Rebekkah Schear

Rebekkah Schear is pioneering the strategic development, operations and implementation of clinical cancer care at the Livestrong Cancer Institutes at Dell Medical School. Under Eckhardt’s leadership, she and the team are building a new model of patient-centered cancer care and launching the CaLM Clinic — a comprehensive, clinical and supportive outpatient clinic with wraparound care offering practical, emotional, physical, social, spiritual and financial support to patients and caregivers. She and her colleagues are also building the first comprehensive young adult cancer clinic in the Austin area.

Schear is leading a community-wide engagement initiative for the Institutes, ensuring that all strategies and services are co-designed with patients, caregivers and the cancer community. Under her leadership, Austin launched a new coalition (Austin Cancer Support Coalition) in 2017 to organize and mobilize the Central Texas cancer community to implement community-wide initiatives, services, research and education for patients, survivors, families, providers and caregivers. Over the last 10 years, she has designed and implemented more than a dozen community based, national and global cancer programs to improve quality of life for cancer survivors and their families and to educate and engage health care providers.

During her tenure at Livestrong Foundation, Schear led the Foundation’s implementation of seven international cancer control programs throughout Latin America, Africa and Asia. Her work focused on building capacity of cancer NGOs to lead and implement patient-driven policy initiatives and addressing cancer stigma through improving knowledge and changing attitudes by empowering survivors to share their cancer stories.

Schear holds a Bachelor of Arts in mass communications from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Master of International Affairs in economic and political development from Columbia University. Her career has focused at the intersection of cancer care delivery, global health and advocacy.