Q&A with The Skin Cancer Foundation’s New Executive Director Becky Kamowitz

The Skin Cancer Foundation (SCF), a national nonprofit organization founded in 1979, works to decrease the incidence and mortality of the world’s most common cancer through public education and advocacy.

Becky Kamowitz

Photo Credit: Mikiodo

In January 2025, the Foundation appointed Becky Kamowitz as executive director. Kamowitz, who previously served as interim executive director and senior director of marketing communications, spoke with Managed Healthcare Executive about the organization’s priorities for 2025, including efforts to combat a concerning uptick in tanning among young people and plans to expand its mobile screening program.

The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Q: What are the Foundation’s core mission and activities?

A: From the beginning, the Foundation has focused on awareness and education, helping the public understand the importance of daily sun protection, the importance of early detection and receiving prompt effective treatment. Our approach includes awareness campaigns, media outreach and community programs such as free skin cancer screenings. Nearly 11 million people visit our website annually, making us a leading resource for skin cancer information. We serve both people who might not be thinking about sun protection and those who need reliable information after they come out of the dermatologist’s office and have a skin cancer diagnosis.

Q: How is the Foundation addressing the recent increase in tanning among young people?

A: A huge part of what we do is combating misinformation and those myths that seem to permeate on social media. And it’s only becoming more important. We’ve watched in the last few years as interest in tanning has increased once again, particularly among young people, and it’s very alarming. One of the things that we’re trying to do more of is get more peers on social media so young people who are former tanners who are now dealing with skin cancer diagnosis and giving them a place to share their story. They can provide a cautionary tale of what can happen if you use these incredibly dangerous UV emitting devices.

Q: What are the Foundation’s main priorities for 2025?

A: Our big focus right now is fundraising for a new RV for our Destination Healthy Skin program, where we work with dermatologists all over the country to provide free screenings in the communities we visit. We’ve raised $400,000 toward our $500,000 goal. The RV is customized with private exam rooms, and we want to have a wheelchair lift in the new vehicle so we can see more people who need that extra support. We’ve gone through two RVs since 2008, and our current vehicle is on its last legs.

Another focus is our campaigns. A lot of our campaigns are general skin cancer awareness, but we’re also trying to target specific at-risk audiences, including people of color. We know that there’s an awareness gap there that we’ve become more familiar with over the years, and we are looking at our messaging strategy and content and making sure that our messaging feels appropriate for people who are at higher risk of the disease. This year we’re also going to be working on a campaign to reach outdoor workers, because we know that if you work outdoors all day, that increases your risk of skin cancer quite a bit.

Q: How does the Foundation work with healthcare providers?

A: We work very closely with dermatologists all over the country, and maintain a physician membership program, with annual dues, that provides benefits in-kind. They serve as our spokespersons for media interviews, they review our content, making sure that everything we put out there is medically reviewed and up to date. They volunteer for our Destination Healthy Skin program. And we also provide materials to help them to use in educating their patients.

We see ourselves as a partner to dermatologists who are treating skin cancer patients.

And we understand how busy they are and how hard they work to educate their own patients and make sure their patients feel supported. But we also understand that there’s only so much you can do when you’re seeing dozens and dozens of patients every day. We really want to be there be as a resource for dermatologists, as well when it comes to educating for patients and providing materials to help them do so.