2025 40 Under 40 Winners

Alicia has contributed to more than $16 million in philanthropic revenue at Dayton Children’s Hospital, directly benefiting children and families in the community. And in 2024 alone, she secured $5.3 million in grant funding for critical hospital programs, including mental health initiatives, pediatric intensive care equipment, cancer research, and the hospital’s food pantry. 

Alicia has led and inspired small teams, raising over $7 million for Dayton Children’s during her time overseeing the Children’s Miracle Network programs. 

She is an active volunteer at her children’s schools, chairing and planning major fundraising events that provide vital scholarship support and keep tuition affordable for families. Alicia was accepted into the YWCA Dayton’s Sojourn Leadership Academy in 2024, recognizing her as a rising leader committed to community service and empowerment. 

As a 21-year-old student at Miami University, I realized during a conversation with my academic advisor, who also was one of my professors, that I wanted to help sick children. That conversation led me to pursue dual degrees in public health and journalism. After spending most of my first decade after graduation building philanthropy experience across different sectors, the birth of my first child clarified my purpose: I wanted to dedicate my work to improving the lives of all children. That calling ultimately brought me to healthcare philanthropy.

I’ve always been drawn to health and wellness. As a young child, health class was my favorite subject -  for a time I even considered becoming a dentist! But I discovered in college, through my extracurriculars, that my true strength and passion was in community involvement, leadership, and fundraising. Healthcare philanthropy was the perfect intersection of my interests: it allows me to stay connected to a field I care about deeply while utilizing my skills to truly makes a difference.

Each pivotal moment in my career was marked by someone taking a chance on me. I’ll always be grateful to the boss who gave me my very first job, the next one who trusted me with my first fundraising role despite having no experience, and the leader who brought me to Dayton Children’s Hospital. Each of those opportunities changed the course of my life and I work every day to honor the trust they placed in me.

It’s hard to pick just one passion, but at the heart of everything I care about is connection. Whether I’m volunteering at my childrens' school to create a community where they thrive, inviting neighbors and friends over for popsicles on the front porch, dropping off a meal to an overwhelmed friend, or simply making someone feel seen and included-it matters deeply to me. I love raising my kids and building a life with my husband, and while I consider myself fairly normal, I know that creating genuine connection and community doesn’t happen by accident. It takes intention, and it’s something I find joy in every day.

Learn from everyone and then help everyone you can.  You never know when a skill, story, or small lesson will come back around to guide your own career or support someone else. Be curious, ask questions, and stay open. Every experience, no matter how small, is building your toolkit. And when you're in a position to share what you’ve learned, do it generously. The relationships you build and the kindness you show will carry you further than you think.