How Aflac’s Buffy Swinehart Built a Purpose-Driven Career That Raised $191 Million for Childhood Cancer Support

What does it take to build a meaningful career in corporate social responsibility? Especially when you have no traditional experience? For Buffy Swinehart, senior manager of corporate social responsibility at Aflac, the answer wasn’t found in a résumé or a business school classroom. It was discovered through years of volunteering, a personal connection to cancer survivorship, and one pivotal conversation at her local YMCA.

Buffy’s story is far from the usual corporate climb. With no fundraising background or CSR credentials, she was an unlikely candidate when Aflac Foundation founder Kathelen Amos approached her with an opportunity. But as the wife of a cancer survivor and a lifelong volunteer, Buffy recognized that her life experience was her greatest asset. By leaning into mentorship, listening deeply, and staying true to her commitment, she became a driving force behind initiatives that have transformed how corporations can make a tangible difference in the lives of children facing serious illness.

We had the honor of speaking with Buffy, and she shared with us how she transformed her passion for supporting families impacted by childhood cancer into a thriving career that has raised over $191 million and brought comfort to countless children through innovative programs, such as My Special Aflac Duck. She discusses the power of starting with volunteer work, the importance of aligning your personal values with your career path, and why advocating for a culture of giving benefits both employees and communities.

Check out our full interview with Buffy below.

Buffy Swinehart, Senior Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility at Aflac

You transitioned into CSR at Aflac without prior experience in traditional fundraising. What was that pivotal moment at the Y with Kathelen Amos like, and how did you know this was the right opportunity despite the unconventional path?

Buffy Swinehart: I met Kathelen Amos through volunteering with Young Life, a Christian youth organization. At the time, I worked in marketing, and my husband and I had recently had our first child.

Kathelen invited me to lunch, and I thought she just wanted to get to know me better – I didn’t realize it was a business meeting! To my surprise, Kathelen offered me a job with Aflac, to serve as liaison with the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Kathelen knew that I had been personally affected by cancer – my husband is a cancer survivor who was diagnosed in his 20s – and that I had a passion for volunteering, so she thought I could help make a difference.

I knew immediately that I was interested in the job, even though some of the people I’m closest with – including my own mother – weren’t sure it was the right decision. My mom was worried it would be too difficult for me to be around children who were going through treatment for these illnesses.  Although this role can be challenging and there are some very tough days, I am so grateful Kathelen invited me to lunch and that I took a leap. I never imagined being so fulfilled by my career and working on projects with such a meaningful impact.

How did you overcome imposter syndrome or self-doubt when stepping into a CSR role without the “typical” background? What advice would you give to women considering career pivots?

Buffy Swinehart: I quickly realized that, although I didn’t have a traditional CSR background, many of the skills I had learned from previous experiences were transferable. Working in marketing helped me communicate with different stakeholders, from the Aflac employees who volunteer and donate to the healthcare professionals, parents, and children we support.

In college, I studied elementary education, which helped me understand and empathize with the physical, emotional, and mental effects of a childhood cancer or blood disorder diagnosis. I also had experience in leadership development and training, which gave me the confidence to manage and lead others.

The advice I would give to anyone who is considering a career pivot, and especially those wanting to get involved in CSR, is to volunteer! Get involved in your community, meet others in your desired field and network. Through volunteering, you can gain CSR experience even if it’s not part of your current job. As someone who now makes hiring decisions, I am a firm believer that skills can be taught, but passion can’t be. I’ll always prioritize candidates who have great community service experience, even if they don’t have exactly the right kind of work experience.

What specific strategies did you use to quickly build credibility and expertise in a field where you were starting from scratch?

Buffy Swinehart: I learned quickly that I don’t personally need to have all the answers. CSR is, by design, a collective effort, and my role requires me to lean on others who have different experiences and areas of expertise. I never felt like I had to do it all on my own. My job is to bring together different people – Aflac employees, healthcare workers, families impacted by childhood cancer and blood disorders, and the general public – and rally them around a shared cause.

From the beginning of my career at Aflac, I was fortunate to be surrounded by people with more experience who I could learn from. Over time, I’ve been able to forge strong and long-lasting relationships with like-minded people and organizations that have been incredible partners.

I also learned that it’s okay to ask for help. The team I work with day-to-day is small, but when I reach out to other Aflac colleagues to ask for their support on specific initiatives, people are more than willing to get involved.

