ACS CAN New York Legislative Ambassador Homepage
SPOTLIGHT ACTION
We will be hosting an ACS CAN Volunteer Training on Saturday, February 7 from 9 AM - 12 PM. We will take a deep dive into the 2026 NYC and NYS campaigns.We hope you can join us, register today!
THANK YOU to our State Lead Ambassador Marcia Earle for her dedicated service for the past 3 years. Here is the presentation we held on our December all volunteer call celebrating Marcia!
Meet your new State Lead Ambassador and Vice State Lead Ambassador!
Meet our new State Lead Ambassador Lexy Mealing
Lexy Mealing is a dedicated volunteer advocate with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) and a breast cancer survivor. Her personal experience has shaped her passion for ensuring that all people have access to cancer prevention, early detection, and affordable, quality care.
In addition to her work with ACS CAN, Lexy has volunteered in other areas of the American Cancer Society, giving her a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by individuals and families impacted by cancer. She is committed to empowering others to raise their voices through advocacy and to ensuring volunteers feel supported, informed, and confident in their efforts.
Through volunteer recruitment, mentorship, and legislative engagement, Lexy brings a compassionate and collaborative approach to her work. She is passionate about building meaningful relationships, amplifying the voices of those affected by cancer, and advancing public policies that help save lives. She looks forward to serving as a State Lead Ambassador for New York and continuing to advance policies that help save lives.
Meet our new Vice State Lead Ambassador Emily Tier
Hi, all! I'm Emily Tier. I first connected with ACS when I was in middle school in the early 2000s, when my family began participating in the Relay For Life of Tompkins County. I’ve since had the privilege of serving on local, state, and national work groups and leadership teams to advance ACS’s health promotion, fundraising development, community engagement, and patient support initiatives. I started responding to ACS CAN Action Alerts when I was a college student, and, after participating in a Cancer Votes campaign, I became a Legislative Ambassador. I now have the honor of serving as the Vice State Lead Ambassador.
I hail from Dryden, and I've lived in the Binghamton area for nearly 20 years. I’m a palliative care social worker with United Health Services Hospitals, and, along with my interdisciplinary team, I support patients navigating the symptoms and stresses of serious, chronic, and terminal illnesses and their loved ones. I also volunteer with the Guthrie Hospice Vestal Camp Hope for Kids, the American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Services, and my alma mater three times over, Binghamton University. If I’m not working, volunteering, or hanging out with my family and my friends, you’ll likely find me baking, hitting the trails or the treadmill, or cozying up with a book. I’m excited to work with you all!
New Ambassadors: Welcome to the ACS CAN Team!
Here you will find all the information you'll need to be successful in your volunteer role, whether you've been here for five days or five years!
If you are new to ACS CAN, please join one of the NEW National volunteer welcome calls! Check the schedule HERE.
To get you started here are some actions you can take:
- Watch our 13 minute webinar on the roles and responsibilities of ACS CAN ambassadors. You may have viewed this as part of your orientation, this is here as a refresher for those that would like it.
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Review our 2026 ACS CAN Legislative Priorities
New York State Priorities
New York City Priorities
Federal Priorities
Volunteer Roles at ACS CAN
Below are materials that explain the various volunteer roles at ACS CAN
Legislative Ambassador Guidebook
Below is the generic (non-congressional district focused) version of the Legislative Ambassador Guidebook. The Guidebook is intended to be a resource for Legislative Ambassadors as they learn and grow into their new volunteer role. New Legislative Ambassdors will review the Guidebook with their ACT! Lead as part of their ACS CAN training. Please feel free to review the Guidebook before your training. However, we caution you that without the context of the training, the Guidebook may be overwhelming.
