Annual Achievement Award

The Annual Achievement Award has been given since 1980 to distinguished individuals or organizations in a wide variety of fields, who have reflected values of community cancer care through their outstanding contributions.

Christian G. Downs, JD, MHA, was the Executive Director of the Association of Cancer Care Centers (ACCC) from 2003 to 2024. Mr. Downs has more than 25 years of association management expertise, guiding associations in their work on national policy and educational programming. He has been instrumental in working with healthcare providers, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and Congress on association-specific issues. For more than 25 years, he led ACCC’s advocacy efforts around key legislative and regulatory issues like the 2003 Medicare Modernization Act, the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and the Oncology Care Model—the first specialty care model implemented by CMS. During Mr. Downs' tenure as ACCC Executive Director, the Association developed comprehensive education programs and resources on topics like patient navigation, cancer survivorship, and patient financial assistance. Under his leadership, ACCC brought financial advocacy to national attention, developing the first Patient Assistance and Reimbursement Guide in 2010 and creating the ACCC Financial Advocacy Network two years later in 2012. Today, this powerful network continues to develop education, tools, and resources to support cancer program staff responsible for helping patients navigate the financial issues surrounding cancer care delivery. Mr. Downs also played a key role in launching the ACCC Innovator Award program in 2011. Fifteen years later, this program has become a flagship initiative for engaging, empowering, and educating its member programs and practices. To help increase awareness of ACCC, its mission, and its policy and educational resources, under Mr. Downs' tenure, the Association launched the ACCCBuzz blog and the CANCER BUZZ podcast. For Christian Downs, ACCC served its provider members with the goal of ensuring equitable access to care for all patients with cancer.

Prior to his work with ACCC, Mr. Downs worked in the Public Policy Department of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) on physician office and billing and coding issues, administered a large tertiary care hospital, managed a physician multispecialty practice, and worked for the Education and Health Committee of the Virginia State Senate. He received his master’s degree in health administration from the Medical College of Virginia and his law degree from George Mason University with a special focus on regulatory and administrative law. He is a board member of the Patient Advocate Foundation and C-Change, a large coordinating organization for cancer groups.