WINSTON ELY

Originally published by PR Newswire, November 20, 2025.

Bridge To A Cure Foundation announces the appointment of Winston Ely to its Board of Directors. Ely, a Brooklyn-based designer and developer, brings more than 30 years of experience in architecture, sustainable design, and community-focused development.

Ely is the Owner and Creative Director of WE Design and Founder of WE Develop, where he leads residential and mixed-use projects with an emphasis on thoughtful planning and environmental responsibility. He also serves as a Green Infrastructure Fellow for the Design Trust for Public Space, contributing expertise to efforts focused on improving stormwater management and water quality across New York City.

Ely’s appointment to the organization’s Board of Directors carries personal meaning. Bridge To A Cure Foundation was established in memory of his daughter, Clara Ely, whose life continues to inspire the organization’s mission to accelerate progress in childhood cancer research through data integration, collaboration, and innovation.

“Winston brings valuable perspective as both a parent and an experienced leader in systems-based problem-solving,” said Bob Martin, Founder and Chair of Bridge To A Cure Foundation. “His insight will support our efforts to expand collaboration and strengthen the infrastructure needed to advance more effective pediatric brain cancer research.”

As a member of the Board, Ely will support strategic planning and governance efforts that align with the foundation’s focus on driving scientific collaboration and improving outcomes for children facing brain cancer.

“I am honored to join the Board of Bridge To A Cure Foundation in Clara’s memory,” shared Ely. “I look forward to contributing to efforts that connect people, data, and ideas to help accelerate meaningful progress for children and families affected by cancer.”

Ely resides in Brooklyn with his wife, Tricia Martin, and their children, Keira and Yeimer. He holds a BA in Art and Environmental Design from the University of Vermont and a Master’s in Architecture from the University of Oregon.

About Bridge To A Cure Foundation

Bridge To A Cure Foundation is accelerating the pace of childhood cancer research by championing data integration, collaboration, and innovation. By breaking down silos and investing in platforms that connect researchers, clinicians, and families, the foundation strives to ensure that every child and family can benefit from the full power of science, technology, and shared knowledge. To learn more, visit BridgeToACure.org.

Childhood cancers are complex and multifaceted challenges that require innovative and comprehensive approaches. While significant progress has been made in recent years, many of these cancers remain challenging to treat, and the need for groundbreaking research is more urgent than ever. One promising strategy is multidisciplinary research, a collaborative approach that brings experts from various fields together to tackle these complex challenges.

Take A Close Look at Multidisciplinary Research

In multidisciplinary research, clinicians share research goals and work on the same problem from their discipline’s perspective. This collaborative approach allows for a more comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the disease, as each discipline can contribute unique insights and expertise.

The findings from each discipline can be complementary, and a particular specialty can analyze each aspect uniquely. This can be necessary to answer complex research problems that cannot be adequately addressed by a single discipline alone. For example, a pediatric oncologist might focus on the biological aspects of a tumor. At the same time, a researcher might seek to understand better the patient’s genetic profile to slow tumor growth.

Benefits

Multidisciplinary research offers several key benefits:

• Increased Efficiency: By working together, researchers can avoid duplication of efforts and maximize the use of resources.
• Enhanced Innovation: Cross-pollinating ideas and perspectives can lead to innovative approaches and breakthroughs that might not be possible with a single disciplined approach.
• Improved Patient Outcomes: Multidisciplinary research can ultimately lead to better treatments and improved outcomes for children with cancer.

Multidisciplinary Research in Patient Care

A multidisciplinary approach to patient care can lead to a more thorough evaluation, accurate diagnosis, and tailored treatment plan.

For example, Multidisciplinary rounds (MDR) constitute a patient-centered care model wherein professionals from diverse disciplines collaborate in real-time to provide specialized expertise. These can include care partners, hospitalists, nurses, and pharmacists.

MDRs can help to ensure that all aspects of a child’s care are considered, from their physical and emotional needs to their social and financial well-being. This collaborative approach can also help to reduce the stress and anxiety experienced by families, as they know that their child is receiving the best possible care.

The Role of Bridge to a Cure Foundation

Bridge to a Cure Foundation supports multidisciplinary research into childhood cancers. By funding innovative research projects and fostering collaborations between researchers, we are helping to advance our understanding of these complex diseases and develop new and more effective treatments.

