Lesley Ann Prowda was born in Englewood, N.J., grew up in Saddle River, N.J., and graduated from Syracuse University in l987 with a BA in Retail Marketing. She and her husband Jeffrey have one daughter, Madison Belle.
Lesley had been looking for a way to volunteer at Dana-Farber and she believes that she found the right venue by serving on the Friends' Great Chefs event in 2004. She continued on the committee and in 2008 was elected to the Board of the Friends of Dana-Farber after being nominated by member Nanci Gelb. She is a co-chair on the 2009 Chefs Cooking for Hope event.
Lesley's sister, who lives in New York, is a breast cancer survivor. Ever since Lesley moved to the Boston area, she has been watched by the high-risk department at Dana-Farber: "I wanted to be connected to Dana-Farber other than for my check ups," she says.
Living in the town of Wellesley, Lesley is also active in local organizations including Committee 21, Newcomer's Club, Mother's Forum, and Hills and Falls Preschool. In her spare time, she enjoys running, tennis, reading, traveling, and anything that involves her family.