Donna McKay

Donna McKay is the President & Chief Executive Officer of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), the nation’s highest-rated breast cancer research organization with a singularly focused mission to prevent and cure breast cancer by advancing the world’s most promising research.

Under McKay’s leadership, BCRF has flourished. In the 2023-2024 period, the organization provided support to more than 250 investigators at 110 leading academic and medical institutions across 15 countries, disbursing $60.2 million in scientific grants. McKay leads a team of 62 people at BCRF and a deep partnership with a robust Board of Directors comprised of 23 industry leaders in business, finance, and media, alongside a significant roster of 81 advisory board members, driving a committed, efficient, and outsized impact on supporting life-saving research. Additionally, BCRF’s team consists of 13 of the world’s leading researchers creating a formidable Scientific Advisory Board tasked with guiding and achieving its mission to end breast cancer. In this past year alone, the Foundation’s global legion of scientists have made significant strides revealing new treatments to improve outcomes for aggressive breast cancers, identifying ways we can precisely calculate breast cancer risk, and work towards ensuring that progress is equitable by exploring the underpinnings of disparities in outcomes.

With more than 30 years of international and domestic nonprofit experience, McKay most recently led the Nobel Prize-winning organization Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) for a decade of historic growth prior to taking the helm of BCRF in March 2023. At PHR, McKay led a global team to significantly diversify funding and expand its network of supporters and impact, doubling its budget and securing a landmark $9 million challenge grant. Her work to forge PHR’s medical and scientific partnerships led to a vastly increased legion of academic and industry researchers to advance its mission.

McKay was previously the director of institutional advancement and special projects at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), where she played a critical role in transforming the organization as it responded to the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. McKay co-founded an International Civil Liberties Network, comprising some of the world’s most esteemed civil liberties groups.
​
Earlier in her career as the vice president for development at the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. During her tenure, she chaired the Campaign to Eliminate Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus Worldwide. She holds an MS in nonprofit management and urban policy from the New School for Social Research.