Going Beyond Awareness to Build Trust and Inspire action: Leadership Lessons from 30 Years of Effective Vaccine Advocacy

Patient Advocacy Voices

Patient Advocacy Voices
Going Beyond Awareness to Build Trust and Inspire action: Leadership Lessons from 30 Years of Effective Vaccine Advocacy
Aug 31, 2026 Season 3 Episode 8
Sanofi US Patient Advocacy

What can decades of successful vaccine advocacy teach every patient organization?  

Effective advocacy goes beyond raising awareness. It builds trust, removes barriers, collaborates with many partners, and empowers patients to make informed decisions. 

In this episode, host Eric Racine and co-host Courtney Fahey of Sanofi are joined by Amy Pisani, CEO of Vaccinate Your Family. Drawing from more than 30 years of leadership in vaccine advocacy, Amy shares lessons on how to combine scientific evidence with personal stories, work with trusted messengers, equip community partners with practical resources, and continually adapt as the information and public health landscapes change.

In this episode, you'll learn about:

  • What it takes for advocacy to go beyond awareness to remove barriers and improve patient access to care and prevention 
  • How to build trust through credible messengers, respectful communication, and collaboration
  • Effective ways to combine personal stories and science to educate and inspire action
  • How coalition building and strategic partnerships can strengthen advocacy efforts and impact
  • Practical communication approaches, including the CASE method, to address concerns, build confidence, and support informed decisions
  • How strong leaders evolve their organizations, adapt to changing needs and environments, and remain grounded in their mission over time

This episode distills the foundations of effective advocacy into practical lessons every advocacy leader can put into action: building trust, mobilizing partners, removing barriers, advancing health policy, and improving health of the people you serve.

Episode Artwork Going Beyond Awareness to Build Trust and Inspire action: Leadership Lessons from 30 Years of Effective Vaccine Advocacy 49:28 Episode Artwork From Patient Experience to Policy Action: Bringing Patient and Provider Voices Into the Decisions That Shape Healthcare 42:16 Episode Artwork Leading Change in Rare Disease: What We Can Learn from the GBS-CIDP Foundation 37:41 Episode Artwork Inside the Alliance for Aging Research: Closing the Gap Between Innovation and Patient Access 39:27 Episode Artwork The “Last Mile” in Cancer Care: What It Takes to Turn Innovation Into Access 37:59 Episode Artwork Reading the Signals: How One Successful Organization Knew It Was Time to Change 31:22 Episode Artwork Shaping the Future of AI: A Leadership Moment for Patient Advocacy 46:29 Episode Artwork Rebuilding Trust: What the Autism Community Teaches Us About Vaccine Confidence 39:07 Episode Artwork A Year of Transformation: What Patient Advocates Taught Us About Evolving to Deliver More for Patients 51:56 Episode Artwork The Sanofi Patient Community Promise: Moving Beyond Patient Centricity Talk to Real Actions for Patients, Feat. the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation 53:26 Episode Artwork Evolving for Impact: How March of Dimes Adapted Beyond Polio to Tackle Today’s Healthcare Challenges 31:38 Episode Artwork From Invisible to Empowered: Advocacy Strategies from PDSA to Drive Early Recognition, Patient Connections, and Innovation 33:55 Episode Artwork From Unmet to Unforgettable: Inside CHES’s Approach to Patient Programs that Stick 25:34 Episode Artwork Culture Change: What Leaders Need to Know to Help Improve Mental Health in Their Organizations and Communities 29:36 Episode Artwork How to Close the Gap Between Scientific Innovation and Patient Access in the U.S. Healthcare System 24:28 Episode Artwork Building Awareness, Driving Change: Inside APFED’s Strategy for Rare Disease Advocacy 37:10 Episode Artwork How the Shifting U.S. Health Policy Landscape is Impacting the Patient Community 22:29 Episode Artwork Scalable Solutions: How the American Lung Association Evolves to Meet the Needs its Community 26:49 Episode Artwork Springboard to Season 2: How Advocacy Leaders Make a Difference for Patients, Science, and Policy 46:10 Episode Artwork How to Innovate and Collaborate to Advance Patient-focused Priorities – The National Health Council 22:12 Episode Artwork How Might We? How Fresh Perspectives Can Change Outcomes in Overlooked Conditions 27:02 Episode Artwork Transforming the Pace of Medicine Development Through Partnerships with the Patient Advocacy Community 31:50 Episode Artwork Taking a Business Approach to Advocacy and Philanthropy - How a Venture Philanthropist Invests to Impact Peoples’ Lives 16:36 Episode Artwork Long-Term Impact: Aggregating Data to Accelerate Innovations for Patients 14:06 Episode Artwork An Advocate's Journey to Put Patients at the Forefront of Research 13:36