As someone whose personal experience with cancer (through your husband) directly connects to your professional mission, how do you maintain healthy boundaries between work and personal emotional investment?

Buffy Swinehart: I try to never take for granted how lucky I am to have been able to build a career around a cause I care about so deeply. Even so, I do recognize the importance of having boundaries and making time for other things that bring me personal fulfillment.

For me, that means engaging in other volunteer work that is unrelated to my work with Aflac. I’m still involved in Young Life and serve on the board of my local chapter. I also volunteer and provide support to teenage moms. Not only do these causes allow me to unplug from my day-to-day work, but they also help me appreciate those who volunteer their time to help the parents and children we support at Aflac.

Many of our members struggle to find deeper meaning in their work. How has aligning your passion with your profession changed your relationship with your career?

Buffy Swinehart: I joined Aflac during an inflection point in my career since, as I mentioned, I had recently had my first child. I wasn’t sure I wanted to return to the workforce full-time, and I certainly didn’t envision myself staying with the same organization for the next 23+ years!

My passion for the cause, the incredible people I’ve been able to work with, and the impact we’ve made together have kept me going, month after month and year after year.

What does work-life balance look like when your job is also your calling? How do you prevent burnout when the cause is so personally meaningful?

Buffy Swinehart: I take my dog for a walk every single night, without fail. It may sound silly, but this helps take my mind off work, unwind, and get a bit of exercise. My faith is also important to me, so I find great comfort in my church community and in prayer. Making time every day for these two activities goes a long way toward preventing burnout.

You’ve mentioned learning from mentors – who were the key people who helped shape your CSR leadership style, and what specific guidance did they provide?

Buffy Swinehart: I’ve been fortunate to have several mentors throughout my time at Aflac, but Kathelen Amos has had the single greatest impact on my career. Kathelen taught me the importance of demonstrating poise under pressure.

At times, this work can be difficult, frustrating, and even heartbreaking. Through Kathelen, I’ve learned how to maintain my composure in tough situations. Even though there can be setbacks, remaining calm helps everyone stay the course and focus on what really matters: supporting children with cancer and blood disorders and those who provide care to them.

What leadership lessons have you learned from working with families facing childhood cancer that apply to corporate leadership in general?

Buffy Swinehart: I’ve learned that for an organization to have a positive impact, truly, it has to start at the top. Aflac’s CEO, Dan Amos, who has been in the role for more than 35 years, is a huge advocate for the work we do. While scores of other Aflac employees are just as passionate about the cause, Dan sets the tone. By talking about our efforts and successes, Dan makes it clear that the work we do matters. When you see your CEO on bended knee in a suit and tie, playing with a child at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, you can’t help but feel that you are where you should be. That helps a lot during the trying times.

I’ve also learned that when it comes to rallying people around a specific cause, it’s important to play to their strengths. More than half of the $191 million Aflac has raised for childhood cancer and blood disorders advocacy has come from Aflac’s sales agents, who are competitive by nature. We’ve been able to tap into this sense of healthy competition through initiatives like “Miles for Miracles,” a fitness challenge we hold every September during Childhood Cancer and Sickle Cell Awareness Month.

Taking Aflac’s childhood cancer initiatives from zero to $191 million raised is extraordinary – what were the key strategic decisions that drove this massive impact?

Buffy Swinehart: It really comes down to connecting with people. Aflac regularly gives us the opportunity to speak directly to our agents and employees. Because Aflac is a publicly traded company, outside audiences – like our policyholders, members of the media, and the general public – also take an interest in our commitment to this cause.

It’s important to share the impact we’ve made so far and the work that still needs to be done, because the more people support this cause, the closer we’ll get to eradicating childhood cancer and blood disorders.

I also believe in recognizing and rewarding the volunteers who have gone above and beyond to support us. For example, we make donations to charities chosen by our top volunteers every year. Since COVID, it’s been harder to recruit volunteers – people fell out of practice during the pandemic and haven’t fully gotten back into it yet – so we do what we can to incentivize our volunteers and let them know how much we appreciate them.

Can you walk us through the development of My Special Aflac Duck®? How do you balance innovation with the emotional weight of the cause you’re serving?

