Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Amy Gallagher. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Amy thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’re complete cheeseballs and so we love asking folks to share the most heartwarming moment from their career – do you have a touching moment you can share with us?

During my first week at Firefly Sisterhood, I attended an educational breast seminar event and wasn’t sure what to expect. I had yet to meet anyone in the Firefly program besides the staff, as it was April 2021 and many events still were not in-person. While working at the Firefly Sisterhood table to check people in, a woman walked up to me and saw my name tag. She proceeded to ask if she could give me a hug and said that Firefly and her Firefly Peer Mentor Guide helped her through the hardest and most lonely period of her life. Being isolated from her family and friends and attending her chemo alone was extremely difficult, and without her Firefly Guide, she said her breast cancer experience would have been unbearable. Her Peer Mentor Guide offered meaningful connection, social and emotional support and a friendly face to connect with over Zoom. At that moment, I knew I had landed at the right place, and was honored to be a small part of an organization making such a profound impact.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

At age 32, I was diagnosed with a BRCA1+ gene mutation that places me at a much higher risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer (along with a few other cancers) in my lifetime. Due to my inherited risk and family history with cancer, I chose to have a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy and full hysterectomy that same year to reduce my cancer risk.

Now, six years later, I have devoted my professional life (and much of my personal time!) to support those with a breast cancer diagnosis. With an extensive professional background in nonprofit work, a transition to Firefly Sisterhood was a natural move for me as I feel compelled to support those impacted by cancer.

Ensuring that women going through a cancer diagnosis have the support they need emotionally and socially, is a key component at Firefly Sisterhood, and every person that requests support is personally matched with a Peer Mentor Guide. Our process is unique and personal, and we take them time to get to know you, and the type of support you are looking for before matching you with a mentor in the program. Taking meaningful connection to a new level, Firefly Sisterhood is working toward a goal of ensuring no one goes through breast cancer alone.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Managing a team that supports those with breast cancer can sometimes be both emotional as a leader and for our staff. As the demand of our program increases year after year, in turn our staff continues to field more support calls month after month. Although we have a small staff, we keep morale high by not only ensuring that everyone has the tools they need to support the women calling for support, but also themselves on times when the day feels “heavy” or there is a particularly emotional phone call. We encourage taking breaks during the day, going for walks or other fitness activities such as yoga, and also encourage daily work tasks outside of the phone calls. Some of these include, representing Firefly at community outreach events, visiting health care clinics, dropping off Firefly brochures and packets at clinics, planning social gatherings for the women in the Firefly program and more. We are very fortunate to have a team so dedicated to supporting those with a cancer diagnosis and want to provide all the tools and space needed to ensure they are equipped and feel supported each day at Firefly.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

The key to building Firefly Sisterhood has really just been staying true to our values as an organization. Firefly is an organization that values meaningful connection, support, authenticity. I feel our staff holds all of these values true every day in our work, and it shines throughout into the community. We continue to provide connections to women diagnosed, and our reputation has continued to grow throughout the healthcare fields as a result of positive feedback. Striving to connect with our supporters and sponsors in an authentic way that provides a meaningful relationship has helped us grow and continue to connect with more people.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fireflysisterhood.org
• Instagram: @fireflysisterhood, @amy_fireflysisterhood
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FireflySisterhood
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-e-gallagher
• Youtube: @fireflysisterhood9256

Image Credits
D & L Photography