Page 14 - Fall 2020 CMTA Report

W H Y I G I V E :

New CMTA Board Member Dan Chamby is jumping in with both feet, it. He also sees strength in the
issuing a challenge to the CMT community to match his $200,000 CMTA’s diversity, noting that the
organization comprises scientists,
donation for 2020 by year’s end. A former portfolio manager business people, educators and

for BlackRock, Dan explains why he made the commitment— patients all working toward the
and what his due diligence revealed about the CMTA. same goal. “This is a serious orga-
nization full of people with serious
backgrounds,” he says, and on top
of their diplomas, there’s also a
nergy,” “enthusiasm” part. The difference between the strong sense of dedication. Dan
and “expertise” are the two is that the great ones have praised Gilles for “harnessing a
three words new Board energy and enthusiasm and a core group of people and focusing
Member Dan Chamby strong sense of mission and collab- their energy to transcend the ele-
“Euses to describe the oration.” ments that create dysfunction.”
CMTA. Dan already has the first Dan sees that sense of mission Dan says he hadn’t thought
two—in spades. With his business and collaboration in the CMTA, much about the CMTA’s commu-
background and an attitude of which he compared to BlackRock nity outreach efforts before joining
“Hey, Coach, put me in the game for its ability to “swarm” a prob- the board but has come to under-
I want to help out,” there’s no lem, with everyone putting stand that “one benefits the other.”
doubt that he’ll soon develop the everything they have into solving The community provides the
CMT expertise needed to help
steer the CMTA ship toward a
The Chamby Family, left to right:
cure. Etsuko, Anna, Aïko and Dan
Dan retired in March after a
27-year career as a portfolio man-
ager with BlackRock. Determined
not to sit around watching sports
in retirement, he asked his neurol-
ogist, Dr. Steven Scherer, what he
could do to help the CMTA.
Scherer put him in touch with
CMTA Board Chair Gilles
Bouchard, who put him in touch
with other board members and
staffers, culminating in his joining
the board in May.
Before coming on board, Dan
did his due diligence, just as he
would before making any invest-
ment. He looked carefully at the
CMTA’s mission, management
and finances. He was impressed
with the engagement and energy
of everyone he spoke with. “In my
career, I’ve worked with some
great organizations and some
mediocre organizations,” Dan
says. “They were populated by
really smart people for the most
14 THE CMTA REPORT FALL 2020