Thank you so much for visiting my fundraising page and supporting me in my journey to run the 2025 Boston Marathon! For those of you that don’t know, I moved to Boston to pursue my career in environmental consulting following my graduation from Swarthmore in 2022. Since moving, I have fallen in love with this city and all that it has to offer. It has been a dream of mine to run a marathon one day since I was very little, so when my collegiate lacrosse career came to a close, I knew this would be my next mental and physical challenge. And what better place than Boston to achieve that goal. I am so excited to train and run the race in the city I now call home, alongside so many other runners running for a cause.

I am thrilled to be joining the Stepping Strong Charity Team and raising money for a center doing such impactful work on improving the lives of those impacted by trauma. Trauma can come in all shapes and sizes and has varying degrees of impact. It is important to me to support and run for a cause that is so committed to providing a hopeful outcome for individuals and their loved ones who have suffered from the unimaginable. It particularly resonates with me that Stepping Strong’s approach to trauma care is multifaceted and prioritizes four distinctly relevant categories of intervention: research, education, community, and advocacy. Not only do they excel in treatment and recovery, but they also target prevention. This holistic approach to trauma innovation is what victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault, and other forms of trauma depend on to recover and regain their livelihoods. Dr. Bharti Khurana received a Stepping Strong Innovator Award to develop a tool to detect intimate partner violence (IPV). If IPV is detected, Dr. Khurana’s team provides resources and safety planning, reducing the burden and empowering those impacted by IPV. Work like this makes me hopeful that more and more individuals who have suffered from physical, sexual or psychological harm will get the treatment and support they need.

If you wish to read more about Brigham and Women's Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Center for Trauma Innovation, please continue to read below. Thank you again for your consideration and generosity in helping me to accomplish this life goal!

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In 2013, Boston was changed forever when a beautiful Marathon Monday turned into a senseless tragedy. Gillian Reny, then a high school senior, was one of 39 critically injured patients rushed to Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where doctors and nurses saved her life and legs. With gratitude to the Brigham, the Reny family established The Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Center for Trauma Innovation to help other trauma patients regain their strength and ability to step strong once again.The Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Center for Trauma Innovation aims to catalyze trauma innovation for injured civilians and military heroes through multidisciplinary investigative collaborations across the continuum of trauma care, from prevention to treatment and recovery. Stepping Strong-funded initiatives are making a profound impact on trauma survivors and their families worldwide. The center has raised more than $30 million to fuel trauma research, advance education, build community, and inspire advocacy. But much more needs to be done.Trauma is a neglected global epidemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control:

The Stepping Strong Center remains committed to serving as a leader in trauma research and innovation to bridge this gap and advance the field of trauma care. When you support a member of the Brigham's Stepping Strong Boston Marathon Team, you are helping the center turn tragedy into hope for civilians and military heroes worldwide who have suffered devastating traumatic injuries.

Thank you for supporting this extraordinary group of runners and continuing to honor the Boston Strong spirit that still defines our city today. Learn more about the Stepping Strong Center for Trauma Innovation at the Brigham: www.bwhsteppingstrong.org Qualified runners are encouraged to join our team as well.  

Brigham and Women's Hospital is a proud partner of the Bank of America Boston Marathon Official Charity Program.