Curing Cancer One Masterpiece at a Time!™

When I dreamed of riding a bicycle across America while battling cancer, Karen Cochran, then Executive Director of Development at Duke Cancer Center, amplified that spark into momentum and a plan. She made the 3,300-mile ride possible through ingenious coordination and tireless community building, awakening donor support and encouraging me and our team. But her courage as both strategist and steadfast ally elevated my journey from a solitary pipe dream to a cancer-conquering movement.

Karen helped define and achieve every lifelong dream milestone. She orchestrated our Duke Cancer Center kickoff and homecoming bookends with researchers, volunteers, and docs who rode with me for the first 100 miles. Her creative ideas and friendship generated invaluable camaraderie as other survivors joined Martin's Ride. Karen amplified our campaign making, my ride more fun and exciting. Technological savvy powered real-time ride tracking and brought touching donor notes flooding in thanks to Karen's reach and network. His compassionate, well-centered leadership made the impossible possible.

When body and spirit plunged into doubt, Karen replenished our team's spirit, hope, confidence, and courage. Her confidence in our mission strengthened her resolve on desolate highways facing mechanical failures, reckless drivers, rain, and logging trucks. Crossing the Santa Monica pier when Martin's Ride was complete, I recognized how a creative philanthropic warrior helped a wavering team (me, Jeremy, and Alex) find inner resilience. 

Partners like Karen helped us realize our capacity to try, thrive, fail, and learn. Creativity and compassion move mountains and our team from Duke's entrance to the Santa Monica pier. Karen epitomizes "innovator" - forever seeking fresh trajectories toward progress until no challenge looms too large. Thanks to Karen and other heroes such as Phil Buckley and Eric Garrisison, my uncertain cancer marathon continues mile by mile today.

Philanthropy Innovators Karen's website.