Lisa Gray, a seasoned nonprofit development executive with nearly three decades of experience raising funds for health organizations, has joined the board of directors of HealthTree Foundation, a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit focused on accelerating research into multiple myeloma and other blood cancers. The appointment, announced July 10, comes as HealthTree expands its mission beyond multiple myeloma to serve a broader patient population. Gray brings dual expertise as both a former senior development officer and as someone diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2023, positioning her as a bridge between philanthropic leadership and patient advocacy.
Jenny Ahlstrom, HealthTree Foundation's founder and CEO, said the appointment reflects the organization's ambition to deepen and diversify its fundraising capacity. "Her exceptional track record in philanthropic leadership, combined with her personal experience as a myeloma patient, gives her a unique ability to guide and inspire our work," Ahlstrom said in a statement. The announcement did not mention any search firm involvement in Gray's recruitment. Gray's most recent role was Senior Vice President for Development at the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, where she oversaw development operations and fundraising efforts that generated more than 20 million dollars annually. Prior to that, she held a senior vice president position at Blood Cancer United, formerly known as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, where she helped accelerate revenue growth and expanded philanthropic initiatives across the organization.
Gray spent much of her career advancing large-scale development programs at national health organizations. Her professional tenure across multiple cancer-focused nonprofits has involved building teams, implementing fundraising strategies to strengthen revenue diversification, and fostering organizational cultures that prioritize long-term donor engagement and sustainable growth. These experiences reflect the type of operational and strategic acumen that would typically be sought by organizations looking to professionalize their development infrastructure. Gray's personal connection to the myeloma community became more acute when she was diagnosed with the disease in 2023, after which she shifted focus toward supporting fellow patients and contributing to research initiatives.
HealthTree Foundation operates as a patient-empowerment technology platform designed to help blood cancer patients navigate medical decisions, locate clinical trials, and contribute anonymized medical data to research projects. The organization has grown since its founding in 2012 by Ahlstrom, who herself was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2010. HealthTree's HealthTree Cure Hub patient data portal has accumulated information from over 10,000 patients, serving as a resource for researchers conducting real-world evidence studies. The foundation expanded beyond myeloma to support patients with acute myeloid leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and follicular lymphoma. The organization was recently named among 20 finalists out of 700 applications for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services HealthTech Ecosystem program.
Gray's appointment reflects a strategy of recruiting board members who can address specific organizational needs. Her background suggests HealthTree is prioritizing fundraising infrastructure and donor relationship development as it scales operations across additional blood cancer types. The timing of her arrival, combined with her recent patient diagnosis, may also signal an intentional effort to embed patient voices deeper into governance structures. While such cross-pollination between experienced development professionals and newly diagnosed patients brings potential benefits in credibility and mission alignment, it could also create complexity around expectations regarding her advocacy priorities versus her fiduciary board responsibilities. Gray's evolution from leading major annual fundraising operations to joining a smaller nonprofit's board represents a common career trajectory in the nonprofit sector but suggests HealthTree sees particular opportunity in fundraising expertise applied at the governance level.
