Welcome to this episode of Alopecia Life. I'm super excited to have our guest, Caleb Runyon, with us today. We talk about a variety of topics throughout our episode, and as you listen, I believe you'll fall in love with his energy and passion for the people he serves. Caleb is a board-certified dermatology nurse practitioner, speaker, and founder of the Closer Look Project, an initiative focused on advancing early skin cancer detection through community education and interdisciplinary collaboration. With a passion for preventive dermatology and public health outreach, Caleb works to bridge the gap between healthcare providers, beauty professionals, and underserved communities to improve recognition of suspicious skin lesions and increase awareness surrounding melanoma and other skin cancers.

You may be wondering how relevant today's topic is for you as someone living with alopecia or have a loved one with it? When we talk about the skin, our exposure to the sun is sometimes a secondary thought. I know it is for me. We chat a little bit about that today, but the bigger discussion happens around healthcare accessibility, and working together with hair dressers and other professionals and clinicians to make the experience one that allows for better overall care, including those of us with alopecia areata. It's a big topic that I'm excited to be part of and to share with all of you. 

As the founder of the Closer Look Project, Caleb has led educational programs and outreach efforts in partnership with salons, healthcare professionals, and advocacy organizations to promote skin health awareness and early detection initiatives. His work has gained recognition for its innovative approach to community-based dermatologic education and patient advocacy.

Caleb has served as a speaker and collaborator with organizations including Fuck Cancer, Less Cancer, Society of Dermatology Nurse Practitioners, and the Dermatology Nurses’ Association, where he has presented on topics related to skin cancer prevention, dermatologic education, and expanding access to dermatologic care. He has also collaborated with various healthcare, nonprofit, and community organizations to advance educational initiatives and foster interdisciplinary partnerships in dermatology and public health.

Thank you so much for sharing your time with Caleb and me today. I look forward to the day when we are all working together to make this a successful model of person-centered healthcare. When you want to connect with Caleb and find out more about the Closer Look Project, you'll find all those links here in the show notes. When he encouraged questions at the end of the podcast, he really wants to hear from you. Feel free to leave those in the comments on social media, and/or to reach out to him at [email protected] 

Facebook: TheCloserLook
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/closerlookproject/
Website: https://www.closerlookproject.com/

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Alopecia Life provides free resources for school and home education, including a growing list of alopecia books, education videos on YouTube, links to support groups within the US, UK, Canada and more. You will also find access to Head-On, Stories of Alopecia, the Alopecia 101 free course, paid Alopecia Roadmap course for parents of children living with alopecia, and personalized coaching. Together, we can make a difference. To find out more, https://www.alopecialife.com/