Ilana Jacqueline

Ilana Jacqueline is a speaker, author, patient, and advocacy strategist whose journey to a rare disease diagnosis forced her to face a lifetime of medical gaslighting. While her personal experience as a patient has lent her compassion for what all women are subject to in the exam room, it is her experience as a patient advocate that opened her eyes to the reality that no matter how rare or common the condition may be, it often takes women longer to be heard by the medical community. Her love of new media and marketing, combined with her experience as a patient and advocate have led her to a career where she collaborates as a strategist with healthcare companies and non-profits to bring their message to social media platforms in campaigns that empower patients and drive awareness. Her interest and experimentation in influencer marketing has made her own social presence an occasionally viral one, with some videos reaching over 6 million viewers. When she’s not introducing Gen Z and Gen Alpha to the wise ways of their chronically ill millennial elders on TikTok, she’s translating HIPAA in Reels for her Instagram followers. She has acted as Director of Patient Advocacy for various biotechs, published as a columnist and freelance writer for health magazines, and currently serves as the Director of Influencer Relations at the social health company, Health Union. She has appeared as a medical gaslighting subject matter expert on talk shows and in magazines and has been nominated for the EURORDIS Social Media Award for 2024, The Reuters Patient Champion Award in 2022, and was awarded a Rare Disease Difference Maker Award from Engage Health. She originally shared her story through a blog started in the 2010’s, and her first book, Surviving and Thriving with an Invisible Chronic Illness was a continuation and deep dive into the advice she often gave there about how to survive the transition into adulthood with a chronic illness. She currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, Richard, and their two dogs, Kugel and Houdini.