Donor Spotlight: NASDAQ
A couple years ago, the Nasdaq Accessibility Network was seeking a spark to highlight its efforts supporting colleagues living with disabilities. The group, one of roughly a dozen employee networks designed to bolster a sense of community within the company, counted just 61 members at the time.
“We were trying to figure out what we needed to do to get some attention and let people know we existed,” says Kristen Conley, network co-chair and Head of Corporate Governance & Board Engagement at Nasdaq.
Hoping to generate excitement, the network invited Eric LeGrand to visit Nasdaq’s New York headquarters. The event – in which LeGrand, a former Rutgers University football player living with a spinal cord injury, spoke about his recovery and the thriving life he’d built as an entrepreneur – was a hit.
In the weeks that followed, more than 40 colleagues from Nasdaq offices across the country joined the network. Through LeGrand, Conley and her co-leads discovered the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation – and the community driven fundraising efforts of Team Reeve.
A lightbulb went off.
“We had been looking at doing some sort of race to get more of a teamwork aspect,” Conley says. “And so, it really was just a perfect circumstance. When they asked if we would be interested in participating, it was ‘Oh, my gosh, yes, we totally would.’”
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In 2023, 19 members of Nasdaq’s Accessibility Network laced up their sneakers to tackle the New York City and Chicago Marathons as part of Team Reeve. The group not only raised $75,000 for the Reeve Foundation – the third highest total of all Team Reeve teams – but discovered a new energy that has helped increase membership to 232 staffers from around the world.
Throughout the year, a dedicated chat for the runners created new bonds within the network through training updates and inspirational playlists; coworkers tracked and cheered the team’s progress; and fun runs in New York City and Rockville, MD helped the network spotlight its mission to connect Nasdaq employees and their families living with disabilities and promote policies that strengthen internal resources.
Network co-chair Ann Brickley is thrilled not only with the growth, but the group’s increased visibility among co-workers less familiar with disabilities. The senior associate general counsel at Nasdaq lives with multiple sclerosis and joined the network in part to demonstrate that a disability need not diminish a life.
“I think it’s important that people who are comfortable sharing about their disability do that,” Brickley says. “When I got diagnosed a lot of people thought I had a death sentence. So, I just feel like it’s important that people understand that not all disability turns into a nightmare scenario.”
Unable to participate in a marathon, Brickley instead created her own challenge, running in the 2023 Army Ten-Miler in Washington, D.C where she raised $6,000 for the team.
“It was a blast,” she says.
Earlier this year, the team’s infectious enthusiasm was rewarded when Nasdaq Good Works, which supports company-wide volunteer efforts and service programs, awarded the network $10,000 for Team Reeve. Now, the network is again fielding a Team Reeve squad for the 2024 New York City and Chicago Marathons, with ambitious goals to match its 2023 success.
“The more you learn about Reeve, the more you want to raise money for it,” says Brickley.
Kelly Lamb, Team Reeve Endurance Manager, said participation from leading corporations like Nasdaq not only provides critical funding for spinal cord injury research, but also helps raise awareness about the Reeve Foundation’s extensive services and quality of life programs.
“From an advocacy standpoint, it’s huge,” Lamb says. “The more people we can make aware of Reeve’s resources and outreach, the better. With their enthusiastic participation on Team Reeve, the Nasdaq Accessibility Network is helping drive awareness of Reeve’s incredible work within their company and beyond.”
For now, Conley and Brickley are brainstorming new ways to maintain the network’s momentum, from celebrating this year’s marathoners to increasing accessibility tools for colleagues. Ultimately, Brickley says, the network’s core goal remains “to make people aware that this is a safe place to talk about disability and ask for help around disability.
“More membership means people are feeling comfortable seeking help,” she says.
For more information or to join Team Reeve, learn more here.