Hunting Cancer with Former US Navy SEAL and Strategist Dr. Rob Newson

Dr. Rob Newson, Ph.D., focuses on community and partnerships across fundraising, referrals, research, and operations. Previously he was a partner at BVVC and VP of Strategy and Vision at the Philadelphia 76ers. He served 30 years in the United States Navy, rising to the rank of Captain. He is a “start-up” specialist, having led or been a part of six separate new military organizations over twelve years, including a first-of-its-kind organization designed to collect and integrate battlefield intelligence (Special Reconnaissance Team) to identify and disable terrorist networks. He also served as the Deputy Director and Acting Director of the White House Military Office, responsible for all military support to the President of the United States. In the Navy, he served fourteen years as a strategist – working with small, multi-disciplinary work groups, teaming across organizations and government agencies, analyzing and framing complex challenges, combining alternative solutions in creative ways, and writing about critical national security issues. Rob served as the Senior Executive Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City. He holds a BS in computer science from the University of Kansas. He is a graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS). Graduating with Distinction from NPS, he holds an MS in Defense Analysis (Special Operations / low-intensity conflict) and an MA in National Security Affairs (Strategic Studies). He also holds a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from the University of San Diego. Rob is a cancer survivor and catalyst for #SwarmCancer in the military, focusing on building an “assembly line” of support to the Special Operations Community, which is hard hit by cancer.

This podcast is hosted by Jessica Buchanan, a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, survivor and founder. Her latest book, How to Survive Survival: A Guide for Turning Life’s Hardest Moments Into Meaningful Contribution for the Worldwasreleased in 2025.  Jessica is also the author of Impossible Odds: The Kidnapping of Jessica Buchanan and Her Dramatic Rescue by SEAL Team Six, published in 2014, which became a New York Times Bestseller. 

Jessica is the founder of Soul Speak Press, a boutique non-traditional publishing company focused on stories from women who have been through something, now they know something and can teach us something.

When she’s not writing or speaking, Jessica is traveling the world with her Swedish husband and two “half Vikings.” She aims to lead a life shaped by curiosity, culture, and a deep appreciation for the resilience of the human spirit.