The Art of Advocacy Award pays tribute to a visionary advocate who advances research, information and/or support services to benefit both organizations and health.

Carolina Hinestrosa was the quintessential advocate, dedicating every fiber of her being to health: in her family, breast cancer, cancer in general, and the systems that undergird (or don’t) health in the nation and beyond. She personified the capacity each of us has to make the difference that the world needs.

Carolina’s continued plea was to “make the world a better place for Isabel.” Isabel is Carolina’s 18-year-old daughter. In her eulogy for her mother, Isabel said, “Mama, I wish I told you more often that I love you.” What an admonition for all of us, to recognize each other and keep our work connected to our passions.

Diminutive as Carolina was, petite even, she was big, really big. From her presence to the organizations with which she worked, to her recent work on comparative effectiveness, editing in her last days, she was forceful and effective. The Institute of Medicine dedicated its comparative effectiveness report to Carolina.

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Carolina came to the US in 1985 as a Fulbright Scholar. Following her breast cancer diagnosis in 1994, she founded Nueva Vida, a comprehensive support network for Latinas in the Washington area with breast and cervical cancer. She was its executive director until 2004 and helped develop the International Latina Breast Cancer Advocacy Network.

Carolina worked for many years with the National Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) and was their Executive Vice President. She testified, witnessed, and served in many effective ways for NBCC. Carolina was a driving force behind the 2005 workshop on biomarker research, which resulted in the first, and to date, only, advocate-authored article published in the journal Nature Reviews Cancer.

Carolina earned a Masters of Public Health, concentrating on health policy, at the George Washington University in Washington, DC, in the spring of 2001.

She is survived by her husband, Michael, and daughter, Isabel. Michael accepted the award on her behalf.