A message from Alana Newhouse, President of FAST:
I am thrilled to announce that Michele Golombuski is joining FAST as chief development officer, starting August 1. Most recently, Michele served as the chief development officer of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, the largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson's research in the world.
Michele was with MJFF for over a decade. She started out as an associate director of advancement, during which she established and grew a portfolio of donors across midwestern US and Canada; worked with leadership across the organization, including research programs to understand the scientific priorities in need of financial resources to have the greatest impact on the Parkinson’s community; and helped to coordinate with the research program staff and Scientific Advisory Board to understand the scientific priorities in the Parkinson’s community; and helped coordinate revenue forecasting and tracking.
She would eventually become head of the development unit—which grew to nearly 80 people across five departments—and achieved year-over-year revenue growth from $78M to $144M in philanthropic contributions revenue. She led the formulation and management of complex fundraising budgets and forecasting revenue projections, while implementing data-driven approaches to donor segmentation, leading to enhanced donor engagement and retention.
Before joining the Fox Foundation, Michele spent over a decade at the National Foundation for Facial Reconstruction, an organization that raised money to transform the lives of children and adults with facial differences being treated at The Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center.
To date, FAST has funded over $50 million in research related to Angelman syndrome, with much more needed. But why? We already have multiple therapeutics in clinical trials. Aren’t we nearly at the finish line?
Not remotely.
The only way one can cure a genetic disorder like Angelman syndrome, and do so for all ages and genotypes, is with a range of possible treatment options. Each one is expensive, and we are going to need a number of them.
Moreover, we can’t rely on others to prioritize AS. FAST works to take the rights to licenses, or options to licenses, to promising technologies. Some will be successful, some will not—but go and no-go decisions must be based on safety and efficacy, and nothing else. If a program is promising, money can’t be what stops it.
When I came to understand the fullness of this challenge, and the role that a development leader would need to play in the coming years in order for FAST to succeed, I began to dream big about the kind of professional who could take this on.
Michele Golombuski is that person. I feel lucky to have her on our side as we fight for our loved ones living with AS, and can’t wait for you all to meet her.
Please join me in welcoming Michele to FAST.