Parent Advisory Council

The Parent Advisory Council (PAC) is a heart-centered, guiding voice within the Madelyn James Pediatric Cancer Foundation. Composed of parents and caregivers who have walked the difficult road of childhood cancer, the PAC exists to ensure that empathy, understanding, and lived experience are at the core of everything we do.

PAC members offer more than feedback—they offer perspective shaped by love, loss, resilience, and hope. Their role is to help the Foundation continue to grow in ways that truly honor and support families, especially those navigating the hardest moments of their lives.

Through honest conversation, deep listening, and shared commitment, PAC members:

  • Offer insight rooted in personal experience to guide the our decisions;

  • Help identify gaps in support and opportunities to better serve families;

  • Ensure programs are shaped with compassion, dignity, and cultural humility;

  • Partner with staff to create a more inclusive and equitable experience for all families;

  • Remind us that behind every statistic is a child, a parent and a story that matters.

The PAC helps hold us accountable to its mission—ensuring no family faces pediatric cancer alone, and every family feels seen, heard and held.

Tahj Jackson

Tahj is a devoted cancer mom and full-time hospital technician whose journey has been shaped by resilience, love, and an unwavering commitment to her son, Zane. After navigating the heartbreak and uncertainty of a pediatric cancer diagnosis, she emerged with a deeper sense of purpose and a desire to give back to the medical community that supported her family.

Today, she works full time as a tech at a local hospital, bringing both skill and compassion to her role—caring for patients with the same empathy she once relied on as a parent. Her son Zane, now thriving in preschool full time, continues to inspire her every day with his strength and joy.

Whether at work or at home, Tahj leads with heart. Her experience as a caregiver drives her commitment to helping others feel seen, supported, and safe—just as she once needed during the hardest moments of her family's life.