants to Santa Maria Nuova Hospital, a historic institution founded in 1288, before returning to The Hoxton for the final day of sessions on Tuesday.

To our colleagues attending, we look forward to seeing familiar faces, welcoming new participants, and sharing in the experience of this remarkable city. Be sure to tag us in your photos and updates so we can share moments from IOLC2026 with our wider community!

📍 November 1–3, 2026 | Florence, Italy
📲 Conference agenda: https://bit.ly/3WlYLPj

📸 (2–5) The Hoxton Florence, (6) F. Muzzi – Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore

10/30/2026

Continuing to develop oncology leadership requires investment in people, professional relationships, and opportunities to exchange knowledge with colleagues throughout the field.

Recent moments shared by members and colleagues of the ACE community illustrate that commitment in practice. From mentoring emerging leaders and exchanging institutional expertise to strengthening healthcare partnerships, these engagements contribute to the professional development and collaboration that help advance cancer care delivery.

These professional connections are central to the ACE experience, and we look forward to bringing oncology executives and administrators together at ACE2027 in Nashville, February 7–9. 📲 https://bit.ly/4fGlJY4

In the meantime, we invite members to share recent initiatives, collaborations, and professional highlights with the ACE community. 📩 Email HQ.

📸 Photos courtesy of Wafa Samara, Nicole Centers, Deirdre Saulet, Peter Ibrahim, and Kristin Christophersen.

10/24/2026

🎙️ 𝗜𝗢𝗟𝗖𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 | 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄

Amanda Wheeler, MD, and Rochelle Lonn, DNP, of Sutter Health are among the oncology leaders presenting at the 10th International Oncology Leadership Conference in Florence next month.

Their session, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝘆𝗮𝗱: 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁, examines a familiar challenge in cancer service-line leadership: connecting clinical and operational responsibilities to organizational strategy.

Wheeler and Lonn have previously presented together on dyads and team approaches to delivering cancer care, including a September presentation that reflects their shared engagement with this leadership model.

Speakers:
• Amanda Wheeler, MD, Chair, Cancer Service Line, Sutter Health
• Rochelle Lonn, DNP, Vice President, Cancer Service Line, Sutter Health

Explore the IOLC2026 program: 📲 https://bit.ly/3u3BDnp

📸 Amanda Wheeler and Rochelle Lonn during their September presentation at The Health Management Academy's Oncology Fall Forum. Photo shared by Rochelle Lonn.

10/23/2026

📣 Nominations close 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟱 for the Marsha Fountain Award for Excellence in Oncology Administration.

For nearly a decade, the award has recognized experienced oncology administrators for their contributions to the field and to the Association of Cancer Executives. It honors the legacy of Marsha Fountain, ACE’s first President and a pioneering cancer center administrator.

The moments pictured here celebrate past recipients. Now, we invite you to help recognize the next!

Know someone whose work deserves consideration? Please submit a brief nomination describing their contributions. Nominees must currently work in oncology administration; ACE membership is not required.

Submit your nomination before the deadline:📲 https://bit.ly/3J0qVer

10/21/2026

Some of the conversations we’re looking forward to in Florence will take place over dinner.

For ACE members attending , Monday evening at Osteria Vini e Vecchi Sapori offers a small-table setting for a meeting with an international perspective. Four courses of traditional Tuscan cooking, peers from different healthcare systems, and time to follow a conversation wherever it leads.

Details and reservations below. 👇International Oncology Leadership Conference - IOLC

🇮🇹 An evening in Florence at Osteria Vini e Vecchi Sapori.

Known for its traditional Tuscan cooking and coveted tables, this intimate Florentine osteria will welcome participants for a special four-course dinner on Monday, 2 November.

Owner Tommaso Mazzanti, himself a cancer survivor, will personally welcome our group for an evening that brings together oncology leaders from different countries and healthcare systems around a traditional Tuscan table.

The evening offers a more informal setting for the kind of international exchange that distinguishes IOLC, with returning participants and first-time attendees sharing a table, comparing experiences, and getting to know one another beyond the conference sessions.

🍷 IOLC2026 | Special Dinner
📍 Osteria Vini e Vecchi Sapori, Florence
🗓️ Monday, 2 November | 19:00
🍽️ Four-course Tuscan dinner | €90 per person, beverages excluded

Reserve your place: https://bit.ly/4B2TgqW

📸Photo credit: vini_e_vecchi_sapori
Association of Cancer Executives

10/12/2026

📣 Last call for Early Bird registration! Take advantage of the best rates available through October 15 and join us for the 33rd Association of Cancer Executives Annual Meeting.

