Our Team - Hope for Henry

Our Team

Hope for Henry is supported by an exceptional staff and led by a committed and talented board of directors. We benefit from the insights of experienced and passionate parents, patients, and child life specialists.

Our Team

Hope for Henry is supported by an exceptional staff and led by a committed and talented board of directors. We benefit from the insights of experienced and passionate parents, patients, and child life specialists.

Laurie Strongin

CEO & Founder
Hope for Henry Foundation
laurie@hopeforhenry.org

Kelly Beck, CCLS

Senior Manager, National Programs
Hope for Henry Foundation
kelly.beck@hopeforhenry.org

Lea Failla, MS, CCLS

Program Manager
Hope for Henry Foundation
lea.failla@hopeforhenry.org

Sophie Frantz

Program Associate
Hope for Henry Foundation
sophie.frantz@hopeforhenry.org

Carolyn Schneiders Fung, CCLS

Director of National Programs
Hope for Henry Foundation
carolyn@hopeforhenry.org

Jack Goldberg

Communications & Marketing Manager
Hope for Henry Foundation
jack.goldberg@hopeforhenry.org

Maria Gortaire

Director of Finance & Accounting
Hope for Henry Foundation maria.gortaire@hopeforhenry.org

Burnham “Turk” Lewis

Chief Development Officer
Hope for Henry Foundation turk.lewis@hopeforhenry.org

Hope for Henry is reinventing how hospitals care for children and their families through innovative, scientifically tested programs that help hospitalized kids confront the challenges of serious illness, adhere to their medical plans, and thrive.

Bring Hope for Henry
to Your Hospital!

Hope for Henry is expanding to hospitals nationwide. Find out how to bring Hope for Henry to your location. Contact Us.

Get in Touch

National Office
Hope for Henry
2440 Wisconsin Ave NW
Suite 201
Washington, DC 20007
202.813.3385
hopeforhenry.org

Hope for Henry is reinventing how hospitals care for children and their families through innovative, scientifically tested programs that help hospitalized kids confront the challenges of serious illness, adhere to their medical plans, and thrive.

Bring Hope for Henry to Your Hospital!

Hope for Henry is expanding to hospitals nationwide. Find out how to bring Hope for Henry to your location. Contact Us.

Get in Touch

National Office
Hope for Henry
2440 Wisconsin Ave NW
Suite 201
Washington, DC 20007
202.813.3385

hopeforhenry.org

Bring Hope for Henry to Your Hospital!

Hope for Henry is expanding to hospitals nationwide. Find out how to bring Hope for Henry to your location. Contact Us.

Get in Touch

National Office
Hope for Henry
2440 Wisconsin Ave NW
Suite 201
Washington, DC 20007
202.813.3385
hopeforhenry.org

©2023 Hope for Henry Foundation. Hope for Henry, Hope for Henry’s Super Path to Super Duper Better, Hope for Henry’s Super Rewards for Super Kids, Hope for Henry Bucks, and Hope for Henry characters and related imagery are all trademarks of Hope for Henry Foundation. Hope for Henry is a 501c3 nonprofit with tax-exempt status. Tax ID 20-0244173.

Laurie Strongin

CEO & Founder
Hope for Henry Foundation
laurie@hopeforhenry.org

For 30 years, Laurie Strongin has helped draw attention and resources to issues of emerging national significance.

She began as a PR professional at Podesta Associates and The Kamber Group, two of Washington DC’s premier public relations firms. Laurie then took her advocacy expertise to the issue of affordable housing, serving as the Deputy National Coordinator for the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation’s Campaign for Home Ownership; and subsequently running Fannie Mae Foundation’s multi-million dollar portfolio to advance homeownership counseling, foreclosure prevention, and asset-building investments.

In 1996, Laurie became drawn through personal experience into the frontlines of a breakthrough medical procedure that held the promise of saving her son, among countless other children. Turning her advocacy and media skills to that issue, Laurie participated in national medical policy panels (alongside Newt Gingrich and Dr. Bernadine Healy, among others); worked with then-House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO) to urge Senate passage of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act; secured coverage of the issue on ABC’s “Nightline” and in a Sunday New York Times magazine cover story; authored “Vetoing Henry,” a Washington Post op-ed criticizing President Bush’s 2006 veto of federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research; and advocated for parental perspectives on NBC, the CBS Early Show, and MSNBC. In 2009, when President Obama lifted the ban on federal funding for stem cell research, Laurie was one of a few dozen honored guests.

Laurie’s subsequent memoir, “Saving Henry” (Hyperion 2010), has been featured on Good Morning America, The Diane Rehm Show, The Bob Edwards Show, The Dr. Oz Show, and BBC; and featured in USA Today and The Washington Post. Since its publication, Laurie has headlined over 60 speaking engagements across the U.S.

Laurie’s leadership has been recognized by numerous institutions. She has received Children’s National’s Chairman’s Award, Georgetown Pediatrics’ Flame of Hope Award, Children’s Charities Foundation’s Star for Children Award and the Center for Nonprofit Advancement’s 2016 EXCEL Award. Laurie was featured as a “Heroes Among Us” in People magazine in 2016. In addition, in 2015-2016, she served on the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on the Ethical and Social Policy Considerations of Novel Techniques for Prevention of Maternal Transmission of Mitochondrial DNA Diseases. She serves on the board of directors of the National Marrow Donor Program, and on the Association of Child Life Professional’s Advisory Council.