Our Vision

Solving Kids’ Cancer is not just our name, it’s our mission. We focus on aggressive childhood cancers with low survival rates—because Every Kid Deserves to Grow Up. Solving Kids' Cancer helps accelerate new, next-generation treatments, including immunotherapy, cancer vaccines, and new drugs by applying an understanding of the entire childhood cancer research landscape to wisely invest in innovative projects.

We extend our reach globally to fully understand the research landscape so that we may influence and strengthen the science, resulting in more cures for children. Solving Kids' Cancer fosters the development of innovative clinical trials that bring more effective treatments to children both in the U.S., Europe and beyond.

Solving Kids’ Cancer finds, funds, and advocates for breakthrough treatment options to cure children with the most fatal childhood cancers.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WORK OF SKC

Family Founded

Founded by two fathers who lost their children to cancer, Solving Kids’ Cancer identifies and addresses the areas of greatest need in childhood cancer research. Our proactive agenda puts the child at the center of everything we do. We collaborate with researchers and institutions nationally and internationally to ensure that we fund the most promising research, reach more children, and solve kids’ cancer sooner.

Our Founders

John London

The inspiration for John London in co-founding Solving Kids' Cancer belongs solely to his daughter, Penelope, who once told him "I want no one to feel yucky, Daddy." Those words drove both John and his wife, Catherine, to make sure that no other families suffer the loss his family had to endure with the passing of Penelope. John has primary responsibilities with SKC that include leadership and overall management of organizational governance, compliance, donor cultivation, and fundraising. John also serves as a strategic advisor in all areas of therapeutic development. He has an MBA from The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University.

Scott Kennedy

Scott co-founded SKC in 2007 as a tribute to his son, Hazen Kennedy, who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at age three. Hazen was Scott's inspiration for creating Solving Kids' Cancer in part because Hazen wanted to become a scientist when he grew up in order to help people by creating new medicines. As former Executive Director, Scott was involved in the identification, funding, and management of the organization's scientific programs. Before co-founding SKC, Scott worked in marketing at CDW in Chicago and then at Pfizer in New York City. Scott has a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Psychology from Indiana University and a MBA from the Asian Institute of Management. Scott is currently the VP of Research and Family Stewardship at PBTF.

Our Inspiration

Penelope was born a very healthy, beautiful, playful, extraordinary, and happy baby. Hindsight doesn’t give us the privilege of knowing where things went wrong. But they did. They went terribly, terribly wrong when, at 16 months, she was diagnosed with a very rare form of pediatric cancer. Up until then there was absolutely no indication whatsoever that she was sick, not from the pediatricians’ perspective, nor from the keen eye of an experienced parent. It was like watching those television commercials about horrible diseases that strike other children, but you just know in your gut, and you thank God, that it will never happen to your child. But it did.

And that is all that will be said about her illness in this portion of the website -- that it can strike any child, at any time, and in the most surreptitious of ways. After all, this page is about Penelope, as she would have wanted it to be; not about her illness and subsequent death short of her 5th birthday. The illness did not define her; but her strength and courage during her life is what will drive and define the momentum to ultimately find a cure.

Penelope was the strongest life force we have ever felt. She practically glowed. No person was more radiant, beautiful, courageous, or loving. To know her was to have your soul penetrated by pure goodness. Life was her canvas for us to watch her display such joy and beauty; it was a wondrous rainbow of colors, life, determination, energy, intelligence, and love.

Penelope brightened every room she entered both with the sparkle in her eyes and the corners of her mouth that would always rise just so into that amazing smile that took over her face. Her thirst for life truly permeated her every move and engaged everyone around her. Whether it was putting on big girl make-up with her older sister Isabelle, or jumping the waves and riding bikes with her little brother Oliver, baking cupcakes and making whipped cream -- always insisting on licking the spoon. She just wanted to play, learn, have fun, and to be made to laugh. She taught us and everyone around her how to live life to its fullest, how to stay in the moment, and how to make the best of every single part of every day, even when she was feeling deeply “yucky.”

Our greatest gift is that we will forever be Penelope’s parents. Her nearly five years were a blessing, and in her short time, her smile, laugh, determination, and absolute love for life affected so many who came in contact with her or followed her story. Our inspiration for co-founding Solving Kids' Cancer belongs solely to our amazing daughter who once told us, "I don’t want anybody to ever feel yucky.” Our hope is to make her wish come true.

