Meet the people
who pour their hearts into Rally’s mission.

Dean Crowe
Founder & CEO

Emily Kallos
Senior Director of Operations and Awareness

Adam Cohen
Senior Events & Awareness Manager

Kimberly Walther
Director of Development & Awareness

Leigh Anna Lang
Grants Administrator

Emma Strong
Development, Awareness & Rally Kid Coordinator

Rebecca Davis
Graphic Designer

Sara Hughes
Volunteer & Awareness Administrator

Marla Jendzurski
Administrative Specialist

Elaine Kay
Director of Rally Nashville

Millie Mathis
Events, Awareness and Programs Manager

Cindi Bonner
Director of Rally Pensacola

Sarah Poland
Events & Community Engagement Manager

Jamie Mitchell
Community Engagement Specialist

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Advocate

Dean Crowe

Founder & CEO

Dean Crowe is the Founder and CEO of Rally Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research, a national non-profit organization based in Atlanta that funds childhood cancer research through grassroots initiatives. By vision and leadership, Dean works to empower a nationwide group of volunteers, families and friends who want to “do something” to help in the fight against childhood cancer. She also leads Rally’s national advocacy efforts. Dean has a background in commercial real estate sales and was a mortgage loan officer who got her start in fundraising by serving as the Campaign Director for Young Life’s national camp, SharpTop Cove. She fondly refers to that experience as “fundraising baptism by fire!” Dean is a graduate of Auburn University and Harvard Business School Executive Education Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management. She and her husband, Reid, live in Atlanta and have two sons: Jonathan, a neurologist who is married to Katie and living in Boston; and Russ, a marketing strategist who is married to Emily and living in Atlanta. Dean and Reid enjoy traveling, college football and spending time with family and friends. 

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Emily Kallos

Senior Director of Operations & Awareness

Emily is Rally’s Senior Director of Operations and Awareness. She is focused on internal operations as well as individual, institutional and foundation giving to further Rally’s mission to cure childhood cancer. After losing her mother to a blood cancer, Emily wanted to make an impact to find cures so that other families would not lose a loved one. In 2010, along with her family and friends, she formed a fundraising team for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) which has raised more than $300,000 since their inception. Following this volunteerism, Emily made a career transition to nonprofit and joined the LLS staff in a senior role. We were so excited when she then decided to join the fight at Rally! Emily enjoys photography, volunteering in her community, and spending as much time with her friends and family as possible. She and her husband, Peter, live in Johns Creek with their dog Penny. 

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Adam Cohen

Senior Events & Awareness Manager

Adam joined Rally in April of 2016. In his role as Senior Events Manager, he oversees the Delta Double Play, Rally Athlete, and events in our extension cities. Adam lived in Atlanta for seven years where he worked as an Assistant Director for JCC Day Camps and Special Events Manager for Camp Twin Lakes, prior to moving to Savannah where he was the Director of Events for Telfair Museums. Adam is thrilled to be back in Atlanta where he lives in Dunwoody with his wife, Herchelle, and their twins, Elyssa and Joey, and dogs, Wylie and Munson. They love traveling, tailgating and trying new restaurants! 

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Kimberly Walther

Director of Development & Awareness

Kimberly has over 24 years in not-for-profit development at an array of non-profit organizations varying in size and budget, from grass roots to national foundations. While she has worn many hats in the non-profit industry over the years, Kimberly’s driving force and focus has always been to make a difference in the cause she is championing. Kimberly is passionate about giving back to her community and in addition to her career she and her daughter participate and volunteer for the National Charity League. At Rally, Kimberly serves as the Development Director with a special focus on Corporate and Donor Relations. In her role she works closely with those who want to increase their engagement in support of Rally’s mission delivery with impactful gifts dedicated to funding research and to invest in the future of Rally’s mission through gifts to our Endowment. Additionally, she helps coordinate employee engagement opportunities through sponsorships, volunteering and other fundraising efforts. Kimberly lives in Roswell with her two kids.

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Leigh Anna Lang

Grants Administrator

As the Grants Administrator, Leigh Anna is responsible for managing the Rally for Research grants process and serving as the primary point of contact for our Medical Advisory Board, co-funding organizations, and Rally-funded researchers. Leigh Anna began her career in grant development and fundraising in Philadelphia with a non-profit theater company. After moving to Atlanta, she worked for 10 years as a grant consultant, supporting school districts and non-profit organizations in obtaining and managing Federal grant funds. Leigh Anna is excited to join Rally’s effort to fund the most promising childhood cancer research initiatives. She and her husband, Steven, live in Peachtree Corners with their son and daughter, Cooper and Olivia, and cat, Baxter.

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Emma Strong

Rally Kid Administrator

Emma serves as the Rally Kid Administrator. In this role, she works closely with our families and Rally Kids, visiting them in the hospital several times a week and planning events for our Rally Kids and families. Emma is on the Development Team and works on Salesforce management and oversees various fundraising campaigns throughout the year. Emma graduated from the University of Georgia in the spring of 2018 with a degree in communications. While in college Emma was heavily involved with UGA Miracle and served on the leadership team. Over the four years she was involved with Miracle, they raised over $4.1 million for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. She is excited to be a part of Rally and continue to work with so many amazing families! Emma enjoys being outside, exercising, traveling, volunteering and cheering on the Green Bay Packers and the Dawgs.

