I was a development director at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and one of the things I'm proudest of from those years was helping start New Haven's Finest, the event that grew into the Connecticut's Finest program I'm now being honored through. So this one is a bit of a full circle for me.

What I remember most from that work wasn't the galas or the fundraising totals. It was the moment things clicked for people. One year, I was working the New Haven's Finest event and got to talking with one of our honorees who, until that night, had never heard of CFF. We walked through what the Foundation actually does, the research it funds, and the therapies it brings to people living with CF. I introduced them to one of our families whose son had cystic fibrosis. Watching that honoree go from polite interest to genuine understanding, seeing the cause become real for them through that family, was the whole job in a single conversation.
 

That's what this organization does. It turns abstract science into longer, fuller lives, and it brings people into a community that keeps showing up for each other. The progress over the years has been remarkable. A CF diagnosis today carries possibilities that didn't exist when I started, and the research still underway will push that further.
 

I said yes to being a Connecticut's Finest honoree because I've seen this work from the inside, and I believe in where the dollars go. Every gift funds research, better care, and the continued progress toward a day when CF is fully treatable.
 

If you've read this far, I'm asking you to give what you can, and to stand with me and with the families this Foundation serves. Thank you.