We were lucky to catch up with Andrea Eidelman recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Andrea thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?
I have worked in the non-profit space for over 17 years. As you can imagine, it is incredibly challenging to work in this space as we need to always secure donations and grants for the work being done. I remember being told by my leadership to always stay focused and true to the mission and work hard for the clients, and if this happened, the funding would come. Even in dark times, this motto has proven to be true. I try always to stay focused on the critical work that I am doing for my patients and clients. This just goes to show that if you are doing good work and performing service with the intent of helping others, the rewards will be great.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
I am currently the CEO of Debbie’s Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer (DDF), and I’ve helped lead the organization for the past five years. I have obtained a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with a Minor in Sociology from the University of Miami. After working in social services, I earned a JD degree from St. Thomas School of Law. Before law school, I worked in counseling HIV patients during the initial phases of the disease when it was a death sentence. Before DDF, I also worked as an attorney in the public sector for Legal Aid of Broward, helping children in foster care. My mental health/social services role and my legal background in the public sector have helped me develop the skills necessary to conduct my current job and perform the duties needed. Dealing with stomach cancer patients is similar to those with HIV since both face a devastating prognosis. In addition, working for these projects and in these roles taught me how to secure funding, write grants, and provided me with the management skills needed to lead DDF.
DDF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that seeks as its ultimate goal to make the cure for stomach cancer a reality. It was founded in 2009 by Debbie Zelman after she was diagnosed with stage IV incurable gastric cancer 2008 and given only weeks to live.
Debbie is considered a pioneer by many for bringing awareness to the plight of stomach cancer patients worldwide and the lack of federal funding for stomach cancer research. She did all of this while receiving hundreds of rounds of chemo and daily oral treatments. Debbie passed away on December 23, 2017, almost a decade later, at 50. As a result of her leadership, DDF now has a Scientific and Medical Advisory Board of world-renowned doctors and chapters throughout the United States and Canada. DDF has also been expanding its reach Internationally and is gearing up to host an International Symposium in Seoul, Korea. Last year, this event had over 930 registrants from 48 countries!
DDF strives to continue Debbie’s mission and make her dream of curing stomach cancer a reality.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
I believe it takes unique qualities to dedicate one’s career to public service. It requires empathy and wanting to help others in any way possible. These jobs tend to be underfunded and have limited resources; thus, they need a certain level of creativity. Further, you have to have excellent time management skills to perform the work adequately and deal with the high caseloads. You must genuinely be a people person and have a capacity to connect with people. People are struggling and need your support and guidance at challenging times in their lives. This can be very stressful, and it is hard not to take the work home with you. Thus, you have to develop emotional resilience to survive in these work environments. I am a natural at problem-solving, which makes me very apt to work in this field. I always want to understand and resolve an issue or problem and find a solution. This has proven to be an essential skill and attribute for me in my job.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
I have to say that the pandemic caused me to pivot both in business and in my personal life. I lost my mom to COVID, which has caused a considerable change and pivot in my personal life. However, COVID has also caused tremendous changes in my professional life. DDF has recently made the shift to 100% remote operations. Our virtual shift started in 2020 when DDF had to make a complete turn in how we managed our staff in a remote environment. It posed a new set of rules! We all learned Zoom and figured out ways to digitally deliver our education and support services to our community. It proved to be very effective and successful. Our patients loved this shift because they could engage and participate from the comfort of their own homes and could stay safe during the pandemic. The popularity of the programs increased, and it allowed our team to learn new skills and new ways to execute deliverables to our patient and caregiver community. In many ways, the pandemic showed us new ways to connect with others, and DDF was very successful during the past two years in converting to a remote model. I believe this new model is here to stay even when the fears and anxieties of the pandemic subside.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.DebbiesDream.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debbiesdreamfoundation/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DebbiesDreamFoundation
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/debbiesdreamfoundation
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/StomachCancer_
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DebbiesdreamOrg
- Other: Inspire Patient Community: https://www.inspire.com/groups/debbies-dream-stomach-cancer/
Image Credits
Dream Focus Photography
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