Dr. Monica Peek, an internal medicine physician at the University of Chicago, founded Sisters Working It Out, NFP in 2001 as a call to action to address the alarming breast cancer disparity rates across the city of Chicago. Throughout its 17-year history, SWIO has worked tirelessly to address the many barriers contributing to high breast cancer mortality rates for African-American women, such as lack of health information, mistrust of providers and health systems, and limited access to breast cancer screening (e.g., mammograms, clinical breast exams) and primary care.