Staff Leadership

Kathleen Ruddy
Chief Executive Officer

With more than three decades of professional non-profit experience, Kathleen Ruddy began work in the childhood cancer community in early 2001 – the same day she began planning the growth of what would become the St. Baldrick's Foundation.

From a family with an inherited gene mutation that causes multiple cancers, the mission for Kathleen is personal as well as professional. Among her many treasured St. Baldrick's memories, one she savors is her first meeting with the late 2012 St. Baldrick's Ambassador, Justin Miller. “He put his arms around my neck and said, 'please thank everyone in St. Baldrick's for helping me be alive.'”

A firm believer that kids with cancer bring out the best in everyone, Katheen enjoys meeting the Foundation's VIPs: volunteers, shavees, donors, advocates, researchers, kids, and families who bring St. Baldrick's mission to life. Blessed with an insatiable wanderlust, she has traveled extensively, and even adventures in distant places like Bratislava, Singapore, Jordan and Devil's Tower, Wyoming have afforded chance encounters with fellow disciples of St. Baldrick! At any given time, she has a dozen or more future expeditions planned - feel free to reach out for her latest recommendations!

As a St. Baldrick's Squire of Hope, Kathleen is a two-time shavee, DWYW participant, an active advocate for children with cancer, and forever thinking of new ways to share Justin's love and gratitude with the St. Baldrick's community.

Jennifer McCabe, CPA, CGMA
Chief Operating and Financial Officer

Jennifer McCabe joined the St. Baldrick's team in 2015 with over two decades of financial experience. With a love for crunching numbers, she rose through the ranks from accountant to SVP-CFO at her previous company. Jennifer holds a reputation for maintaining a high level of integrity, transparency and keeping everyone grounded in reality when it comes to the budget. It's her top priority to use every dollar wisely and asks that we all excuse her "budget face" (as she calls it) when doing a cost-benefit analysis!

Throughout her 8 years with St. Baldrick's, Jennifer has attended many St. Baldrick's events and has had the privilege of meeting many volunteers, donors, parents, and researchers. She will never forget the day a parent of a child with cancer shared that he credits St. Baldrick's for their child being alive. Connected to an impactful mission, Jennifer's motivation and commitment to helping the Foundation succeed stem from her connection with cancer in her and her husband's family.

Becky Weaver
Chief Mission Officer

Of her 31 years in the nonprofit sector, Becky has devoted 12 to the cause of childhood cancer research. She remembers the day some guys from New York called to say they planned to raise $17,000 by shaving heads at their St. Patrick's Day party… and the day they called back to say, “We raised $104,000 – and we're doing this again next year!”

Fast forward a few years: Becky became the second employee of the St. Baldrick's Foundation, where she now leads teams dedicated to taking care of families and making grants to researchers. Her mom, two aunts and an uncle are cancer survivors, and cancer took her younger brother at age 40. Finding a cure is not an option – it's an obsession.

Mark Arredondo
Director of Technology

As the overseer of all technology infrastructure and custom developments, Mark Arredondo joins the St. Baldrick's Foundation as the Director of Technology with over two decades of IT experience. In this role, Mark is committed to upholding a strong IT staff as the team works to set new technological developments that align with the Foundation's goals.

Through his personal connections with cancer, Mark understands the urgency that is needed to find cures and better treatments for kids with cancer. Joining the St. Baldrick's team has allowed Mark to help the Foundation continue to raise money through the COVID-19 pandemic, shifting the organization to a remote working environment and virtualizing the Foundation's signature in-person head-shaving events.

As the gatekeeper for passwords, remote access and Outlook connection, Mark holds a lot of power-but we promise he only uses it for good!

Michael T. Lockard
Chief Development Officer

Michael began his career at Indianapolis-based JD Finish Line Foundation where he served in multiple roles and led its development for nine years. Most recently, he served as executive director and on the board of directors for Elevance Health CARES, Inc., the public charity affiliated with Indiana's largest publicly traded company, Elevance Health (formerly Anthem). Prior roles include serving as regional director for Catholic Charities of Los Angeles and leading corporate engagement efforts for the University of California, Davis.

Known as a collaborative, servant leader with a history of achieving results, he is excited to inspire and rally many others to create significant waves of change and progress in the fight against childhood cancer.

Michael earned his MPA with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from the Indiana University Paul H. O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs and BA from Indiana University, Bloomington. He also holds the Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) designation.

Marysol Jimenez
Executive Assistant

Marysol Jimenez joined the St. Baldrick's Foundation in 2012 as an executive assistant and advocate for childhood cancer research. Her introduction to the nonprofit sector began in 2006. Since her start with St. Baldrick's, Marysol has met various families at different stages in their cancer journey and witnessed first-hand the hurt and pain childhood cancer can place on a family.

With a heart for helping others, Marysol devotes her free time to supporting her church's community outreach programs and offers support to low-income families in various situations. Throughout her years at the Foundation, Marysol has enjoyed seeing the St. Baldrick's team grow and come together to put an end to childhood cancer

Danette Ocaranza
Human Resources Director

Joining the St. Baldrick's Foundation in 2009, Danette Ocaranza serves as the Director of Human Resources and oversees recruitment, performance management, employee relations, employee benefits – and sometimes plays the role as the office therapist!

With a personal connection to kids, passion for helping the community, and over 20 years experience in human resource, Danette finds joy in combining her three passions to help and support each employee at St. Baldrick's. Danette often compares human resources to being a parent - and with 3 kids she definitely knows how to be empathetic, handle different personalities and resolve conflicts.