We care about the well-being of our summit attendees. As an organization led entirely by young adults with severe chronic and rare illnesses, we truly understand how scary COVID-19 is for our demographic. For this reason, we are making the extremely difficult decision to cancel our summits for 2020. However, we encourage you to register for our virtual summit at here!
The Health Advocacy Summit (HAS) is a daylong, no cost advocacy event for young adults (between 13 and 30) living with chronic and rare diseases. The goal of the HAS is to bring chronically ill young adults together and enable them with the support, knowledge, and skills to become strong advocates for themselves and their communities.
The California Health Advocacy Summit will be hosted at Colorbloq SF in San Francisco, CA. Colorbloq is located at 435 Brannan St. #110, but we advise our guests to use 1 Lusk St, San Francisco as a drop-off location or if you are using Google Maps for directions to the event. This address will take you directly to the Colorbloq entrance at the back of the building.
California Pilot Director & HAS Operations Director
Sydney is a patient advocate and an ambassador for the Chronic Disease Coalition. As a teenager, she was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease called juvenile dermatomyositis. She has also been diagnosed with lupus and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTs).
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As an undergraduate, Sydney focused her studies on humanitarian and human rights law and participated in advocacy efforts against human trafficking and violence against women. In 2016, she earned her bachelor’s degree in political science with a concentration in international relations as well as an associate degree in social and behavioral science.
HAS Founder & Executive Director
Sneha is a senior at Indiana University. At age 6, she was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, which she has successfully battled with the help of several major surgeries.
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Sneha is a patient advocate, writer, and motivational speaker. She writes for media platforms such as U.S. News and World Report and has been published by the Mayo Clinic and Center for Health Journalism. Sneha's advocacy efforts have been broadcast on both television and radio. She has spoken on national television on Capitol Hill and was named to be one of the 33 most influential teenagers in 2018, as a Global Teen Leader.
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HAS was founded in 2017 by Sneha Dave, a student at Indiana University, who has lived with ulcerative colitis since the age of six. Our goal is to create a sustainable conference, across the U.S. and beyond, that will empower the voices of young adults living with chronic conditions and ensure that they are given the opportunities and resources they need to thrive. As of 2020, we will be hosting summits in Illinois, Texas, California, Indiana, New York, and Massachusetts.