Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Buckley.
Christine, please share your story with us.
After 15 years of working in healthcare finance as an auditor, reimbursement specialist, and consultant, I became the Executive Director of the Brain Aneurysm Foundation in 2006. Before my official position as the first full time employee at the foundation, I had been a volunteer with the foundation for 9 years prior, as well as a past Board President. I established the foundation’s first major fundraiser, a 5K and 1.5 mile walk, 16 years ago that continues to raise approximately $100,000 each year. My most prized accomplishment at the foundation has been the establishment of the research grant program which has awarded close to $2,000,000 in 11 years. I am a 1990 graduate of the Isenberg School of Management from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, MA. My transition into the non-profit sector with the Brain Aneurysm Foundation some years ago has been very rewarding and has truly become a passion. I currently reside in Marshfield, MA and has two children Benjamin – 21, and Bridget – 18.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It is not often in life that one has a smooth ride. The road for the BAF in raising awareness and raising funds for research and other programs has been continual and steady, but there is a need for greater awareness and getting the facts to people in the general public and the medical community in order to save lives. With 1 in 50 people in the US walking around with a brain aneurysm, 30,000 people a year rupturing and half of those people dying there is much to be done!
Brain Aneurysm Foundation – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The Brain Aneurysm Foundation is the globally recognized leader in brain aneurysm awareness, education, support, advocacy, and research funding.
The foundation’s mission is to provide information about and raise awareness of the symptoms and risk factors of brain aneurysms to prevent ruptures and subsequent death and disability; work with medical communities to provide support networks for patients and families; and advance research to improve patients’ outcomes and save lives.
Established in 1994, the foundation is led by Executive Director Christine Buckley and has a Medical Advisory Board that comprises more than 30 of the nation’s foremost aneurysm experts — neurologists, neurosurgeons, interventional neuroradiologists, and other brain aneurysm specialists — from the country’s leading hospitals and universities.
Organizationally, we are most proud of our Medical Advisory Board who reviews and authorizes all statistic and medical information the foundation shares, as well as the fact that the Brain Aneurysm Foundation is the largest private funder of brain aneurysm research.
What sets us apart from others is our commitment and dedication to ALL impacted by brain aneurysms past, present, and future. We have a diverse and top notch Medical Advisory Board. The BAF is fiscally transparent and takes seriously our fiduciary responsibility as a 501 c 3. Recently we have made great strides on Capitol Hill with the introduction and support of Ellie’s Law – H. R. 1648 – seeking $25 million in brain aneurysm specific research funding through NINDS.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I would have to say the night each year that is most rewarding is our research grant symposium. I started this event 11 years ago awarding only 2 grants for a total of $20,000. This September 28, 2017 the foundation will be awarding $445,000 to 14 recipients. The evening brings together patients, families, nurses, doctors, researches, industry, donors and friends. The award recipient often gets to meet the people who are funding their research and really makes the work they are doing much more personal and inspirational. There are a lot of pieces that we touch throughout the year that come together this one night to make this evening very special for all involved.
Contact Info:
- Address: Brain Aneurysm Foundation
269 Hanover Street, Bldg 3
Hanover, MA 02339 - Website: www.bafound.org
- Phone: 781 826 5556
- Email: office@bafound.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bafound/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bafound/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/BAFOUND
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/user/brainaneurysmfound
Image Credit:
Brain Aneurysm Foundation
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