Robyn Osborne Spoon is the CEO and Founder of Elevate, an organization dedicated to dramatically improving and saving the lives of those diagnosed with childhood cancer. Robyn brings her expertise in design thinking and decades of experience in academia, business and nonprofit management to tackle the Elevate’s mission.
   Over the past decade, Robyn has earned a Certificate in College Counseling from UCLA and an M.A. in Executive Development for Public Service at Ball State University where she is currently a Doctoral Candidate in Educational Psychology. Robyn has extensive nonprofit and advocacy experience, having served on nonprofit boards at the local, state, national, and international levels. She has been an invited speaker at both small gatherings and large national conferences.
    She is deeply committed to advancing cancer therapies for children and has had the privilege of speaking at high-profile events, including the Advocate Showcase Speaking Session at Memorial Sloan Kettering, the Sarcoma Translation Research Team’s Virtual Meeting, and the 2024 FDA Oncology Center of Excellence Pediatric Advocacy Forum. Additionally, she attended the ACCELERATE platform in Belgium in 2024 and was awarded Individual Advocate of the Year by the Indiana Cancer Consortium. As part of her role, Robyn has helped Elevate found multiple coalitions: The Pediatric Renal Tumor Coalition, The Rhabdomyosarcoma Coalition and the Indiana Pediatric Cancer Coalition.
   Robyn is married to Joel and has had the honor of being mom to three amazing young adults. Robyn changed her focus from education advocacy to childhood cancer advocacy in 2020 when her young adult son, Justin, was diagnosed with and later died from rhabdomyosarcoma.  It is her deepest life’s goal that childhood cancer will no longer rob young people of becoming thriving adults.

    Chris has worked in the non-profit sector for close to 20 years.  He has been a secondary social studies teacher, varsity soccer coach, & business owner.  The common thread throughout Chris’ career has been teaching & advocacy. As Vice-President of Program for FIRST Indiana Robotics, Chris worked with students, robotics teams, & legislative leaders to pass House Bill 1382 which has brought $3.5 Million a year to Indiana K-12 Schools for competitive robotics.  

    Chris plans to take his experience of board service, organizational leadership, & advocacy skills to this new role as chair of Elevate.  “I believe this organization is poised to take the lead in helping research institutions to get more therapies into phase one clinical trials. Childhood cancer research is severely underfunded, children & their families can’t wait any longer for better treatment options.

    Besides a passion for youth serving organizations & volunteerism, Chris likes to read, play board games with friends & family, & enjoys a good movie.  

    After earning a college degree from Indiana University, Joel founded his first successful business, Spoon Construction at the age of 25, which is a custom residential design/build firm. He immediately took on significant community leadership by serving as the President of the Tri-County Builders Association. His duties included organizing the local “Home Show” for many years. During the first decade of his career, Joel received many awards for his acclaimed custom home designs and builds. Since those early days, Joel has expanded his work to include real estate sales and development, having successfully developed four neighborhoods in Columbus, Indiana.

    Meanwhile, Joel took his role as “dad” seriously by coaching children’s recreational flag and tackle football and soccer and also enjoyed founding and managing the Columbus Adult Flag Football League for many years. Joel serves as the Chief Financial Chair for Elevate Childhood Cancer Research and Advocacy, as a way to impact the future for those diagnosed with childhood cancer.

   Dan brings a wealth of experience in technology, communications, and strategic leadership to the Elevate Board. His career spans diverse roles, from crafting engaging content at a PBS television station to developing video/multimedia presentations and training materials for a corporate communications firm, and to driving strategic initiatives and overseeing core operations of a leading regional collaborative of independent hospitals and community-based healthcare providers.  

   Dan’s nearly twenty years in the healthcare industry combined with his personal journey as the parent of a cancer patient fuel his passion for Elevate’s mission to dramatically improve and save the lives of those diagnosed with childhood cancer. His commitment to community is evident in his long-standing volunteer work with Meals on Wheels and as a Big Brother.

   In his spare time, Dan enjoys spending time with his wife, Kristi, their two adult children, and their pooch. Additionally, he can often be found following his favorite sports teams and dabbling in disc golf and tennis.