We must all be compassionate. You never know what someone else is going through. – Keely Krantz

Keely Krantz got her start in PR, eventually leading the launch of high-profile, global brands. A proud Boston College graduate, she was fortunate to have a mentor who had broken through glass ceilings and believed in passing it on. Says Keely “Janet Diederichs at Edelman Public Relations in Chicago challenged me to be someone I would never have aspired to if it hadn’t been for her guidance. I learned to be bold and aggressive.” At the height of Keely’s career, she became a mom and decided to stay at home with her kids, choosing parenthood and volunteerism over a career. It was this devotion to community and the greater good that inspired Keely and her husband Jason to make the largest gift in the history of Mass General Hospital cancer research history last year. Says Keely: “We don’t want to see small, incremental changes. We want to see fundamental, monumental, landscape-changing breakthroughs in the treatment of cancer, and we are willing to take big risks at the Krantz Family Research Center on physician-scientists who have big, aggressive ideas. We want to swing for the fences.” A few months later, Keely launched her next big chapter as the founder of the O’Dell Women’s Center www.odellwomenscenter.com in Springfield, Massachusetts. Named after her 98-year-old grandmother, who was a maternity nurse in the community for 40 years, the O’Dell Center is a first-of-its-kind in Springfield with 10,000 square feet of collaborative space that houses Dress for Success/Western Mass and other non-profits that advance educational and career opportunities for low-income women. In just one year, $250,000 in grants have been awarded. For Keely, this new chapter is the culmination of a story rooted in faith and the lessons of her parents. “Anything is possible” are three words I heard all the time when I was growing up. Says Keely. “I want to be a connector, surrounded by the mantra that respect and kindness go hand in hand. I want to do good.” For 23 minutes of inspiration, just hit that download button. #women #community #cancer @massgeneralcancercenter