PANEL 1 • 9:15-10:15am
Karyn is the VP of Major, Principal, and Planned Giving at March of Dimes and has been with the nonprofit since 2000. She has raised over $200M and secured some of the largest gifts from individuals in the history of the organization. Karyn led the March of Dimes California Chapter for several years, which was a top chapter in mission, advocacy, fundraising, communications, and operations. She then moved into the Major Gifts department and was asked to serve as the VP.
Debra Miller is Chief Executive Officer and Founder of CureDuchenne, a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding and funding a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a degenerative neuromuscular disease. She founded CureDuchenne in 2003 after her only son, Hawken, was diagnosed with Duchenne and very little was known about the disease. Today, CureDuchenne is recognized as a global leader in research, patient care, and innovation for improving and extending the lives of those with Duchenne. CureDuchenne’s innovative venture philanthropy model has advanced transformative treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, including 18 projects that advanced to human clinical trials and multiple projects to overcome the limitations of exon-skipping and gene therapy.
Eunice is the Director, Impact for BrightEdge, the impact investment and venture capital arm of the American Cancer Society. Eunice is committed to sustainable values and focused on furthering the American Cancer Society’s mission through impact investing, venture capital, and innovative funding and financing structures. Prior to joining BrightEdge, Eunice served as the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel for an ESG data start-up. She has multi-faceted expertise in domestic and global funds, investment products and ESG from her prior roles at prominent financial institutions, including Natixis Investment Managers, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch and State Street.
Lydia McClure works to create venture fundable opportunities from university research labs as CEO of Research Bridge Partners (RBP). Lydia is also the Head Coach at the National Science Foundation’s Convergence Accelerator, mentoring interdisciplinary teams to build deep technology addressing urgent societal needs. Lydia formerly led the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (NSF I-Corps) and was an expert consultant for the NSF’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. She earned a B.A. with a concentration in Biochemistry from Carleton College in Northfield, MN and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the University of Texas at Austin.
