Nestor Grullon

Pat Kelly

Piotr Kolodziej

Letitia Mingledolph

Gloria Rucobo

Raquel Rohlfing

PJ Schmidt

Carla Tardif

Carla Tardif Uses the Inspiration of a Friend for the Mission of Family Reach

When Family Reach added industry veteran Carla Tardif as Director of Development and Operations, the organization knew it had brought on someone special. Previously the Founder and President of non-profit consultancy CMT Entertainment, Carla brings nearly two decades of event planning and fundraising experience to the Family Reach team. She is now spearheading many new initiatives to increase awareness and fundraising support for Family Reach through corporate partnerships, cause marketing campaigns, and operational development.

"We are thrilled to have someone with Carla's experience and passion join our team," said Rick Morello, the President and Executive Director of Family Reach. "She will allow us to fulfill our mission in extraordinary new ways and help us touch hundreds of families in the coming years."

Carla's dedication to the Family Reach mission stems from a personal promise she made to her Syracuse University classmate and friend, former NFL player Pat Kelly, before he passed away from cancer in 2003. Through the NFL, Pat frequently visited pediatric wards at hospitals across the country, and saw first-hand the devastating impact that seemingly small expenses, such as cab fare and groceries, had on the families of the patients.

"Pat recognized long ago that it was the everyday bills that were the last straw to families who were already struggling with such incredible emotional and financial hardships. He opened my eyes to the issue, and I promised him I would find a way to help," said Carla. "I'm so honored to have the opportunity to fulfill that promise by working with Family Reach Foundation, which provides those very families with the relief they so desperately need."

After graduating from Syracuse University in 1987, Carla spent six years with The Muscular Dystrophy Association in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston, where she was responsible for planning special events, telethons, auctions, and galas. Upon discovering that the son of a close friend had muscular dystrophy, Carla teamed up with her friend Pat Kelly to run a series of high-profile fundraisers with NFL athletes to raise awareness for congenital muscle diseases. As the project evolved, Carla became an active fundraiser and resource to foundations, non-profit organizations, and corporations alike, and in 1999, she founded CMT Entertainment.

Pat Kelly

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