Brooke is the ultimate leader in every role she occupies. She joined our team as a stewardship officer in 2020, weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic sent us all to work from home. She created amazing internal relationships, in order to improve and streamline our stewardship activities with our donors during a time that we could not meet in person. She created templates and processes so that each individual fundraiser was empowered to properly steward our donor's gifts and to ensure a strong relationship to the university and faculty during the pandemic and beyond. Brooke's leadership skills were evident and used in a seconded role for a period of time before she was officially moved into the director of development role within our faculty. Leveraging her leadership experience acquired during her time at the Mater Foundation in Australia between 2014 and 2019, Brooke has seamlessly moved into a leadership role on our team for the last 18 months. She supports and truly helps grow her direct reports so they can be the best fundraisers for the faculty, while simultaneously managing her own portfolio of donors, supports her academic and clinical leaders, and provides guidance and mentorship to developing new priority areas in order for the faculty to focus on what they do best: research and training.
Healthcare philanthropy was a part of my life before it was a career. Whether organizing fundraisers as part of student council, or participating myself when my dad and sisters were diagnosed with cancer, it was a never question to be involved in something that could make such an impact. During university, I had the opportunity to work with a small diabetes foundation and loved the challenge of telling the story of research and giving folks an opportunity to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Conveying exciting innovations through storytelling was addicting to me. I loved finding people aligned with our vision and working with them to give back in such meaningful ways.
I remember as a young fundraiser sitting in a room with a well-respected oncologist. After asking him why he decided to be a clinician researcher—a world often inundated with failed grant applications or debunked hypotheses—his answer was simple. His "cool, older cousin" had been diagnosed with cancer when he was a boy, and he was motivated to have a career that could save people like her. I'm not a physician nor scientist but I love engaging with people and hearing their stories. If by doing that, I could support people like this clinician? It felt like a dream career for me.
In the first few years of my career, I had a chance to run a new 1000-person fundraising event and had just a few months to recruit participants; develop a comprehensive communication, fundraising and engagement journey; strike a committee; develop logistics plans; retain volunteers; and raise more than $500,000—just a small feat! It was like working in my own microcosm of a health foundation. I was able to take risks, be creative, and find my own voice as a fundraiser. Through this experience, I met some of the most phenomenal humans, had a chance to travel across Canada, and it even led me to a job opportunity in Australia. It is a bit bittersweet looking back—as many fundraisers can attest to, these large events often come with sacrifices of missing birthday parties and family dinners and never getting more than a few hours of sleep. It was a hard but needed lesson on priorities, balance, and sustainability (and something I am admittedly still working on 12 years later!).
People—they are at the heart of everything I do. Whether that's making my nieces and nephews giggle or smile, spending the weekend exploring new places with my partner, interacting with strangers while travelling or connecting with a donor on a first visit, people are my favourite thing in this world. Their stories, their hearts, their motivations—it's what makes things happen.
This career is rewarding and powerful but can also be exhausting and draining. I have met some of the most incredible people, whose funerals I would end up attending months or years later. We see the best in people experiencing the worst things in this life. That takes a toll. And it's a beautiful thing to feel the tragedy; it means we care. There is a reason the burnout rate in this sector is so high, yet fresh ideas and new talent is so needed. For someone just entering this field of healthcare philanthropy, I'd remind them that their job is important, but taking care of themselves, and their loved ones, is most important. Find healthy ways to cope with the stress and pressure this job can bring. Raising funds for that ground-breaking research project or life-saving clinical trial or once-in-a-lifetime student fellowship can put a lot of weight on one's shoulders, so find a team and support network that can help carry that load.
The highlight of my week from September to April is playing in a weekly 'Low Roller' 5-pin bowling league for Team P*Nsync. (We love a good pun!)