If you haven't yet supported the gala, it's not too late to be a partner in our success! Make a donation today and know that your leadership is advancing science that will build a healthier future for us all.
Highlights!
View pictures of the Celebration from our photo gallery.
See the guests as they entered the museum!
Dr. Mary Beth Terry, Silent Spring's new executive director, shares her vision for the Institute.
Host Katie Martell welcomes guests and shares a personal story.
Mark Ruffalo receives the 2024 Rachel Carson Advocacy Award for his advocacy work on PFAS.
Journalist Sharon Lerner receives the 2024 Rachel Carson Advocacy Award for her reporting on PFAS.
Lisa Carey, gala host committee co-chair, talks about why Silent Spring's work is so critical.
Musical guest Mistral kicks off (and closes out!) the evening with some exquisite music.
Event Details
Celebrating 30 years of breast cancer prevention research and helping women and families live healthier lives! Meet Silent Spring’s new executive director, staff, and board members as we embark together on a new era in prevention research and innovation.
Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at 6:30 p.m.
Museum of Science, Boston
The Program
6:30 p.m. Cocktail Reception, outside the Planetarium in The Red Wing
8:00 p.m. Program and Auction, The Red Wing Atrium
Hosted by ebullient influencer Katie Martell
Also featuring:
- Remarks by Dr. Mary Beth Terry, Executive Director, Silent Spring Institute
- Presentation of the 2024 Rachel Carson Advocacy Award to actor and activist Mark Ruffalo and investigative journalist Sharon Lerner
- Performance by Mistral, a premier New England chamber ensemble
- Live auction with Jacqueline Tower-Perkins of Tower-Perkins Consulting, formerly of Sotheby’s
Honorees
Mark Ruffalo
Emmy winner and four-time Academy Award nominee Mark Ruffalo has acted in and produced many projects that bring attention to the fight for indigenous rights, environmental concerns and the communities most affected by the climate crisis. Ruffalo starred in and co-produced Focus Features’ “Dark Waters,” directed by Todd Haynes, about the DuPont PFAS Pollution scandal – the film won “Best Feature Film” at the 2020 Environmental Media Association Awards. Ruffalo also served as a producer on Burned: Protecting the Protectors, a documentary that details the dangers of PFAS in firefighter turnout gear, and a forthcoming documentary called GenX: The Saga of Forever Chemicals. Ruffalo is a co-founder and board member of The Solutions Project, a national organization with a mission to accelerate the transition to 100% clean energy and equitable access to healthy air, water, and soils.
(Ruffalo will accept the award via video, and will not be in person at the event.)
Sharon Lerner
Sharon Lerner is an investigative journalist who has reported extensively on PFAS chemicals—detailing how manufacturers covered up the danger they pose for decades. She was the first to write that PFAS-containing firefighting foam used by the military contaminated water around the country and broke the story that GenX, a PFAS compound that DuPont created to replace the cancer-causing compound PFOA, also causes cancer. Lerner covers health and the environment for ProPublica. She joined ProPublica in 2022 after seven years at The Intercept, where she focused on environmental crime and regulatory failures. Her stories have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Nation, and The Washington Post, and she recently appeared on the Daily Show! Lerner’s work has been honored by the Society of Environmental Journalists 11 times and by the Newswomen’s Club of New York, which named her journalist of the year in 2021.
Featuring
Dr. Mary Beth Terry
Dr. Mary Beth Terry is an internationally renowned cancer epidemiologist with over 25 years of experience leading studies on breast cancer risk factors. Her many contributions to the field include groundbreaking work on how environmental exposures increase breast cancer risk among women with a family history or genetic predisposition. She currently is leading an international study investigating drivers of early onset cancer and the influence of environmental exposures during key windows of susceptibility. Author of over 450 scientific publications, Dr. Terry has served on numerous prestigious committees for the National Cancer Institute and the International Agency for Research on Cancer. She comes to Silent Spring from Columbia University, where she’s Professor of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health and Associate Director of Population Science at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Host
Katie Martell
Katie Martell has appeared on stages across the U.S. and internationally as an emcee, host, and speaker. She speaks and writes about the collision of marketing and social movements (aka woke-washing) and has been named "one of the most interesting people in B2B marketing." Her two cents have appeared in places like the BBC, Adweek, CNBC, Forbes, WSJ, New York Times, and more. With 150,000 followers and subscribers, she shines a light on important narratives and believes Mary Oliver when she wrote, "To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work."