🗓️ February 7–9, 2027
📍 Grand Hyatt Nashville

The program will feature 17 general sessions, a keynote from Jennifer Bickel, Chief Wellness Officer at UT MD Anderson, an EXPO Hall with industry leaders, and more than six hours of networking.

Thank you to Annual Meeting Chairperson Mark Liu, MHA, the Planning Committee and the ACE Board of Directors for developing the program, and to our sponsors for their support.

With Grand Hyatt in downtown Nashville just a short walk from Broadway, there’s plenty to look forward to both during and beyond the program. We look forward to seeing you in Music City! 🎸

📲 Register here//bit.ly/3V6E37A

📸 Photo credits (1-3): Visit Music City

10/07/2026

"When we designed with our nurses, APPs, and physicians in mind, and not just around them, we built a system fast enough for patients and sustainable for the people running it.”

In the ACE Update, Megan Aiello, MPA, RN, Assistant Vice President, Cancer Services at Stony Brook Medicine Cancer Center, describes how the team shortened waits and increased new patient volume without adding physicians or staff. Her account gives particular attention to the relationships and provider conversations that made those changes possible.

📲 Members can visit us online to read the article in full “𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗻𝘆 𝗕𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗥𝗲𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗗𝗼𝗼𝗿”: https://bit.ly/4yzuw7P

📸 Photos captured during .

10/02/2026

Melissa Childress, MBA, brings more than two decades of oncology leadership experience to her new role as President of City of Hope Cancer Center Atlanta.

Her career includes leading operations at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, overseeing cancer services at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University and advising cancer centers nationwide as a partner at Chartis. In Atlanta, her responsibilities will encompass regional growth and integration, access, operational performance and coordination of care.

ACE has benefited from her willingness to put that experience to work for the association and its members. A longtime contributor who remains active in committee leadership, she continues to make time for the professional exchange that has connected so many of us through ACE. Congratulations Melissa!

📲 Read more: https://bit.ly/4s31XO1

📸Photo credit: City of Hope

10/02/2026

UT MD Anderson Cancer Center's announcement of Peter Pisters’ planned retirement reflects on a tenure marked by substantial institutional investment, alongside sustained attention to patient safety, patient experience and employee wellness. Named interim president, Jeffrey E. Lee, M.D. brings 35 years at the institution and a close working relationship with Pisters and the executive leadership team to the transition.

Read more about Pisters’ tenure and Lee’s appointment: https://bit.ly/3U60F86

Today, we recognize Dr. Peter WT Pisters’ exceptional leadership as president of UT MD Anderson, following his announcement that he plans to retire from the institution. The University of Texas System Board of Regents and Chancellor Dr. John Zerwas have named Dr. Jeffrey E. Lee interim president.

“I first arrived at UT MD Anderson 32 years ago with a passion for doing everything I could to advance our mission to end cancer. Serving as the only faculty member to become president, and now marking nine years in the role, I can say with great pride and gratitude that there is no better place than UT MD Anderson to turn hope into healing for patients and families everywhere,” says Pisters. “UT MD Anderson has never been stronger and its future has never been brighter.”

Lee, a surgical oncologist who has been at UT MD Anderson for 35 years, currently serves as the institution’s executive vice president, chief physician executive and chief cancer network officer and is a member of UT MD Anderson’s Executive Leadership Team.

“Dr. Lee’s close working relationship with Dr. Pisters and the entire executive leadership team gives him the advantage of being immersed in every leadership action, with excellent decision-making skills and a collaborative style,” Zerwas says.

Learn more: https://www.mdanderson.org/newsroom/ut-md-anderson-honors-visionary-leadership-of-dr--peter-pisters-.h00-159857712.html

09/26/2026

Lisbon. Paris. Vienna. Barcelona. And next, Florence. 🇮🇹

Across its ten editions, the International Oncology Leadership Conference has created a distinctive place for oncology leaders from different countries, disciplines and health systems to spend meaningful time together.

As Presenting Partner, the Association of Cancer Executives has been part of that history. ACE leaders have contributed to IOLC over the years as speakers, Planning Committee members and participants, with many of the relationships represented here continuing from one gathering to the next.

Now, the view turns toward Florence.

That connection was already visible at the Annual Meeting in Palm Springs, where IOLC2026 was part of the conversation and many of the leaders who contribute to both communities were together again.

From 1–3 November, IOLC will convene at The Hoxton Florence for its 10th gathering, with a program spanning leadership, patient experience, clinical operations, quality, AI, rehabilitation and new models of care.

🎟️ Limited to 80 participants
📲 Explore the program: https://bit.ly/3u3BDnp