Natalie A-K

Natalie A-K., BSc, CPA-CMA, MBA.

Natalie was diagnosed with de novo stage 4 breast cancer in March 2019. Just five months earlier, she had taken part in the Terry Fox School Run with her then-kindergarten daughter, wanting to teach the value of community support and giving back. A few years later, her younger son began running too, and by the 2025 Terry Fox School Run, her children had raised over $70,000 for cancer research.

Natalie’s diagnosis had a deep impact on her young children and inspired Natalie to speak openly with students about living with a terminal illness. Since 2019, she has shared her story with more than 10,000 students—ranging from kindergarten to grade 12—in schools across Alberta’s FrancoSud School Board. Her dedication to French-language education earned her the Prix Manon Bouthillier from la Fédération des Parents francophones de l’Alberta in 2022.

Passionate about health care and research, Natalie advocates strongly for better breast cancer screening policies, stronger support for preventive health services across Canada, and sustained investment in precision oncology research.

With a college and undergraduate degree in science, she has long recognized the value of medical research. In 1993, Natalie was among the first patients in North America with astigmatism and high myopia to trial a new excimer laser procedure, months before it became widely available in Canada. Since then, she has participated in nine additional research studies spanning various health areas—including vaccine safety during pregnancy, lifestyle effects on cancer outcomes, patient-driven cancer trials, blood clots in metastatic bone disease, and influenza and COVID-19 vaccine safety.

In 2024, Natalie began joining oncology research teams as a Patient Partner, bringing her experience to the other side of research. She has now served on seven different research teams in this role. In 2025, she was selected as a Research Advocate in the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance’s Patient Involvement in Cancer Research Program (PIP). Her expertise and voice have made her a frequent media guest on health and cancer topics.

Over the years, Natalie has chaired and co-chaired panels, presented research, and participated in numerous healthcare conferences and forums with organizations such as the Terry Fox Foundation, Terry Fox Research Institute, Thrombosis Canada, and the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance. She firmly believes that including patient perspectives throughout research strengthens the development of treatments and programs that better serve diverse cancer communities.

Before her diagnosis, Natalie earned her BSc in 1996 with plans to become an orthopedic surgeon. However, her path shifted when she was selected to compete for Team Canada as a snowboard racer. After retiring from sports, she completed her MBA in 2001. Over nearly 20 years, she developed strategies for multi-billion-dollar organizations, managed large programs, and led customer-focused innovation initiatives. Throughout her career, she stayed connected to academia—teaching as a sessional instructor at three universities, earning PMP and CPA-CMA certifications, and pursuing an MSc at HEC Paris until her diagnosis halted her studies.

Today, Natalie combines her professional expertise, academic background, and lived experience as a patient to advance cancer care and advocate for policy changes that improve health outcomes for Canadians.