Meet Courtney Firak
Of all the future careers I imagined growing up, patient advocacy was never on my radar. I wanted to be a teacher, a fashion buyer, a film producer… It was always changing!
I didn’t follow the traditional path of finishing college right after high school. But when the Great Recession hit in 2008, I was laid off from my serving job. So I made the decision to go back to school and pursue a degree in social work. I still didn’t exactly know what I wanted to do but I knew I wanted to help people.
Two pivotal events during my undergraduate years changed the course of my career and life. First, my beloved stepfather was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Suddenly, my family was thrust into the lived experience of fighting a rare disease. Second, I went through “social work bootcamp” as an intern at the famed Cook County Hospital in Chicago.
Through these experiences, I learned how truly complex the healthcare system is to navigate. You have to be resourceful, constantly advocate for yourself and your loved ones, and master the language of medical jargon and insurance coverage.
I realized that my passion for helping people could be channeled into patient advocacy.
I was fortunate to begin my career at the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) during a transformative period, helping it evolve from a grassroots organization to a leading patient advocacy group. At PFF, I established and developed the education and volunteer programs that are still in place today, learned about drug development, and saw firsthand how the collective voice of the IPF community led to the approval of two IPF treatments in October 2014.
While at PFF, I completed my master’s degree in public health from Loyola University Chicago, focusing on program management and public health policy. Over the past decade, I’ve held leadership roles in non-profit patient advocacy groups, built a patient advocacy function at a clinical trial recruitment company, and led the ophthalmology patient advocacy strategy at a gene therapy company.
My approach to patient advocacy has always been grounded in inclusion. Insights from people with lived experience should be integral to every healthcare and drug development conversation, and ensuring these insights are gathered from a diverse range of individuals is crucial for understanding the patient population you serve.
A career shift in early 2023 led me to found Firak Consulting Group, where I now focus on bringing inclusive strategies to pharma, patient advocacy groups and other healthcare organizations. I help organizations build patient engagement strategies that focus on health literacy and the creation of accessible materials.
I invite you to connect with me to explore how we can work together to enhance patient advocacy in your organization. Whether you’re looking to build a more inclusive strategy, develop engaging programs, or simply want to discuss the evolving landscape of patient advocacy, I’m here to help. Let’s make a difference together.