Hazen was a problem solver. He loved mazes and conquered them with delightful fervor. He loved puzzles of all varieties, and would figure out a way to find solutions.

At 18 months old, he could direct his stroller from his home on Tenth Avenue in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City, to his favorite store for his favorite animal crackers, which was located nearly a mile away. With a “dis way,” and a “dat way,” Hazen was determined to get what he wanted, and made sure we knew it. When he was little, he conquered his fears of sitting on Santa’s lap because he simply had to tell him that he NEEDED a remote control car. That Christmas he independently received four.

Hazen knew his states on a map. He even collected state quarters, and often lamented about spending Georgia on a bubblegum machine at Macy’s. Hazen loved yo-yos. He loved bugs. He loved pumpkin bread, and cats. He loved his friends, and to dance. He loved a girl, who just happened to be his best friend’s little sister. Hazen loved jokes, and would teach them to clowns at the hospital…because he loved clowns.

Hazen loved Pennsylvania. He loved Michigan. He loved visiting his relatives and being the center of a big love huddle. Hazen loved magic. He loved learning tricks and loved performing and watching. He loved figuring things out and loved sharing the wonder of how things are done with others. “Amazin’ Hazen” would perform for anyone at any time, sharing laughs and smiles along the way. Hazen loved board games and would absorb them voraciously, mastering one and needing another challenge. Hazen loved science. Hazen loved fairies, and fairy doors. He loved to share presents with other people, and always thought about what people needed, and how to help them. That was just his way. People felt him. People loved him. People were grateful for the magic in his eyes that undoubtedly spoke of love and mischief.

There are so many things that we wanted Hazen to see with those eyes. We wanted him to see his dreams of becoming a scientist realized. We wanted him to see real monkeys that looked like his favorite toy he brought to the hospital. We wanted him to see his children. We wanted him to see a life without cancer. Without cancer, we would still have Hazen, whom we love.

“I don’t want anybody to ever feel yucky.”

Penelope London

Our Impact:

Learning that nifurtimox, an anti-parasitic drug, put a child with neuroblastoma into remission, SKC quickly launched a clinical trial which has extended the lives of children with this deadly cancer.

Meet the Team

Staff

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Kristi McKay

Interim Executive Director

Kristi came to Solving Kids' Cancer in 2011. She brings 25 years of not-for-profit administrative experience in management, operations, development, event planning, and marketing. Prior to SKC, Kristi managed the visual and performing arts center at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY.

Email: kristi@solvingkidscancer.org

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Donna Ludwinski

Director of Research and Advocacy

Admiration for the SKC mission and method noted while her son Erik battled neuroblastoma led to a productive collaboration after his death in 2010. Donna is a voracious consumer of pediatric oncology research literature and attends major oncology meetings and presents at conferences. She is an FDA Patient Representative and on the NCI Central Review Board for COG clinical trials. In frequent contact with researchers and families globally, she stays abreast of the global patient and research landscape. She assists in identifying, analyzing, cultivating, and reviewing exciting therapeutic leads with the hope of quickly bringing the most promising therapies to the clinic. Donna has a BS in Chemical Engineering.

Email: do nna@solvingkidscancer.org

Board of Directors

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Mark Savoye

Co-Chair

Mark N. Savoye is a Vice President, New Payments Business at MasterCard. He joined MasterCard in 2008. Prior to joining MasterCard, Mark served as a Director at American Express. Mark holds a BS degree from New York University Stern School of Business in Marketing and International Business. Mark serves on the board of directors for Madison Strategies and for the Maina Foundation.

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Channing Stave

Co-Chair

Channing Stave, Ph.D., is Chief Operating Officer of Newristics, a marketing and market research consulting firm focusing on Life Sciences. Prior to co-founding Newristics, he led the Strategies and Market Insights team at Express Scripts. He has also held senior positions at Pfizer and IBM. He is a founding board member of Solving Kids’ Cancer. In addition, he is Co-President of the Board of Directors for Camp Zeke and serves on the board of Madison Strategies Group. He holds a BA from Columbia University and a MA and Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology from New York University.

