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| First Person: Point of View |
Superwoman
Dana Reeve
10/01/2005
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I think that people saw me as the caregiver,
so it has been something of a challenge to switch into the chairmanship,
stepping in and [continuing] Chris’s mission for him. I don’t have ambitions to
be perceived as the powerful, strong leader of the foundation. I just want to
get the job done. I do want Chris’s legacy to carry on because he worked so
hard. The work was so important, and his daily life was really difficult, so it
would be a terrible shame to let it drop.
The foundation has an endowment of
about $10 million now. I think we are in a position to make it an entity
with a lot of stature and durability, like the Will Rogers Foundation or the
Salk Institute.
 | | I CERTAINLY didn't expect to be doing this, especially in such a
narcissistic profession as acting, where it’s always about me, not
about you. |
We are using Chris’s image and the power that he left with
us to bring the foundation into a new realm. We are also going through a board
revitalization. It started before he died, and we’re carrying it on. APA was a
well-respected small foundation, but the board members tended to be Hank
Stifel’s business associates and friends, and now many of them have retired. We
have increased the number of board meetings from two a year to six, and we have
brought in some really exciting directors who know how to run a business. The
energy in the room is palpable.
Our new CEO, Kathy Lewis, used to run the
Kessler Foundation at Kessler Institute. She brought in a lot of money there,
and she also has great vision. We have Peter Kiernan, who for years was at
Goldman Sachs, and Janet Hanson, who is a dynamic businesswoman. Sheila Johnson,
the head of Black Entertainment Television, is such a powerful person in
business and philanthropy. We also want to bring in some celebrity friends to
give the board some juice. The first one is Robin Williams. He started talking
up our initiative on his own, while doing press for a movie.
Prior to joining
our board, our newer board members had nothing to do with spinal cord injury,
and they have no family members with spinal cord injury. They just think this
area of medical research is an exciting field.
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