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Rebecca Davis

Graphic Designer

Rebecca is Rally’s Graphic Designer and works on Rally’s creative collateral from digital to print. She brings expertise in social, video and design. Rebecca graduated from Georgia Southern University in May of 2016 with a degree in Graphic Design and a minor in Marketing. Rebecca enjoys designing, being with family and friends and cheering on her Dallas Cowboys. Rebecca loves being a part of the Rally team and the fight against childhood cancer. She has a thing for monograms but we can’t say if it is a good or bad thing.

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Sara Hughes

Volunteer & Awareness Administrator

Sara serves as the Operations Administrator for Rally. She is our volunteer and project coordinator. She is passionate about empowering our volunteers to raise awareness and funds for childhood cancer research. Sara graduated from Georgia State University with a degree in Spanish focusing on International Business. She loves to cook, learn new languages, and volunteer at local animal shelters. Sara lives in Decatur with her fiancé, and their rescue dog Polly Pockets.

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Marla Jendzurski

Administrative Specialist

Marla serves as our Administrative Specialist and works hard to keep the Rally office running smoothly and oversees Rally’s day to day bookkeeping. Marla brings 10 years of experience from the banking industry. Marla is a graduate of the University of Alabama—Roll Tide! She and her husband, Jim, have two incredible daughters, Emma and Delaney. They love traveling together and spending time outdoors.  

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Elaine Kay

Director of Rally Nashville

Elaine Kay is the Director of Rally Nashville and keeps us laughing constantly. She is full of passion, vision and loves to share the “Rally Bug” with everyone she meets! Elaine’s passion for Rally’s mission began soon after experiencing childhood cancer firsthand through her son, James. When James was 11 years old, he was the 27th person in the world history to be diagnosed with a PNET Ewing’s Sarcoma originating in the kidney. Thankfully, James is now a healthy Auburn University graduate. Elaine earned her undergraduate degree from Ole Miss and her master’s from Vanderbilt. She is very involved with the 100-year-old Kiwanis Club of Nashville, a service club that has also helped with various Rally Nashville events. Elaine and her husband enjoy traveling to visit both James, an Auburn graduate, and their daughter Caroline, who is a graduate of University of Virginia and is a traveling pediatric oncology nurse.

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Millie Mathis

Events & Programs Manager

Millie serves as the Events and Programs Manager at our Rally Nashville office. With over seven years of nonprofit, campaign and corporate event and program experience, she hopes to help Rally Nashville grow and reach new goals. After graduating from Florida State University, she served as an AmeriCorps’ VISTA working in the nonprofit field around children’s advocacy issues that have always held a special calling to her. After her service, professional opportunities lead her to Nashville and she has called it home for the past 4 years. Millie enjoys traveling to see her family and friends as much as she can and cheering on her Noles during football season!

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Cindi Bonner

Director of Rally Pensacola

Cindi Bonner is the Director of Rally Pensacola. She was first introduced to childhood cancer in May of 2013 when a four-year-old neighbor was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma. In order to help the family build an informative website and Facebook page, Cindi researched Ewing’s Sarcoma. Based on her findings, Cindi quickly became interested in learning more about underfunded research dollars and the #1 disease killer of children in the U.S. Today, she leads Rally Pensacola’s fundraising and advocacy efforts. Prior to joining Rally, Cindi worked in her family business and started her own fitness company. Cindi is a 5th generation Pensacolian. She is passionate about philanthropy and giving back to her community. She enjoys fitness and has a Master’s degree in Exercise Physiology. Cindi also likes spending time with her children, Lauren and Chad, her husband Chad and their two labradoodles.

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Sarah Poland

Pensacola Events & Community Engagement Manager

Sarah joined the Rally Pensacola team as their first full-time employee in February 2019. As the Events & Community Engagement Manager, Sarah coordinates fundraising events while fostering relationships with sponsors, community partners and volunteers. Sarah is originally from central Illinois, having received her BA from Illinois Wesleyan University as well as completing five semesters of graduate coursework at Illinois State University. Sarah then relocated to metro Atlanta where she gained many years of experience in both corporate and non-profit environments. She was also heavily involved as a volunteer and board member in the animal rescue field. A recent transplant to the Florida Panhandle, Sarah enjoys visiting with her sister and nephew who were the the catalyst for her move to Pensacola, collecting concert tickets, binging Netflix with her partner, David, and their rescue pets, and, of course, relaxing on the beach.

CONTACT

Meet the people who pour their hearts into Rally’s mission.

JOIN US AND GET INVOLVED

Dean Crowe

Founder & CEO

Emily Kallos

Senior Director of Operations & Awareness

Adam Cohen

Senior Events & Awareness Manager

Kimberly Walther

Director of Development & Awareness

Leigh Anna Lang

Grants Administrator

Emma Strong

Rally Kid Administrator

Rebecca Davis

Graphic Designer

Sara Hughes

Volunteer & Awareness Administrator

Marla Jendzurski

Administrative Specialist

Elaine Kay

Director of Rally Nashville

Millie Mathis

Events & Programs Manager

Cindi Bonner

Director of Rally Pensacola

Sarah Poland

Pensacola Events & Community Engagement Manager

Meet the people
who pour their hearts into Rally’s mission.