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Eyal Soffer

Treasurer

Eyal is the Senior Director of Technical Accounting at Twilio. He is a CPA with over fourteen years of experience in the nonprofit and health industries primarily performing audits for nonprofit providers and related entities, which include accountable care organizations, collection agencies, and foundations. Eyal leads a local team of health focused individuals with a variety of experiences across the industry.

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Michele Alexander

Co-Secretary

Michele is a tax attorney at Barnes & Thornburg. Over the course of 25 years, Michele has firmly established herself as an effective and efficient transactional tax lawyer who advises on a wide range of transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, fund formations, capital markets and securities offerings, financings, joint ventures and restructurings, with a dedicated focus on their tax implications.

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Catherine Murchie

Co-Secretary

Catherine Murchie is the Head of Paze Operations at Early Warning, the company behind Zelle and a leader in fraud risk solutions for the financial services sector. With over 20 years of leadership experience Catherine has held global senior roles at Mastercard and driven growth at innovative scale-up organizations. She holds a BA from the University of South Carolina and an MA from George Mason University in Virginia.

John London

Co-Founder, Chair Emeritus

John London co-founded Solving Kids' Cancer in honor of his daughter Penelope, who once told him "I want no one to feel yucky, Daddy." He served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees from 2007-2025 and serves as a strategic advisor in all areas of therapeutic development. He has an MBA from The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University.

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Khalil Barrage

Khalil Barrage is a Managing Director at Invus, based in New York. He joined Invus in 2003 and established its Public Equity activity. Since its inception, Invus Public Equity has concentrated its investments in the emerging innovative biotech companies. Prior to joining Invus, he worked at The Olayan Group in New York and ran their US equity portfolio for 15 years. He holds a BA in Economics from the American University of Beirut. He is a member of the board of Protagenic and Celtaxsys. As part of his philanthropic engagement, Khalil also serves on the board of the Children of Armenia Fund and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

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Hearn Jay Cho, MD

Dr. Hearn J. Cho is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Hemotology, and Medical Oncology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center where he also has a practice that specializes in Hematology-Oncology. Dr. Cho earned his doctoral degree in immunology at Cornell University Medical College, followed by a postdoctoral research fellowship in immunology at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Cho's research is focused on utilizing the body's immune system to develop patient-specific vaccines and other treatments that destroy tumor cells and prevent them from returning. His research supports the development of personalized clinical approaches.

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Cindy Campbell

Cindy is the Program Director for the Children’s Brain Tumor Project laboratories at Weill Cornell Medicine. She is also the founder of the Ty Louis Campbell Foundation, in memory of her son who died of brain cancer in 2012. He was five years old. Prior to joining Weill Cornell Medicine, Cindy was a Marketing Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers after many years of working at NYC-based public relations agencies
including Weber Shandwick and Cohn & Wolfe.

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Lindy Gad

Lindy Gad has been involved with childhood cancer causes since 2006 when her daughter was diagnosed with high-risk neuroblastoma. Lindy was instrumental in the creation of Y-mAbs Therapeutics Inc., a leading Immuno-Oncology company focused on pediatric cancer founded by her husband Thomas Gad. Today, Lindy is a philanthropist and continues to be very involved in pediatric cancer research and care.

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Deborah Hughes

Deborah Hughes is president of Deborah Hughes, Inc., a public relations and events firm based in New York City. She began her career with Carolina Herrera at the inception of the design house leading the public relations and advertising teams. Deborah’s work and philanthropy supports enterprises and organizations in the worlds of art, culture, fashion, healthcare, and human rights. Deborah also serves on the board of GMHC and on the Advisory Board of the High School for Fashion Industries. She is also an avid advocate and activist for animal rights.

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Michael Niedzielski

Michael’s daughter, Bianca, was diagnosed with ETMR in 2016, an aggressive brain cancer. As a result of Michael's own aggressive advocacy, Bianca is, today, thriving. His efforts have successfully mobilized the international research community to focus on this devastating pediatric brain tumor. Michael is the co-founder of ROCE Capital, a fund that invests in publicly listed equities. He was previously at T. Rowe Price where he focused on European small-cap equities. Prior to T. Rowe Price, he worked at Fidelity Investments. Michael holds a BA from the University of Chicago and an MBA from Columbia Business School. He is a dual French/Brazilian citizen and currently lives in France.