Auctioneer
Jacqueline Towers-Perkins
Jacqueline Towers-Perkins is an international auctioneer and fundraising consultant, serving non-profit institutions and holding auctions at high profile charity galas and benefit events in the United States and Europe. Her clients include international royalty from His Majesty King Charles to Jay-Z and Beyoncé, and she has shared the stage with leaders of finance, entertainment, tech, and politics. Over the years she has auctioneered to thousands of bidders and raised millions for charity. Alongside her independent auctioneer business, she previously held senior positions at top global auction houses including Sotheby’s New York and Bonhams Auctioneers, as a lead Auctioneer and Contemporary Art Specialist, most recently rising to the position of Vice President at the former.
Musical Guest
Mistral
Mistral has been a jewel in the cultural landscape of the Greater Boston area since 1997. With a five-concert series in Andover and Brookline, Mistral presents virtuosic, communicative artists in unique, far-ranging, thematic programs, from newly discovered gems to timeless masterpieces, with an irresistible combination of high spirits and serious music-making. Committed to invigorating old traditions with an ever-youthful zest, Mistral connects in a singular way with its audiences.
Host Committee
Lisa Carey Moore and Justin Moore, Co-Chairs
Kristin Knox* and Thomas Knox, Co-Chairs
Jill‡ and Michael Balmuth
Lisa Goodwin Robbins†‡ and Andrew Robbins
Margaret Kripke†
Cynthia McKeown†
Andrea Roman and Tom Gloria
Prachi Samudra† and Ashish Chhabra
Cindy Shulak Rome† and Dan Rome
Patti Stoll‡ and Michael Gladstone
Mary Beth Terry*†
Beth Whelan†
†Board of Directors
‡Leadership Council
*Staff
Individual Sponsors
Thank you to our sponsors for their generosity and support!
Anonymous
Lawrence Bailis† and Susan Shevitz
Jill‡ and Michael Balmuth
Cynthia Barakatt‡ and Richard Bizzozero
Anonymous
Joan and Steven Belkin
Barry Bluestone and Diana Silvester
Julia* and Dan Brody
Ellen‡ and Richard Calmas
The Carpenter Family
The Chasin Family‡
Drs. Maura and Paul Copeland
Cathy and Harvey Cotton
Charles E. and Charlotte T. Curry Foundation
Jonathan Dale and Catharine Roseberry
Karen and Paul Dale
Estelle Disch
The Erban Family
Sherri Ades Falchuk and Kenneth R. Falchuk
Andrea Ferrara and Ann E. Madden
Carolyn Fine Friedman‡
Kathie Florsheim‡
Jason Gilbert
Lisa Goodwin Robbins† and Andrew Robbins
Polly Hoppin and Bob Thomas
Amy and Joel Janovsky‡
Doris Jurrison and Reed Alexander
Agnes Kane†
Kristin* and Thomas Knox
Adrienne Kols and John Boronow
Margaret Kripke†
Dr. Elsie Levin and Boston Breast Diagnostic Center
Georgia McGaughey† and Anthony Nicholls
Cynthia McKeown†
Jeanne Mockard† and Valerie Hubbard Webdell
Joseph Muise
Roberta Pasternack
Robin and Bruce Polishook‡
Cathie Ragovin† and Derek Polonsky
Janet Reinhart
Mary Ann Rodrigue
Andrea Roman and Tom Gloria
Andrew and Petra Sansom
Marilyn‡ and Jay Sarles
Caryl and Gary Shaw
Amanda and Lou Shipley
Cindy Shulak-Rome† and Dan Rome
Chula Sims and Dick Lavine
Patti Stoll‡ and Mike Gladstone
Mary Beth Terry* and Christopher Turner
Mary Ann Watts
Beth Whelan† and Larry Holt
†Board of Directors
‡Leadership Council
*Staff
Corporate Sponsors
Britta Design
Eastern Bank
Marble Harbor Investment Counsel, LLC
Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition
Timber Creek Capital Management
The TJX Companies, Inc.
The Village Bank
William Blair