Through our efforts, with the support of people like you, Bridge To A Cure hopes to significantly impact the lives of children with cancer and their families.

BRAVE THE SHAVE, the first annual Bridge To A Cure fundraising initiative, raised over $20,000 for St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s childhood cancer research initiative.

Children and their families impacted by a devastating cancer diagnosis were supported in an unprecedented way in Southwest Florida on St. Patrick’s Day, Friday, March 17th. Bridge To A Cure teamed up with St. Baldrick’s Foundation to bring community heroes together to raise funds for St. Baldrick’s childhood cancer research funding mission.

The fundraiser was held in memory of every child whose life has been impacted by childhood cancer, including Clara Ely, Bridge To A Cure president Bob Martin’s granddaughter. Clara was just six when she lost her battle with brain cancer. Her courage and optimistic spirit through that journey motivated the team of event volunteers, sponsors, and fundraisers.

Why Do We Shave?

Cancer is the number one cause of death by disease among children in the U.S. In fact, 42 shocked American families learn that their child has cancer every single day. And childhood cancer is a fight lost by 38 agonized children every week. Unfathomably, just four drugs have been developed for the treatment of cancer in children since the 1980s. And for childhood brain tumors, cancer’s deadliest form, none have been developed. Twenty years have passed, yet survival rates for children with many types of brain tumors have not budged. That’s why Bridge To A Cure Foundation is focused on curing brain tumors. Because if we cure brain tumors, we’ve achieved our life-saving mission to reduce childhood cancer deaths 50% by 2030.

The Bridge To A Cure Foundation coalition works tirelessly to connect people, information, and assets to propel new treatments and cures for childhood brain cancer—an effort that is transforming an underperforming healthcare research system by emphasizing open science, shared data, and collaboration. This initiative was boosted in a new and impactful way thanks to Bridge To A Cure’s partnership with St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

Partnering With St. Baldrick’s To Conquer Kids’ Cancer

With over $325 million in grants funded worldwide, St. Baldrick’s Foundation is the largest non-government funder of childhood cancer research. They focus on raising awareness, raising funds for research, and ultimately providing hope for kids and families. St. Baldrick’s distributes funds to worthy research projects after a rigorous evaluation by its prestigious scientific committee. In this way, Bridge To A Cure can assure BRAVE THE SHAVE donors that their dollars go to the best opportunities to advance cures.

BRAVE THE SHAVE was held at Bell Tower Shops, a modern open-air mall, last Friday afternoon. Many amazing businesses stepped up to help make BRAVE THE SHAVE a big success, with more than $20,000 raised. A special thank you is due to event sponsors Bell Tower Shops, Rivet Brands, Beasley Broadcasting, and the Boston Red Sox organization.

For fundraising participants, St. Patrick’s Day meant shaving their heads to show solidarity with brave cancer-fighting children. It was a bold and inspiring act. The “shavees” created a unique link for friends, family, and community members to donate to the effort, and in turn, committed to helping conquer kid’s cancer.

SWFL’s Everyday Heroes Show Up Once Again

The event involved dozens of firefighters, neighbors, and friends — even passing shoppers. It was heartwarming to see Cordi, a German visitor to Fort Myers, shave her head right there and then. In knowing the event was going to an important cause, volunteers and other attendees cheered on each shavee as they revealed their new looks. 

Two fire departments, the Fort Myers Fire Department and South Trail Fire & Rescue, were especially inspiring. These incredible individuals volunteered to fundraise and shave their heads as teams. The team raising the most money for childhood cancer research was South Trail Fire and Rescue, which raised over $7000. As a thank you, they received tickets to spring training game tickets and a framed autographed image of Carlton Fisk hitting the winning home run in the 1975 World Series courtesy of the Boston Red Sox.

In addition, individual shavees competed to  raise funds in exchange for a shave. Michael Rhodes of Team Rhodes raised $6350 to take the gold “Conquer Kids’ Cancer” medal of honor.

Bridge To A Cure couldn’t have done it without your help

There were more than a dozen volunteers who helped make BRAVE THE SHAVE possible — each using their gifts and what time they could give to ensure an amazing event. Perhaps the unsung heroes of the day are the barbers, who donated hours of their time to make sure each shave reflectedwell on the shavee. Barber Nick Romero stayed the entire event and shaved a dozen heads — he even provided beer trims!

