We recently connected with Christine and have shared our conversation below.

Christine, appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My parents not only taught me, they led by example. They showed me what it meant to work hard, live with integrity, give back, and be present for the people who matter most.

I learned the value of a dollar at a young age, starting with a newspaper route. That job, and the others that followed, were never just about earning money. They were about discipline, responsibility, and independence. My parents made sure I understood that hard work was expected, but they also demonstrated that it meant more than personal gain. With it came the responsibility to help others who had less.

Integrity and morality were values they lived every day, and I carried that into my career as an environmental engineer. When I faced serious issues involving environmental misconduct and sexual harassment, I knew I had to stand up for myself and for what was right, even though it meant going up against a six-billion-dollar corporation. That courage came from the strength of their example.

They also showed me, in countless small ways, the importance of family. Being present and showing up for one another was not something they talked about; it was something they lived. That grounding has carried me through every challenge and success.

When I look back on my journey, from early jobs to engineering to standing up as a whistleblower to the ways I give back now, I see my parents’ influence everywhere. Their lessons and their example gave me a compass that I still follow today.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I hold a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Tufts University, and I have spent over 30 years working on environmental and public health issues. As an engineer, my focus was always on uncovering root causes, protecting people, and holding systems accountable. That professional path taught me resilience, integrity, and the importance of standing up even when it meant taking on powerful institutions.

My breast cancer diagnosis was the moment when my two worlds intersected. Suddenly, the systems-thinking and scientific expertise I relied on in my career became the same tools I needed to navigate my own healing. I saw clearly that while conventional medicine is essential, true healing requires more than treatment alone. It means addressing the whole person, mind, body, and spirit, and removing the barriers that keep patients from accessing resources that can make a profound difference in their recovery.

That is why I founded Connect & Thrive, Public Benefit Corporation (CAT). CAT is a social impact company that empowers patients to embark on meaningful healing journeys by combining evidence-based integrative therapies and healthy living products with conventional medicine. CAT exists to disrupt socioeconomic barriers and redefine what meaningful support looks like. The model follows three pillars:

EMPOWER (https://app.connect-and-thrive.com/campaign) – Through CAT’s KittyFunds™, patients can access personalized funds powered by the generosity of friends and family. Unlike other platforms, 100% of donations go directly to patients to spend in CAT’s Marketplace. CAT solves a critical problem by giving families and friends a structured way to help, transforming compassion into tangible support.

ENGAGE (https://app.connect-and-thrive.com/marketplace) – CAT’s curated Marketplace connects patients with evidence-based services and healthy living products that complement medical care and improve quality of life. This solves another key problem: patients are often overwhelmed and left on their own to search for safe, trusted resources. Instead, CAT provides direct access to offerings such as integrative therapies, nutrition, coaching, skincare, and wellness products that are rarely covered by insurance.

EDUCATE (https://connect-and-thrive.com/educate/) – CAT’s Resource Center helps patients and caregivers make informed choices through access to evidence-based research, articles, videos, and tools. This section also includes the Connect & Thrive Free Resources Guide for Patients, an evergreen document with support tools and event links, alongside many other carefully curated educational materials.

What sets CAT apart is that it is not just another fundraising platform. It is a healing ecosystem built from lived experience. KittyFunds™ are focused on improving patient outcomes, increasing patient satisfaction, and decreasing patient suffering.

CAT also invests in the broader ecosystem of healing through its Investing In Impact Program, which provides financial support to mission-aligned organizations driving change in prevention, early detection, equity and empowerment, and healthcare or patient advocacy. Together, we amplify our reach and deepen our collective impact.

I am most proud that CAT is rooted in both expertise and empathy. It reflects my journey as an engineer committed to uncovering root causes, as a breast cancer thriver who knows the challenges firsthand, and as a caregiver who understands the importance of presence.

