Celena Donahue
Celena Donahue is Pueblo Indian, her family is Hupa, and Karuk. She was raised on the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation in northeastern Humboldt County, California. She is an American Cancer Society Health Equity Ambassador lead facilitator, a Tribal Health consultant, Public Health Equity advocate, and Talking Circle facilitator. Celena sits on many Cancer Roundtables. She works on multiple cross-functional initiatives addressing clinical quality and service improvement programs.
Darold H. Joseph
Darold H. Joseph, PhD, is Hopi, of Coyote Clan. He is a featured storyteller in the American Cancer Society documentary Real Lives: Cancer Stories of Indigenous People. Dr. Joseph is also an ACS funded researcher focused on cervical cancer in Indigenous women with disabilities. He serves as Director of the Institute for Native Serving Educators and Professor of Special Education at Northern Arizona University.
Monica Yellowhair
Monica Yellowhair, PhD, (she/hers) is a member of the Navajo Nation (Diné). She is of the Towering House people and born for the Red House people. Dr. Yellowhair is the Assistant Director of Native American Partnerships at the University of Arizona Comprehensive Cancer Center. Her work advances sustainable, community-driven programs for cancer prevention, early detection, treatment, and survivorship, while honoring tribal sovereignty, fostering trust, and responding to community-identified needs.
Cynthia Begay
Cynthia Begay, PhD, MPH, (she/hers) is Hopi, of the Sunforehead Clan, born for the Navajo (Diné) and Mexican people. She is a longtime advocate for Native communities to advance health equity and reduce disparities. She is a Director of Epidemiology, specializing in colorectal cancer, supporting Native communities, and a doctoral graduate of USC Keck School of Medicine.
Joy Jacobs
Joy Jacobs, MPH, is an American Cancer Society Health Equity Ambassador and Programming Director at the California Farmworkers Foundation. With over 25 years of experience supporting farmworker and Indigenous communities. As an ACS Ambassador she advances cancer prevention and equitable access to care through culturally grounded, linguistically responsive outreach across California.
The Indigenous Community Advisory Cohort (ICAC) is a circle of Indigenous leaders, cultural practitioners,
and community partners dedicated to advancing cancer equity for Tribal Nations, Urban and Rural Indigenous
communities across the West Region and beyond. ICAC members provide cultural guidance and strategic insight to
ensure ACS programs are Indigenous-led, community-informed, and culturally safe. Together, ICAC strengthens
relationships, elevates community voices, and shapes initiatives that help reduce disparities and improve access to
prevention, screening, treatment, and survivorship support. As trusted advisors and connectors, members co-create
meaningful, sustainable solutions grounded in Indigenous knowledge, lived experience, and the values of respect,
reciprocity, and sovereignty.
