Courtney Firak, MPH
Courtney Firak is a strategic patient advocacy consultant, health equity advocate, and health literacy expert based in the Greater Chicago area. She is the founder and principal consultant of Firak Consulting Group, where she partners with pharmaceutical companies and nonprofit patient advocacy organizations to design and implement patient-centered strategies. Her work focuses on ensuring that the lived experiences of patients and caregivers are meaningfully integrated into drug development, engagement planning, and healthcare communications, with a strong emphasis on accessibility, inclusion, and measurable impact.
Throughout her career, Courtney has held senior leadership roles across the patient advocacy and nonprofit health sectors. She previously served as Patient Advocacy Lead at Spark Therapeutics, Senior Director of Programs & Partnerships at the Kidney Cancer Association, and Director of Programs at the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation, where she led large-scale education initiatives, built patient engagement programs, and managed multi-million-dollar partnerships and budgets. In these roles, she developed advisory boards, expanded patient outreach strategies, and strengthened collaboration between healthcare organizations, industry partners, and patient communities to improve access and representation in healthcare research and programming.
Courtney holds a Master of Public Health from Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine and a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Northeastern Illinois University. She is certified as a Health Literacy Specialist and is deeply committed to plain language communication and health education equity. Beyond her consulting work, she co-founded Cozy Girls Collective, a community focused on reading retreats and wellness experiences for women. Her professional philosophy centers on moving beyond listening to action—building systems that translate patient insight into lasting organizational and cultural change, including emerging work around responsible AI in patient advocacy.
• Meeting and Event Planning Certificate
• Health Literacy Specialist
• Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine- M.P.H.
• Northeastern Illinois University- B.S.W.
• Roosevelt University
• Professional Patient Advocates in Life Sciences (P-Pal)
• Professional Patient Advocates in Life Sciences
• You Are The Hero
• TINY N TALL RESCUE INC
• Team Jeffery for PF
• Metro Achievement Center
What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to determination, perseverance, staying uniquely myself, being a team player who does whatever it takes to get the job done, and consistently bringing positivity to those around me, while my special interests include my family, football, and listening to audiobooks.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I’ve ever received is to be an advocate for myself, remember that my opinion matters, keep pushing forward, never give up, and focus on making a meaningful difference each day.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice to young women entering my industry is to work hard, achieve your goals, and then dream even bigger, stay committed to continuous learning because that’s how you grow, and develop the ability to handle both the peaks and valleys while making thoughtful, grounded decisions along the way.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest opportunity in my field right now is that I have recently founded my own consulting company focused on supporting pharmacists, healthcare companies, and their patients by addressing a wide range of patient and medical needs through more personalized and effective solutions.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Being a good listener and problem solver, committing to continuing education, staying eager to learn new things, and embracing change are the values that are most important to me in both my work and personal life.