CAT is a certified WBENC Women’s Business Enterprise and is entirely self-funded by me. It is my gift to the world, and it will be my legacy.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Funding Connect & Thrive, Public Benefit Corporation (CAT), was not about chasing investors or outside capital. From the very beginning, I knew I wanted this to be built with integrity and independence. The mission is deeply personal to me, and I wanted to ensure that it stayed true to its purpose without being influenced by pressures to prioritize profit over people.

So I funded it myself. Every aspect of CAT, from the development of the KittyFunds™ platform, to the build out of the Marketplace, to the creation of our education hub, has been supported through my own resources. It has been a significant investment of both time and money, but I see it as my gift to the world and the legacy I want to leave.

This decision ties directly back to the values my parents instilled in me: integrity, responsibility, and giving back. In 2002, I filed an environmental whistleblower and sexual harassment lawsuit against my former employer, Engelhard Corporation. I had witnessed serious misconduct, including pollution that threatened public health and the environment, and a company that tried to silence me. When it could not, individuals retaliated against me without shame or consequence.

That case resulted in real accountability. Engelhard pled guilty to environmental crimes, paid fines, upgraded its facilities, and funded independent conservation projects that protected water supplies and local ecosystems. It marked the first time corporate fines were redirected to an independent environmental project. For me, that lawsuit was never about money. It was about doing what was right. I vowed that any settlement money would be used for philanthropic endeavors and to make a positive difference in the lives of those who are suffering.

I believe that by self-funding, I have been able to make decisions that keep CAT aligned with its core values. It has given me the freedom to design a platform that truly supports all of our stakeholders and brings our community closer together.

Naturally, building a social impact company in this way has required sacrifice and resilience, but it has also been incredibly rewarding. Knowing that every dollar invested has gone directly toward creating something that can ease the burden for patients and their loved ones is what keeps me motivated.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

One resource that has had a significant impact on my entrepreneurial philosophy is Disciplined Entrepreneurship by Bill Aulet. What I value most about this book is that it breaks down the startup journey into a 24-step framework that is both rigorous and practical. As someone with a background in engineering, I connect with systems-thinking and structured processes, and this book speaks directly to that mindset.

What stood out to me is the emphasis on starting with the customer. Aulet drives home the importance of deeply understanding who you are serving and then building backward from that point. That has been central to how I built Connect & Thrive, Public Benefit Corporation (CAT). Our entire platform is designed around the patient experience, making sure every resource, every product, and every tool we offer truly addresses the needs of those navigating cancer.

This book inspired me to take further action. I enrolled in MIT’s eForum Start Smart Class on Disciplined Entrepreneurship, which followed the steps detailed in the book. I also completed several MITx courses, including LaunchX: Becoming an Entrepreneur and Bootstrapping for Entrepreneurs, and participated in two National Science Foundation (NSF) programs via MIT, Spark and Fusion. The research and learning from those experiences led directly to the creation of CAT and reinforced that building KittyFunds™ was critical to the success of the company in achieving its objectives.

On October 6, 2023, I was invited to speak at MIT as part of the Entrepreneur Forum, chronicling my journey from discovering the book, to meeting Bill Aulet, to taking the Start Smart Class, and ultimately to founding Connect & Thrive. That experience was both humbling and affirming, as it closed the loop on how this resource shaped my path.

What I appreciate most about Disciplined Entrepreneurship is that it validated the idea that entrepreneurship is not about winging it or relying on intuition alone. It is about combining vision with a structured approach, and that is exactly what has helped me bring CAT from an idea to a platform that empowers patients, engages communities, and educates with evidence-based resources.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://connect-and-thrive.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connect_and_thrive/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CATconnectandthrive/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-anastos/
• Twitter: https://x.com/CAT_SocialX

Image Credits

Me (alone and beach scene by itself and with my dog, Aurora – primary and secondary images) = Dawn Gagye
Erin Brockovich & Me = Lauren Killian
Ovations for the Cure (Nicole Chenard & Me) = Eric Belleville
CAT’s Original Logo (ephemeral art) – Hannah Bullen-Ryner