2. Jackson Doane ’27 to Present at the American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association Annual Conference

By Lily Caldwell
March 19, 2026

Jackson Doane '27 was recently selected to present his abstract, "Advocacy as Healing: Young Adult Perspectives on Identity, Storytelling, and Voice in the Craniofacial Journey," as a standalone panel at the American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association's (ACPA) annual conference. The conference will be held March 24-28 in Boston.

Doane will present his panel alongside three friends whom he met through medical advocacy. The panel will explore a range of patient-led initiatives spanning policy advocacy, community-building, social media engagement and business ventures that have created a space for inclusion and connection. Combining research with the panelists' lived experiences as people born with craniofacial conditions, the presentation aims to raise awareness of the importance of advocacy as a critical component of patient healing. Doane is the youngest person and patient to moderate and present a panel at the ACPA.

"The goal of the panel is for clinicians and attendees to see how advocacy and storytelling can support healing for young adults with craniofacial conditions, and to learn how clinicians can support patient-led advocacy in areas like policy, education, research, community-building, the arts and academia," said Doane, a politics major from Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Doane was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate and has had 11 surgeries and over a decade of orthodontic and dental intervention. His personal experience as a craniofacial patient has guided his advocacy efforts, and, after graduation, he hopes to continue working with patient advocacy in health policy, writing and art spaces.

Doane is a national leader in the effort to pass the Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act, a piece of federal legislation that would alter insurance laws to allow for further access to medical care for people born with facial deformities. On March 22, he will also run his fifth marathon for Operation Smile to raise awareness and funds for the organization.

"For the patient community, this panel represents a major opportunity to have our voices and expertise present in the spaces where standards of care are shaped," said Doane. "'Nothing about us without us' has long guided disability advocacy, and it deeply applies here. For many of us, advocacy has become part of the healing process. Craniofacial conditions are lifelong and navigating them requires ongoing personal understanding and self-acceptance. Advocacy deserves to be recognized as a real pillar of care. Being invited to present this panel is a monumental step toward recognizing patient advocacy as a serious and proven part of craniofacial care."

The ACPA is the premier scientific resource and interdisciplinary professional network for health care providers serving patients with cleft lip, cleft palate and craniofacial differences. It works to support the care of patients affected by cleft and craniofacial conditions through education, support, research and interdisciplinary team care.

Doane is an opinions editor for The Ring-tum Phi, a W&L student newspaper; editor-in-chief for Ampersand Magazine, a W&L student arts publication; and is a DJ for WLUR, the university's radio station. He is also a student worker for Traveller, the campus safe-ride system, and the Art Museum & Galleries.

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