Bridge To A Cure extends our deepest appreciation for the support of so many kind individuals, teams, community members, sponsors, and friends. Without this support, collaboration, and care from those who believe in the mission, a lot more children would suffer needlessly at the hands of children’s brain cancer. Together we ARE making a difference in speeding up the pace of desperately needed treatments and cures for kids.

If you missed the event but would like to contribute, visit the BRAVE THE SHAVE donation page here. Proceeds support St. Baldrick’s Foundation.

To learn more about the event and see additional photos, follow us on Facebook. 

Through cooperation, Bridge To A Cure aims to cut the childhood cancer death rate 50% by 2030.

When Bridge To A Cure founder Bob Martin’s granddaughter Clara was diagnosed with brain cancer, Martin and dozens of healthcare professionals worked tirelessly to find effective treatments in an effort to save Clara. But, sadly, Clara passed on October 8, 2017 at just six years old. Inspired by her courage and positive spirit, Bridge To A Cure Foundation was established to find cures for pediatric brain tumors so that other children with cancer didn’t have to suffer the way she did. Because, for thousands of families like Bob’s who are facing a childhood brain tumor diagnosis, the journey is horrific and the results can be devastating.

Our Mission

To unite and transform the childhood cancer community’s approach to research with the goal of cutting the childhood cancer death rate by 50% by 2030.

Bridge To A Cure has been able to advance this mission by focusing on these key strategic initiatives:

• Focus on Brain Tumors. If brain tumors are cured, childhood cancer deaths are reduced by more than 50%.
• Data Collection, Processing, and Dissemination. By providing researchers access to a large enough database, we can accelerate breakthroughs and improve individualized treatment plans.
• Build Influence. As the foundation’s network of allies grows, so too does collaboration. This drives additional funding and federal legislation support.

The Bridge To A Cure Foundation 2021 annual report covers this progress in more detail. These initiatives have been implemented so successfully through the foundation’s staff, directors, and advisors, its network of allies, and individual supporters. But, there is much more that needs to be done. It’s time to move to the next phase of the Bridge To A Cure action plan—tapping into the foundation’s closely aligned network to strengthen databases and optimize resources, while also continuing to build collaborative efforts nationwide and beyond.

Introducing Children’s Brain Tumor Network… again!

And, the timing couldn’t be better. September is designated to drive Childhood Cancer Awareness, and earlier this month, Bridge To A Cure Foundation announced a new, collaborative effort with Children’s Brain Tumor Network (CBTN). Moving forward, Bridge To A Cure will be integrating our time and talent into supporting this long-standing ally.

CBTN has been identified by the National Institute of Health (NIH) as the model for open science in data-driven discovery and Bridge To A Cure leaders fully believe that the cures for childhood brain tumors will be found using this collaborative data.

As CBTN begins delivering on Project Accelerate (the largest childhood brain tumor data release ever), this partnership makes sense now more than ever. The scope of this new data cannot be understated. With more than 8,000 new brain tumor samples being made available freely to scientists and researchers, the time for accelerated discovery is now. To this end, we have established the Bridge To A Cure-CBTN fund in memory of Clara. We will work hard to empower the work of CBTN and the more than 30 member research institutions globally that participate in their network.

Moving forward, Bridge To A Cure will continue its role on the CBTN Executive Council. And now, foundation president Robert Martin will sit on CBTN’s Executive Board to advise and formulate strategies that will continue to advance cures for children with brain tumors.

Continuing to Build Influence with St. Baldrick’s Foundation

St. Baldrick’s Foundation has been funding many CBTN member institution projects and is America’s largest private donor of childhood cancer research. Bridge To A Cure’s Martin is a member of their Board of Directors, where he continues to advocate for the funding of open science and data sharing in the pediatric cancer research realm. 

This partnership has led Bridge To A Cure Foundation to be in the position to:

• Amplify demand for legislative prioritization of childhood cancer cures
• Influence lawmakers to craft and support stronger bills that actually lead to meaningful progress

How You Can Help The Bridge To A Cure Coalition

You are invited to share in this celebration of progress with Bridge To A Cure Foundation. Please do continue with words of encouragement, resource sharing, and generous giving—which drives our work forward, as it has since 2017. One day, together, we will share in the victory that childhood brain tumors no longer are a devastating threat to children and their families.

And if you can help, please donate to help the Bridge To A Cure Foundation coalition here.

We must unify behind families devastated by childhood cancer.

