Donna Pepin was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2006 and began her volunteer work in 2008 with Ovarian Cancer Canada. Since 2008 she has worked as a volunteer educator and public speaker in various community settings: universities, public libraries, senior centres, medical clinics, corporate offices and fundraising events, sharing medical facts about ovarian cancer and her own experience, in an effort to humanize the disease and build awareness. She is actively involved in sharing her experiences and insights through the Odette Cancer Center Education Series, Ovarian Cancer Canada’s “Survivors Teaching Students” (STS) program and the “Patients as Teachers” (PAT) program at The University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine. Alongside her fellow ovarian cancer patients, Donna played a crucial role in successfully lobbying the Provincial Government of Ontario and the Federal Government of Canada to invest in ovarian cancer research, culminating in the Federal Government of Canada awarding $10 million to Ovarian Cancer Canada for the OvCAN research initiative. Donna now serves as Patient Advisor on the OvCAN Governing Council that is overseeing the dissemination of these funds for basic research, pre-clinical research and clinical trials. She is also the Co-Lead of OvCAN’s Patient Partners in Research team, providing leadership to those new to the realm of research.