Full Legislative Ambassador Guidebook (Currently being updated for 2025)
Guidebook by the Section:
- Welcome
- Legislative Agendas
- ACS CAN Information
- ACS Information
- Tools and Resources
- Fundraising & Membership
- Media
- Legislative Relationships
Important information for all current ambassadors
ACS CAN ACT Lead Description
ACS CAN Legislative Ambassador Interest Form
ACS CAN Informational Sheet
ACS CAN Membership form or become a member here
ACS CAN Volunteer Fundraising Page
Additional Ambassador Resources:
Relay For Life Resources
College and Youth Relay For Life Resources
Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Resources
For more information if you are in New York City, contact [email protected] or Upstate [email protected].
Record your actions!
When you take an action i.e. send an email to a lawmaker, make a phone call, do a drop by, meet with a lawmaker, etc., please log all of these ACS CAN activities in this report back form! This is our way of measuring the impact our volunteers can make.
Story Collection
In the New Year, we will begin a project to collect as many of our volunteers’ stories as we can, and we would LOVE for you to share your story with us. Using this worksheet, please fill it out to the best of your ability and email to [email protected] if you are located in CDs 1-16 (Long Island and NYC) and [email protected] if you are in CDs 17-26 (Westchester and Upstate). Thank you!
Campaign work is a large part of what we do at
ACS CAN!
2026 New York State Campaigns
- Cancer Services Program
- Tobacco Control Program
- Family Paid Leave
- Patient Navigation
2026 New York City Campaigns
- Time off for cancer screenings
- End the sale of menthol cigarettes in NYC.
Federal Volunteer Activities
PROTECT CANCER CURES CAMPAIGN
Protect Cancer Cures Updates:
If you haven’t already please checkout our microsite Voices of Cancer Research and share and share widely. Watch this incredible video created during the campaign and then take action HERE!
Bills we are tracking:
- Premium Tax Credit Extension Act (HR 5145)
- The Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA) (HR 4425/S2287)
- Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage (MCED) Act (HR 842/S339)- The MCED Act is now the #1 cosponsored bill in Congress!
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is committed to ensuring everyone has a fair and just opportunity to prevent find, treat, and survive cancer. We know that cancer impacts everyone, but it doesn’t impact everyone equally, and that is why diversity, equity, and inclusion are vital to ending cancer as we know it, for everyone. ACS CAN is centering the lived experiences and voices of our diverse volunteer leaders through our affinity groups that enhance, strengthen, and diversify communications, messaging, partnerships, policy initiatives, and volunteer outreach, training, and engagement within their communities.
Interested in learning more? Please visit the ACS CAN Affinity Web Site and learn more about who they are, who they represent, and how you can get involved!
ATTENTION: Please mark your calendars and save the date for our 2026 Cancer Action Day which will be held on Tuesday, April 21, 2026! Register today!
Thank you to those who participated in our 2025 Cancer Action Day, you made it an amazing event. Can't wait to see you all again in Albany on Tuesday, April 21, 2026!
Fundraising with ACS CAN NY!
Lights of Hope is ACS CAN's premier fundraising event! Every year, Lights of Hope sends an important message to lawmakers that we need their support in the fight against cancer. Lights of Hope is a great way to raise money for ACS CAN and to honor and remember those touched by cancer through a tribute with thousands of lit bags featuring the names of loved ones and their cancer story. Each bag is $10 and raises much needed funds to continue our important work in research and making real policy change for cancer patients and their families. We will begin our Lights of Hope fundraising campaign in mid-February. Stay tuned for updates!
Check out our 2024 Volunteer Impact Report to see all of the amazing accomplishments.
All of the information you need about Lights of Hope and how to get started is located on our Lights of Hope Resource Page.
Curious where the money goes? Here is a great visual to explain!
Fundraising with ACS CAN doesn't have to only be limited to Lights of Hope. You can host ANY fundraiser and Create your own event. In 2023, one of our youth advocates hosted an ACS CAN Steps Against Cancer 5K race in her hometown pictured on the left which raised over $5,000. In 2025, one of our volunteers hosted the "Spook Out Cancer 5K" in her hometown pictured below raising $15,000. Other fundraisers have included paint and sips, bake sales, silent auctions and so much more. Let your imagine run wild and create your own fundraising event!
