Staff Profile
Marion Case
Associate Director of Gift Planning
Marion Case
According to former Executive Vice President and COO Jim Conway, the best part about telling a Dana-Farber employee that he or she has won the Rowlee Award for Staff Excellence is what he terms the "bubble effect."
In essence, Conway enjoys watching the excitement "bubble" throughout an office when a colleague has earned this prestigious staff distinction.
So when Conway dropped in — flowers in hand — on 2004 Rowlee winner Marion Case on May 17, the bubble effect immediately began to percolate through the sixth floor of 10 Brookline Place. Development Department colleagues and friends popped in to congratulate the well-loved Case, a 25-year DFCI veteran who serves as Development's associate director of Gift Planning.
"This is like the Academy Awards," said a laughing Case, in her typically buoyant, humorous manner. "All you have to do is stay here 25 years, and you can win a Rowlee Award.
"I really can't believe I won, especially with so many great candidates," she added. "Knowing that I work with incredible people who believe that we can make a difference in the lives of those struggling with cancer really inspires me."
"What took you so long?"
The Rowlee is one of five Institute honors sponsored by longtime Institute benefactors Rowena and Charles Simberg of Scottsdale, Ariz., and is accompanied by a $1,000 gift for the winner (chosen by a staff committee). According to Director of Gift Planning Chris Painter, when Charles Simberg learned Case was the Rowlee designee, he responded simply: "What took you so long?"
Case came into contact with the Simbergs in 1993 and has remained a trusted Institute friend to the couple ever since. So they, more than many, realize how much Case means to Dana-Farber.
After working as a lab assistant in the Outpatient Hematology Lab, a receptionist/registration officer for Admitting and Registration, and a senior administrative secretary in Radiation Oncology, Case went back to school.
With more than a little help from her parents for three years, Case juggled raising her son, full-time classes, and work at DFCI. She earned a bachelor's degree in social psychology, then a teacher's certificate in elementary education from the University of Massachusetts Boston in 1992. She was exploring teaching opportunities when an opening arose at DFCI as an assistant in Development's Gift Planning unit that year.
"At the time, the woman who hired me, Alice (Tobin) Zaff, had only been in Development for two weeks," recalls Case. "I was able to provide her with Institutional knowledge, and she taught me all about gift planning."
Eventually, Case worked her way up to an associate director's job, where she currently oversees the Dana-Farber Society — whose members have included the Institute in their estate plans — and the Bequest Program, in which Case ensures that Dana-Farber's best interests are considered when benefactors pass away.
Under Case's stewardship the past four years, the program has mushroomed from about $2 million to almost $8 million. Most of the total is unrestricted funds, critical to the health of the Institute's finances.
"I've met great benefactors, like the Simbergs, with whom I've developed strong relationships," notes Case, "as well as other incredibly big-hearted people who want to make a difference at the end of their lives. For me to help someone leave a wonderful gift to Dana-Farber, I couldn't think of anything better."
Heartfelt thanks
At the Rowlee ceremony, the Institute was able to formally thank Case and her fellow nominees for their many years of tireless effort.
"Walking down the hall with Marion is quite an experience," noted Painter, Case's supervisor. "Everyone knows her; she could run for student council at Dana-Farber.
"Her attitude is contagious, and she's such a team player," he added. "She's the key to putting us all in a very good mood every day. She holds the type of great values that, unfortunately, are often in short supply in this world."