Pharmaceutical companies here in the U.S. invest millions of dollars in cancer drug development, and advances over the past few years from giants like AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Roche are pushing the boundaries on combination therapies, cell therapies, and other novel approaches. This in turn, has pushed biotechnology firms into the realm of investor darlings. With this influx of investor cash, these companies are able to spend millions investing in even rare cancers.

Good news — for adults across the country. Unfortunately, this market dynamic leaves childhood cancer patients out of the picture. Because, although childhood cancer remains the number one cause of death by disease among kids in the U.S., there simply are not enough of these cases to capture investment.

And the federal government has not done much better. Over the past decade, they’ve invested just 4% of the National Cancer Institute’s budget for research into childhood cancers — just 2/10ths of a percent in healthcare spending overall.

Some may assume that breakthroughs for adult cancers are equally effective for those found in children. But childhood cancers are different in origin and presentation, so the therapies developed to cure adult cancers do not translate to childhood forms of the disease.

In addition, the toxic treatments used to cure cancers of, say, a 65-year-old, may work okay to extend that person’s life for few years, which is the goal of that treatment. However, the toxic effects of the treatment on a growing body can be devastating — to future growth and development, reproduction, brain function, nervous system, mental health — and on and on.

In fact, 95% of all childhood cancer “survivors” will experience lasting, sometimes life altering, effects from noxious treatments they were given that were developed back in the 1950s and 60s. This is the sad reality that families and children diagnosed with cancer face: outdated, adult treatment options with horrifically painful side effects. And a whispered truth in childhood cancer: a child may die “cancer-free” from the effects of the harsh treatments that did in fact, eliminate the cancer.

Of those kids who survive, 95% are likely face chronic health conditions, secondary cancers, cognitive impairment, and a shortened lifespan. And for their families? At nine times the cost of the average childhood hospital stay, caretakers of childhood cancer patients also may contend with financial ruin.

That’s why parents and grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other loved ones feel compelled to step up in any number of ways in desperate need to advance treatments and find cures. Families have founded more than 200 childhood cancer foundations in the U.S. Many of these fund specific research projects or give aid to other families financially and emotionally devastated by a childhood cancer diagnosis.

Some have become activists who lobby Congress for better funding, often sharing their stories of pain, disappointment, and struggle with any official or aide who will listen. Some hold local fundraisers from bake sales to car washes for cancer fighting organizations. And some simply share their stories their friends, neighbors, and colleagues — many of whom have no idea that this is the reality of a childhood cancer diagnosis.

The fact is, apart we will not be as effective as we can be together. That’s why Bridge To A Cure Foundation — founded by a grandfather who lost a young granddaughter to a brain tumor — is calling on childhood cancer foundations to unite. We’re calling on the childhood cancer research community to transform the way it conducts research and shares information. And we’re challenging the federal government to do better when it comes to funding childhood cancer research.

We’ve had enough.

As a grandparent, I’m always trying to think of new ways to connect with my grandkids—new ways to encourage them, help them grow and thrive, and support them in having a happy, fulfilling life.

When my granddaughter Clara was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, I dedicated my efforts to supporting her parents’ tireless journey to find a cure. At first, we dove into research to find out what exactly was out there currently in terms of a cure for cancer. Sadly, I discovered that there really isn’t a viable cure available right now. On the other hand, though, we found a lot of promising research that is on the cusp of a cure.

We live in exciting times, indeed, when a cure for cancer feels within reach!

The problem, however, is that these exciting scientific breakthroughs still largely amount to a cure that is years away, perhaps even a decade or more. For Clara and other kids and their families who are struggling with the disease now, those years can feel insurmountable… yet all the research has been pointed solely at finding a cure. We couldn’t find any institutions working on a way to sustain the lives of these kids who just need more time.

Inspired by our SuperClara, we decided this had to change.

To that end, I am so excited to be able to announce the creation of the Bridge to a Cure Foundation. Its sole purpose is to fund research for life-sustaining treatment for terminally ill kids, and it is the first-ever effort of its kind. Presentations by many renowned research institutions on how they would support the effort have already begun and will continue throughout the year.

Perhaps most exciting of all, Bridge to a Cure is a tangible way that all of us who care about these children to put our energy into something that has a direct impact on their well-being. It’s a chance for us to let go of the fear and hopelessness that so often take hold and instead focus on life and hope.

Hope paired with positive action can change the world. Will you join us?