Maggie Goldberg has been named CEO of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, effective immediately, the nonprofit announced this week.
Goldberg has spent most of the past two decades at the Reeve Foundation, holding numerous executive roles during her tenure. Most recently, she served as chief operating officer, providing the leadership, management and vision to strategically grow the organization. Prior to that, she served as vice president of policy and programs and senior vice president of marketing and communications.
In her new role, she will be tasked with unveiling a fresh approach to the foundation’s research portfolio and establish new collaborative partnerships to bring greater awareness and attention to the needs of the paralysis community — while helping drive its mission to cure spinal cord injury by advancing innovative research and improving the quality of life for individuals and families impacted by paralysis.
“Throughout my career, my mission has been to ensure that people living with paralysis are supported to live empowered and independent lives,” she said. “As CEO, I will continue to advocate and push to accelerate research toward cures, expand community outreach and provide resources to elevate the voices and needs of our community and achieve greater representation.
“Those living with paralysis must have a seat at the table to achieve real equality.”
For Goldberg, the position is personal.
At 16, she broke her C2 vertebrae as a passenger in a car accident. She recovered fully, but her injury set her on a mission-driven career path to work on behalf of the paralysis community. Working closely with Christopher and Dana Reeve, she helped establish the only national paralysis-focused organization centered around a dual mission — Today’s Care. Tomorrow’s Cure.
As VP of policy and programs, she oversaw the Foundation’s National Paralysis Resource Center. Funded by an $8.7 million federal cooperative agreement from the Administration for Community Living, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the PRC provides comprehensive information, resources and referral services to individuals impacted by paralysis. Since its opening in 2002, more than 110,000 people have received one-on-one assistance from the PRC, accessing vast resources and free personalized support from its programs.
About the Reeve Foundation
The Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by funding innovative research and improving the quality of life for individuals and families impacted by paralysis, providing comprehensive information, resources and referral services assisting over 100,000 individuals and families since its launch in 2002.
Goldberg said one of her highest priorities in her new role is launching a modern approach to the foundation’s scientific endeavors — a new platform for funding collaborative research from the bench to the bedside, designed to address key roadblocks along the scientific continuum and accelerate progress toward meaningful therapeutics.
“The Reeve Foundation has long focused on uniting the brightest minds in the field to develop and deliver real-world treatments that will move the field closer to cures for spinal cord injury,” she said. “Now, more than ever, this requires global coordination and collaboration among SCI stakeholders, scientific and medical leadership, regulatory bodies and purposeful investors.
“Also paramount to clinical translation is an ecosystem — and funding — that supports all aspects of therapeutic development, from clinical trial design to regulatory approval to reimbursement, and more.”
Goldberg joins a small number of women leading nonprofits, and she is only the second female CEO in the Reeve Foundation’s history as it approaches its 40th anniversary in 2022. Although nearly three-quarters of the U.S. nonprofit workforce is female, just 21% of large nonprofit CEOs are women.
Reeve Foundation board Chair Jay Shepard feels Goldberg is the perfect person for the job.
“Maggie has been a devoted and powerful presence within the foundation and for the spinal cord injured community, providing hands-on support and partnership for more than 20 years,” he said. “Her expertise, dedication and passion will be invaluable in her role as CEO as we advance our mission to bring tangible cures and treatments to the community and improve the lives of all those impacted by paralysis.
“There was no one better suited to lead this revered organization, and I’m excited to continue working alongside her in this new chapter for the Reeve Foundation.”