Buffy Swinehart: Out of everything I’ve done over the past 23+ years at Aflac, I am most proud of My Special Aflac Duck®, which we developed in partnership with a company called Empath Labs. My Special Aflac Duck is a robotic companion for children in treatment for pediatric cancer and sickle cell disease. It provides comfort and support, helps children express their emotions and normalizes the medical procedures they may be receiving.

Since we first introduced My Special Aflac Duck in 2018, we’ve distributed more than 40,000 of them, free of charge, to children through our partnerships with hospitals across the U.S., Japan and Northern Ireland, as well as direct-to-family.

Over the past six years, I’ve witnessed firsthand the positive impact My Special Aflac Duck has had on these children, their families and their healthcare providers – and now we also have data to back this up. Last year, we received the initial findings from a three-year clinical study conducted at hospitals across the U.S. The study found that when My Special Aflac Duck is used as part of their cancer treatment, it can help reduce anxiety and distress, not only for children but also for their parents.

This was what we had set out to accomplish when we created My Special Aflac Duck, so being able to quantify the positive impact we’re making through this study was incredibly gratifying.

You advocate for a culture of volunteerism – with Aflac’s research showing 70% of employees won’t work for companies without strong purpose, how do busy professional women find time to volunteer while advancing their careers?

Buffy Swinehart: Yes, findings from our Aflac WorkForces Report – an annual survey of employees and employers that Aflac has been conducting for the past 15 years – show that CSR is a huge driver of recruitment, retention, and engagement among employees. In fact, our 2024 survey found that 91% of employees who participate in their organizations’ CSR programs say it has a positive or very positive impact on their well-being.

For those who want to get involved in volunteerism, my advice is to start small. Consistency is key: committing to something that is realistic and sticking with it is much better than taking on too much and getting overwhelmed. If everyone dedicated just one hour each month to a cause they care about, think about the impact we could create together! This can take many different forms: from reading to children at a local hospital or helping clean up a park in your neighborhood to setting up a monthly recurring donation to the nonprofit organization of your choice.

At Aflac, we also provide opportunities for virtual volunteerism, because we know how busy people are. No matter what cause you care about, there is a way to get involved and make a positive difference that works for you, your schedule, and your other obligations.

What advice would you give to women in leadership positions who want to champion CSR initiatives within their organizations, especially if they’re in industries not traditionally associated with social causes?

Buffy Swinehart: Don’t feel like you need to have “CSR” in your job description to get involved. CSR fits into a million different places within a company – human resources, marketing and communications, just to name a few – and the companies that achieve the greatest impact often bring together employees with a variety of different skills and experiences. If your company already has a CSR program, start by asking your colleagues who lead it how you can get involved.

If your company doesn’t have a CSR program, my recommendation would be, as I mentioned above, to start small. For example, you could participate in a 5K to raise money for a charitable cause you support and invite your colleagues to join you. You can also think about your company’s mission and values and what kinds of causes you are best equipped to support. In our case, Aflac’s mission is to give families peace of mind with supplemental health insurance, and our first product was cancer insurance, so our focus on childhood cancer and sickle cell is a natural extension of that. Of course, please make sure to get permission from your company’s leadership team before you create any kind of CSR initiative within your organization.

September was National Childhood Cancer and Sickle Cell Awareness month – what’s your vision for the future of corporate responsibility in healthcare, and how can ambitious women use their professional platforms to drive meaningful change in causes they care about?

Buffy Swinehart: I always try to remind myself how far we’ve come. The survival rate for childhood cancer is much higher than it was just 20 years ago, and that is worth celebrating. But children are still being diagnosed with cancer and blood disorders every day, and as long as that is the case, there is still more work to be done.

My vision is for healthcare professionals, hospital administrators, research universities, parents, passionate individuals, and companies like Aflac to continue to find ways to work together, pool our resources, and create an even greater impact. We can accomplish so much more as a collective team focused on our shared purpose than we can on our own.

Similarly, for those trying to enact meaningful change, remember that you don’t need to do it on your own. Volunteer with an organization that already exists, find people who share your passion for your cause, and build your network. Start small – you can always take on more responsibilities over time. And don’t forget to unplug, because finding time to rest and recharge will help you stay committed over the long term.

Lastly, is there a specific mantra, quote, or affirmation that you hold close to your heart?

Buffy Swinehart: I’m going to steal one from Dr. Doug Graham, Chief of the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center: “Every child deserves a lifetime.”