Co-founded by Burt Zweigenhaft, PhD, DLitt, and Lillie Shockney, RN, BS, MAS, HON-ONN-CG, AVBON gives oncology navigators a new professional home.
NEW YORK, PA, UNITED STATES, November 5, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The Association for Value-Based Cancer Care (AVBCC) today announced the launch of the Association for Value-Based Oncology Navigation (AVBON), a new organization dedicated to advancing the oncology navigation profession. AVBON is co-founded by AVBCC Founder and Executive Director Burt Zweigenhaft, PhD, DLitt, and Lillie Shockney, RN, BS, MAS, HON-ONN-CG, a nationally recognized leader in oncology navigation. Shockney returns to a leadership role to guide the new organization, with the full support of the AVBCC team.
AVBON will serve oncology navigators and everyone working in the navigation space through education, networking, professional development, and collaboration. It is open to all navigators.
Oncology navigators are the only healthcare professionals who walk alongside patients and caregivers through the entire cancer journey. They are there at diagnosis, through treatment decisions, side effects and insurance denials, and into survivorship and end-of-life care. Because of that continuous role, navigators offer one of the greatest opportunities to bring value to every stage of the care continuum.
“Navigators are the steady presence patients and families count on from the moment of diagnosis onward, and the profession deserves an organization built entirely around them,” said Shockney, who also serves as a University Distinguished Service Professor of Breast Cancer at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “My mission and vision have not changed. AVBCC’s leaders understand navigation and value it, and with their backing we are building a home that is designed for navigators’ needs. AVBON will be for you.”
Shockney and Zweigenhaft have worked together since the founding of AVBCC in 2010. Their friendship marked the start of AVBCC’s long-standing support for navigation, and their shared commitment to improving cancer care has led to many joint efforts.
Over the past year, AVBCC’s Regional Collaboratives and the conversations they sparked revealed that oncology navigation serves every party across the cancer care continuum. That finding positions navigation as a key to realizing value-based cancer care, and it makes AVBON a natural addition to the AVBCC family.
“Our Regional Collaboratives showed us a powerful truth: oncology navigation serves every party in cancer care, which means navigation holds the key to unleashing value-based cancer care,” said Zweigenhaft. “Lillie is a trailblazer who helped me understand and love the work these professionals do. We are proud to give oncology navigators a professional home and help this remarkable profession grow and thrive.”
The navigation field has grown from a promising idea into a recognized specialty, with its own body of knowledge, standardized metrics, and a national community of professionals. AVBON will build on that foundation. Details on membership, education and the live 2027 AVBON Conference will be announced in the coming weeks.
Navigators and others interested in AVBON can follow the organization on LinkedIn and join the mailing list. AVBON also invites the organizations and industry partners that have supported navigators in the past to join the effort.
About the Association for Value-Based Oncology Navigation (AVBON)
The Association for Value-Based Oncology Navigation (AVBON) is a professional organization for oncology navigators and everyone working in the navigation space. It is led by seasoned professionals who understand the profound impact navigation has on patient outcomes and the quality of care delivery. AVBON is committed to advancing the profession across every sector of the care continuum and to empowering our members through robust education, meaningful networking events, professional development, and multi-stakeholder collaborations.
About the Association for Value-Based Cancer Care (AVBCC)
AVBCC was founded by Burt Zweigenhaft, PhD, DLitt, as a national forum to bring forward thinking oncology leaders from across the ecosystem together to shape the future of cancer care. As healthcare continues to evolve, AVBCC convenes the field’s most influential voices to address emerging trends, external pressures, and the persistent challenges impacting value, access, and affordability.
Through its expanding portfolio of initiatives—including the AVBCC Regional Value Based Cancer Care Collaboratives, the Global Cancer Research & Innovation Symposium, the Cell and Gene Therapy Symposium, the 40 Under 40 in Cancer Awards, and the Value Based Voices Podcast—AVBCC fosters dialogue, collaboration, and innovation across the oncology community.
AVBCC’s expertly led, prospective discussions empower oncology professionals to optimize care delivery while strengthening the critical relationship between clinical insight, cost of care, and patient access. In doing so, AVBCC is advancing a more sustainable, value based future for cancer care.
Gwendolyn B Coverdale
AVBCC and AVBON
+1 267-884-6328
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