How do you lead an organization that does great work AND is a great place to work? 

In this episode of Associations Thrive, host Joanna Pineda interviews Marcie Finney, Executive Director at the Cleveland Cord Blood Center (CCBC). Marcie discusses:

• What umbilical cord blood is and why we bank it.
• The differences between a private cord blood bank and a public cord blood bank.
• The life-saving treatments that are now available because of research enabled by cord blood and stem cell transplants.
• Marcie’s journey from being a researcher to running the CCBC.
• The work she’s done to make CCBC a great place to work, including better infrastructure, a new strategic plan, updated job descriptions, and so much more.
• How the CCBC is part of the Cord Blood Association, which brought cord blood banks together and helped them achieve FDA licensing.
• The importance of racial and ethnic diversity in the cord blood units stored by public cord blood banks, especially as the US population is growing more diverse.
• How CCBC supports groundbreaking research into new treatments for all sorts of diseases, including leukemia, autoimmune disorders, cerebral palsy, and HIV.
• How creating a diverse cord blood inventory is a national resource.
• How nurses call donors when their baby’s cord blood is going to be used; these are some of the best calls they make!
• Why moms should consider donating their babies’ cord blood to a public cord blood bank.

References:

• Cleveland Cord Blood Center
• National Marrow Donor Program 
• Cord Blood Association
• Parent’s Guide to Cord Blood Foundation