Meet Our Founder

Hereditary Cancer Advocate | Speaker | TNBC Survivor

Shanise Pearce is a hereditary cancer advocate, community healer, and speaker committed to changing how individuals and families experience prevention, diagnosis, survivorship, grief, and healing. With a background in business analysis, risk management, and diversity and equity strategy, Shanise has led initiatives that elevate voices, build communal belonging, and create spaces where people feel seen, supported, and empowered.

In 2023, Shanise was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer – a moment that brought visibility to a story already rooted in her DNA. She carries BRCA2 and PMS2 gene mutations associated with Lynch syndrome, a hereditary history intertwined with the experiences of her grandparents, parents, siblings, children, and extended family. Her diagnosis was not the beginning. It was the unveiling.

This journey revealed the deep disparities in early detection, genetic testing access, and emotional support — especially in underrepresented and underserved communities. It also made clear how much silence, fear, and inherited grief families carry alone.

From this truth, The Advocate’s Table was born – a place where survivors, previvors, caregivers, and families can gather, breathe, learn, and heal together. A place where we are not required to be strong to be worthy of love. A place where we remember that our stories matter.

Shanise is a wife of 24 years to her best friend, Russell, and the mother of three children: Naomi, Shadé, and Russ — her grounding joy, her reason to keep choosing life, her proof that love is legacy. Their presence, support, and laughter have shaped her healing and her purpose.

She did not wait for permission to take her seat.
She built the table – and opened the chairs for others.

Driving Equity, Advocacy, and Wellness

Mission:
The Advocate’s Table supports individuals, families, and caregivers impacted by hereditary cancers, BRCA2 and PMS2 gene mutations, and Lynch syndrome.
We provide education, advocacy guidance, emotional healing spaces, and community support – with a focus on underserved and underrepresented communities who have historically faced barriers to early detection, genetic testing, and equitable care.
Our mission is to restore agency, belonging, and dignity to every person navigating the weight of their story.

Vision:
We envision a world where everyone – regardless of identity, background, or history – has access to early detection, genetic awareness, compassionate care, and culturally grounded healing.
A world where our stories are not silenced, where grief is held with compassion, where survivorship is supported, and where prevention and wellness are possible for all.
The Advocate’s Table is committed to fostering a future where healing is communal, health equity is a lived reality, and every person has a seat at the table of their own story.

A Brave Journey

Our Story & Impact

I am here because I refused to let my story end in silence.

My journey began long before I ever heard the word “cancer.”
It began with the women and men whose names, histories, love, and grief live inside me.
It began in the places where families survive what they do not speak about.

I did not know how heavy my story was until I had to carry it.

My diagnosis did not start my story – it made the story visible.

I am a survivor of Triple Negative Breast Cancer.
I also carry BRCA2 and PMS2 gene mutations associated with Lynch syndrome – a history written into my DNA, shared by those who came before me, and impacting those I love today.

So my work is not just about breast cancer.
It is about the full spectrum of hereditary cancer.
It is about early detection, knowledge, healing, grief, identity, and legacy.
It is about holding the stories that shape us – and learning how to live inside them with truth and tenderness.

And no one should have to do that alone.