Katie Holcomb is the Director of Family Support and PTSD Services at Ryan’s Case for Smiles (RCFS), a nonprofit supporting children and families as they face life-changing illnesses and injuries from diagnosis through recovery and bereavement. There she has developed services for every member of the family, as well as those who support them. These programs include CopingSpace.org, a bilingual, evidence-based resource for caregivers, community members and schools; educational programs for caregivers, healthcare professionals, community organizations and school staff; and a wide array of sibling support services. She has formed extensive partnerships with affiliated nonprofits and healthcare partners expanding the reach of RCFS’ programming and helping more organizations offer comprehensive, trauma-informed care.

Katie’s sibling expertise comes from years of experience in pediatric medical traumatic stress and family support, as well as her personal experience as a teen sibling of a cancer patient. Her sibling support initiative includes JustSibs.org, a website for pre-teen and teen siblings and JustSibs Live, an in-person teen sibling intervention. RCFS also provides comprehensive sibling-focused information and resources for caregivers, providers and schools on CopingSpace.org and distributes Coping Boxes, age-appropriate activity boxes to help siblings develop positive coping skills and have something special just for themselves. Finally, Katie provides education, advocacy and thought leadership on sibling issues, and has contributed to several research studies, national webinars and educational workshops.

Megan Schaefer, PhD, is a pediatric psychologist in the Department of Pediatric Psychology and Neuropsychology at Nationwide Children's Hospital, specializing in Hematology/Oncology/Bone Marrow Transplantation, Pain, and Palliative Care. She is also a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University. Clinically, Dr. Schaefer provides services to children and families impacted by serious illness, specifically hematological and oncological diagnoses. She follows patients and families from diagnosis to survivorship or to end-of-life/bereavement. Dr. Schaefer also has a strong interest in supporting bereaved children following the death of a loved one. She previously served as the Co-Chair of the Palliative Care and End-of-Life Special Interest Group within the Society of Pediatric Psychology and is currently an active member of the Sibling Partnership for Advocacy, Research, and Care in Childhood Cancer (SPARCCC).

Dr. Lori Wiener is co-director of the Behavioral Science Core and Head of the Psychosocial Support and Research Program at the pediatric oncology branch of the National Cancer Institute. As both a clinician and behavioral scientist, Dr. Wiener has developed a robust clinical and research program that has focused on critical clinical issues such as parental coping, lone parenting, transnational parenting, sibling and sibling donor experiences, graph versus host disease, and end-of-life planning. Dr. Wiener has also dedicated a substantial part of her career to applying knowledge from her clinical experience and psychosocial studies to create innovative resources such as books, workbooks, therapeutic games and an advance care planning guide for children, adolescents, and young adults. Each of these resources are distributed worldwide and widely utilized in pediatric centers.

Dr. Wiener proudly led the team that has developed the first evidence-based psychosocial standards of care for children with cancer and their family members. She has published close to 300 publications spanning peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. Dr. Wiener has co-edited the textbooks Pediatric Psycho-Oncology: A Quick Reference on the Psychosocial Dimensions of Cancer Symptom Management and Pediatric Psychosocial Oncology: Textbook for Multi-disciplinary Care, co-authored the storybooks, The Gift of Gerbert’s Feathers, to help children through the psychological and behavioral process of preparing for a natural end of life and The Twists and Turns of the Sibling Snail Trail, to help siblings of pediatric patients find comfort from the experiences of other siblings and learn new coping strategies. Dr Wiener also co-edited a Special Issue in CHILDREN on Psychosocial Issues in Children and Adolescents Living with a Rare Condition (2023) and in CANCERS on Advances in Pediatric and Adolescent Psycho-Oncology (2025).