St. Baldrick's Foundation Appoints AH&LA's Lugar to Board of Directors

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Apr 12, 2016, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, April 12, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The St. Baldrick's Foundation, the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants, is proud to announce Katherine Lugar as the newest member of its board of directors. Lugar brings decades of top executive management experience to the Foundation as president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA).

"We are thrilled to have Katherine expand her support of St. Baldrick's as she joins our board and brings her unique talents and perspectives at the policy and leadership level," says Kathleen Ruddy, CEO of the St. Baldrick's Foundation. "I look forward to the dedication, passion, fundraising tenacity and strategic ideas that Katherine will bring to our organization in an effort to help find a cure for children's cancers."

Helming the largest trade association representing the U.S. lodging industry, Lugar is responsible for setting the strategic vision for AH&LA and all of its affiliates, while championing the industry's voice on Capitol Hill, within the Administration and beyond Washington. Working directly with the volunteer officers and board of directors, Lugar transformed AH&LA since joining three years ago, growing the 24,000-strong group to its highest point in the organization's history and focusing its core mission on advocacy. Lugar is also the godmother and aunt of Caroline Richards, one of St. Baldrick's 2015 Ambassadors who passed away at the age of 12 after a one-year battle with osteosarcoma last year. Lugar and her husband raised more than $40,000 for St. Baldrick's in 2015 and started a Hero Fund to honor Caroline's legacy.

"This appointment is so very personal for me and I'm honored to help St. Baldrick's advance its incredibly important mission to find cures and more effective treatments for pediatric cancers," shares Lugar. "Children with cancer have got to have better and more compassionate options than what was available to Caroline. Having witnessed first-hand the talented and dedicated team, smart focus, and effective work of St. Baldrick's, I couldn't think of a more appropriate place to channel my passion and amplify their excellent work."

In addition, Lugar has more than 20 years of experience in private sector public affairs, including working on Capitol Hill and serving as executive vice president of public affairs for the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA).

To learn more about St. Baldrick's, visit www.StBaldricks.org, and connect on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Vimeo.

About St. Baldrick's Foundation
As the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants, the St. Baldrick's Foundation believes that kids are special and deserve to be treated that way. St. Baldrick's funds are granted to some of the most brilliant childhood cancer research experts who are working to find cures and better treatments for all childhood cancers. Kids need treatments as unique as they are – and that starts with funding research just for them. Join us at StBaldricks.org to help support the best cancer treatments for kids.

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SOURCE St. Baldrick's Foundation