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Healing those touched by cancerInterviewed by Nathan Leaf
Chief executive officer of Gilda's Club of Madison, a support organization for people affected by cancer Personal: Born and raised on Madison's West Side. Spent time in southern California, New York City, Florida and Paris before moving back to Madison in 1996. Is single and lives in Downtown Madison. Education: Received bachelor of science in occupational therapy at UW-Madison in mid-1970s; masters of business administration majoring in marketing at UW-Madison in late 1970s. Professional history: Occupational therapist at Children's Hospital in San Diego, Calif.; worked on Wall Street for investment firm Drexel Burnham Lambert; held a management position at Ford Financial Services; general delegate of the non-profit trade association Les Grands Ateliers de France in Paris; also held positions with Citibank, Los Angeles, and Chamberlain Research Consultants in Madison before joining Gilda's Club in July of this year. Q. What is Gilda's Club? What's your mission? A. We're a support community. Emotional and social support for people touched by cancer. Men, women, children. Anyone who has any type of cancer. All our services are free. It's a customized program where people are given a chance to choose what suits them at the time. (It gives people) a chance to have networking and interactions with people that are in similar situations. You don't have to have cancer yourself to come here. We have that kind of open door. Q. Why does Madison need a Gilda's Club? A. Interestingly enough, most of the places where people go for cancer care have already made statements that they feel there's a need for Gilda's Club, because we're additional to medical support. We're that extra piece for social and emotional support. Some of the medical care providers, even though they want to cover that -- and they may have a periodic meeting or a group people can participate in -- it's not a focused effort, because they're too busy providing care. Q. So what can people get at Gilda's Club they can't get elsewhere? A. The time to meet other people like them. The opportunity to get information. To be in a warm and welcoming environment. To connect. They're called members. It's a club. Q. What do you like about working at Gilda's? A. One thing I really like is challenges and having an opportunity to make a difference. At Gilda's, to be the CEO here, you have a lot of different directions that you're pulled in. The variety of things that I've done have put me in a good position to handle a lot of the opportunities that have come up for Gilda's Club. Q. What led you to move back to Madison after living abroad? A. I like Madison a lot. I really like the quality of life and the ease of living here. I love the seasons. This is my favorite time of year right now. So I missed that when I lived in California and I lived in Florida too. The winters seem long but I really love this time of year and all the changes that seasons bring. Q. Why did you get into occupational therapy? A. That was a blend of different things. My father was a doctor. He was a surgeon in town and so I'm sure I was influenced by the medical aspect of his life. I chose not to be a doctor. But you can work in so many fields when you're in occupational therapy. And part of it is ... daily living skills and incorporating that in how people live their lives. Helping them live their lives successfully whatever their injury or handicap might be. I would say I'm still a rather creative person, so that was a way for me to do something that I thought was science and medicine and art and creativity. Q. What led you to move from business to philanthropy? A. In some of my financial background, my business background, I worked in planned giving. That made me recognize that part of what I was seeking for the fulfillment of my career was to be able to have a mission that related to giving back to the community. Q. What is your typical day like at Gilda's? A. There's a lot to do. We're a start- up so one of our big tasks is getting the word out about Gilda's Club and what we do and our mission. And letting people know that soon, once we've raised enough money, we'll be able to offer our programs. So, everything is geared around (opening our house). Which is important to our business model. It's a non-medical setting where people can come and participate in these support groups, get information, have lectures and have social activities. I spend a lot of time getting our information in place so that we can operate as a business. Q. What are the organization's goals? A. To have our building open by next fall. ... And hiring at least another person to be our program director. Q. What are the challenges you face? A. It's very challenging because we have limited resources. I don't have an infrastructure yet. We're a small organization. If I worked, even at one of the bigger charities in town, some of them have their own print shop. Their own IT department. We're so new that we're still looking for donated computer screens. Really there is a lot going on with branding and co-branding. I'd very much like Gilda's logo to start to be something that is equally as recognizable and seen in the marketplace as some of the others, for instance pink items (for breast cancer research). Q. Why is that branding so important? A. It's a way to have more visibility. To give businesses an opportunity to do cause marketing, to show their public awareness. And also Gilda's Club (of Madison) is a local organization, so that's another one of our strengths. People that are interested in having the money that they contribute stay in the community; it stays here. It's for Gilda's Club in Madison. Q. What do you like about doing business in Madison? A. Well, Madison is a very philanthropy-minded town. There are a lot of people that are very generous and a lot of businesses that are very generous. So I'm really grateful for the acceptance of Gilda's club. Local Gilda's Club chapter will get a new center Gilda's Club is on track to have a permanent home in the Madison area. The local chapter of the national group that works to offer assistance to and raise the spirits of those with cancer and their families received a pledge in early October of land and $500,000 to build a service center called Gilda's Clubhouse. The center will be on land in the Discovery Springs commercial development in Middleton. The land was donated by John P. Livesey and John K. Livesey, father and son partners in the development firm the Livesey Co. Bill and Jan DeAtley of Mount Horeb donated $500,000 to further the club's goal to provide free services and moral support to area families touched by the disease. Gilda's Club of Madison CEO Sara Sinaiko said the donations push the group's fundraising efforts past the $1 million mark. Hoping to raise a total of $3.5 million, Sinaiko said she expects donations to increase dramatically now that a site has been selected. She said Gilda's Clubhouse could open as soon as next year. Gilda's Clubs are named for the actress and comedian Gilda Radner, who died of ovarian cancer in 1989. madison.com ©2009 Capital Newspapers. All rights reserved. |
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