The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation announced that Kate O’Donnell and Amy Barry, long-standing volunteer leaders and supporters of the Foundation, will serve as co-chairs of the Milestones III: Driven by a Dream Campaign. This is the third in a series of major gift campaigns chaired by the late Joe O’Donnell, a father of a son with cystic fibrosis, a beloved philanthropic leader and passionate champion for all people living with cystic fibrosis.
“Kate and Amy have dedicated much of their lives to the CF community and are absolutely committed to continuing Joe O’Donnell’s high-impact legacy,” said Michael Boyle, MD, president and CEO of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. “They understand the urgency of our efforts to support all people with CF, particularly for those who do not yet have a transformative treatment. And I am confident, as I know Joe would be, that together with our entire community by their side, they will carry the Milestones III torch with determination to the finish line.”
Led by Joe O’Donnell and bolstered by the monumental efforts of volunteers and the generosity of donors, the Milestones I and II campaigns raised $257 million to narrow the gap between promising scientific opportunities and the funds required to pursue them. Milestones’ funds helped accelerate the development of critical therapies, including Trikafta ®. Firm in his belief that “giving up is not an option” until there is a cure for every individual with CF, Joe persisted in driving Milestones III forward. To date, the current campaign has raised nearly $155 million towards its $200 million goal.
Supporting Kate and Amy as Milestones III campaign ambassadors are Amy and John Weinberg and Kate and Bob Niehaus.
“Together with KC White, chair of the CF Foundation Board of Trustees, the Milestones III steering committee, and our dedicated community, we are fully committed to raising the financial resources needed to fuel progress and advance our mission,” said Irena Barisic, chief operating and financial officer of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. “Fundraising efforts such as this will help us aggressively pursue our goal of ensuring every single person with CF has the chance to live a long, healthy life.”
Kate O’Donnell joined the Foundation's national board of trustees in 2023. She has volunteered with the Foundation for more than 20 years, notably co-chairing the 2023 Volunteer Leadership Conference and chairing the Massachusetts/Rhode Island Chapter’s Tomorrow’s Leaders since 2018. For the past decade, she has served as president of the Joey Fund, an organization founded by her parents Joe and Kathy O’Donnell in honor of Kate’s late brother Joey, who died from CF at the age of 12. The Joey Fund has raised hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of the CF Foundation.
Amy Barry has previously served on the steering committee of all three Milestones campaigns, and it was a meeting with her that prompted Joe to start the first Milestones campaign: Milestones to a Cure. The Barry family, which includes Amy’s husband Peter and three children, Will, Jamie (who has CF), and Julia, has generously supported all three campaigns, including conducting a $2 million challenge in 2021. Amy helped launch Teen Advocacy Day and is a former trustee of the national board. She was one of the first co-chairs of the Volunteer Leadership Conference and March on the Hill, and served on the board of the Western Carolinas/Charlotte chapter. She currently serves as a member of the National Leadership Council Individual Giving Subcommittee.
To learn more about how you can join the Milestones III campaign, visit cff.org/milestones3.