The CEO Roundtable on Cancer has awarded its Robert A. Ingram Spirit of Health Award to Gail Stephens, vice president of Health and Life Sciences at SAS, for her commitment to the fight against cancer.

The award was presented at the Roundtable’s Partnership Summit on Feb. 29 at the SAS campus in Cary, North Carolina.

Gail Stephens (left) and MaryLisabeth Rich (right).

The Spirit of Health award has been presented since 2021 to focus attention on the health of those disproportionately affected by cancer and the difference that one person or company can make through their leadership, vision, passion, and drive to connect people and institutions to eliminate disparities in cancer care.

In 2024 it was renamed the Robert A. Ingram Spirit of Health Award to honor the Roundtable’s founding chairman, who died in 2023.

Stephens has worked at SAS for more than 30 years and currently leads the organization’s research and development, product management/strategy, industry consulting and philanthropic efforts.

As a founding member of the Roundtable, SAS has supported the organization’s mission since its inception. It is also a member of the Roundtable’s Life Sciences Consortium, Project Data Sphere’s executive leadership team, and has been a CEO Gold Standard employer since 2007.

SAS was among the first companies in the nation to achieve CEO Cancer Gold Standard™ accreditation, highlighting the company’s commitment to taking concrete actions to reduce the cancer risk of employees and their families through screenings, early detection, and healthy changes in lifestyle.

“This award recognizes individuals and companies who have worked in extraordinary and tireless ways to elevate communities of health, accelerate health equity, bridge the gap of the cancer burden, expand cancer prevention and health education, ensure access to care, and in doing so have changed the course of lives,” said MaryLisabeth Rich, president of the Roundtable. “We are honored this year to present it to Gail Stephens and SAS.”

“Thank you on behalf of SAS,” Stephens said when accepting the award. “We are going to continue to do whatever we can, in whatever capacity we can, to help the fight against cancer.”