Our Story
On April 15, 2013, Gillian Reny stood at the Boston Marathon finish line with her parents, Steven and Audrey, waiting for her sister Danielle to complete the historic race. A beautiful Marathon Monday was turned into a senseless tragedy when two bombs went off, and Gillian became one of 39 critically injured patients rushed to Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Despite suffering traumatic injuries, clinicians were able to save Gillian’s life and legs through the efforts of a multidisciplinary medical team.
A Mission Takes Root
During Gillian’s recovery, the Reny family learned firsthand that trauma is a silent, unrecognized epidemic that is critically underfunded. In 2014, with this newfound knowledge and deep gratitude to Gillian’s team of healthcare heroes, the Reny family established what is now known as The Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Center for Trauma Innovation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Today, the center is thriving and has expanded its programs institutionally to Mass General Brigham and beyond. To ensure that no one else has to experience a traumatic injury like Gillian, the Stepping Strong Center catalyzes multidisciplinary collaborations and fuels innovations to improve outcomes from traumatic injuries.
While my family would undo April 15, 2013, in a heartbeat, we’re deeply grateful for the impact that has grown from that day. It’s hard to believe it’s been more than ten years since we launched the Stepping Strong Center in Gillian’s name, and incredible to see how it’s become a place where trauma research, care, and innovation thrive every day.”
Audrey Epstein Reny
Stepping Strong Center Co-Founder and Advisory Board Chair
10+ Years of Vision, Innovation, and Impact
2014
- Reny family establishes The Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Fund in February 2014.
“The moment the ambulance arrived at Brigham and Women’s Hospital following the chaos of the Boston Marathon finish line in 2013, I felt safety, love, and true compassion. No words will ever fully express my gratitude to the doctors and nurses who saved my life and legs.” – Gillian Reny
- First team of 14 Stepping Strong runners run the 118th Boston Marathon. Now, the team consists of more than 150 runners ever year.
2015
- The Stepping Strong Center welcomes its inaugural Stepping Strong Plastic Surgery Fellow, Eugene Fukudome, MD, to learn the newest techniques in reconstruction from a multidisciplinary team of physician educators. Fukudome is now a plastic surgeon at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
- To date, the Stepping Strong Center has trained 16 fellows.
2016
- Inaugural Stepping Strong Innovator Award winner Matthew Carty, MD, receives the Stepping Strong Breakthrough Award, enabling him to perform the first-of-its-kind experimental Ewing amputation.
- In 2024, the Ewing procedure became standard of care for lower extremities at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
- To date, 74 research teams have received transformative funding from the Stepping Strong Center.
2017
- The Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Center for Trauma Innovation officially opens in January at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, expanding from a virtual program into a physical hub dedicated to collaborative, multidisciplinary efforts in trauma research and care.
- The Step Up for Stepping Strong corporate wellness challenge launches during National Trauma Awareness Month in May. To date, the center has hosted more than 44,000 participants, raising over $880,000.
2018
- The center hosts the first Stepping Strong Trauma Research and Innovation Symposium, presenting research updates and groundbreaking projects that are transforming trauma research and care.
- Ali Salim, MD, joins the Stepping Strong Center as Co-Medical Director
2019
- The Stepping Strong Center celebrates five years of turning tragedy into hope.
- The Stepping Strong Center and the National Center for Disaster Medicine System and Public Health host the first National Stop the Bleed Research Consensus Conference. Over two days, 45 national experts define a consensus-driven agenda to guide pre-hospital hemorrhage control research for the next decade.
2020
- The Stepping Strong Center establishes the Stepping Strong Injury Prevention Program to promote evidence-based prevention activities through community outreach, research of best practices, and training for healthcare professionals, with the goal of improving outcomes from traumatic injury.
- Lunch & Learn Webinar Series: The first Stepping Strong Lunch & Learn webinar focuses on community violence prevention strategies. To date, 820 attendees have joined 19 Lunch & Learn webinars.
2021
- Morgan Stickney, a beneficiary of the Stepping Strong Center-funded Ewing Amputation procedure, wins gold at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
- The Stepping Strong Center receives $4M, its largest gift to date, from the Jack Satter Foundation to sustain the Stepping Strong Breakthrough Award program in perpetuity.
2022
- Since 2014, more than 7,800 people have been trained in lifesaving techniques through the Stepping Strong Emergency Response Training program, which includes Stop the Bleed, naloxone administration, and QPR suicide prevention.
- The Stepping Strong Center launches the Stepping Strong Young Professionals Council (SSYPC) to engage the next generation of trauma ambassadors in Boston.
2023
- The Brigham and Women’s Hospital Stepping Strong Boston Marathon team raises $2.02M, in a record-breaking fundraising effort.
- In recognition of the 10th anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing tragedy, the center launches Stepping Strong: A Week of Hope and Healing to honor the resilience of the people of Boston.
- Over ten years, the Stepping Strong Center has raised more than $33M to fuel trauma innovation.
2024
- In celebration of ten years of Stepping Strong, the center hosts the Stepping Strong Innovation Showcase, featuring solutions developed through the center’s programs.
- Starting on February 20, the Stepping Strong Center’s 10th anniversary, a month-long blood drive begins, benefiting trauma patients at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The blood drive is co-hosted in partnership with the Kraft Family Blood Donor Center.
2025
- The Prudential Tower lit up in blue, pink, and gold to honor the Stepping Strong Center and our mission to transform care for trauma survivors. Selected for the annual 31 Nights of Light program, the evening spotlighted the center’s powerful impact on the prevention, treatment, and recovery of traumatic injury.
- Mike and Laura Berenstain, trustees of the Stan and Jan Berenstain Healthy Kids Foundation, gift $350,000 to launch the Stepping Strong TRAIL Clinic, along with a five-year commitment to the Trauma Survivor Fund.
Looking Ahead
In the next decade, the Stepping Strong Center aspires to fulfill its mission by transforming the outcome of trauma through fostering novel solutions to prevent injury and driving innovative treatment and recovery practices for survivors.
- Fuel research with an accelerated implementation timeline to maximize impact in the lives of trauma patients
- Expand our emergency response training program to other industries and implement public access stations across Boston to provide bystanders with the necessary tools to respond in the event of a traumatic injury
- Enhance the public’s understanding of trauma to advance strategies for the prevention, treatment, and recovery of traumatic injury
- Support additional patient-focused programs to improve outcomes for those who have survived a traumatic injury
It’s an ambitious task, but we’re confident that with collective effort through multidisciplinary collaborations, we can change the field of trauma and how we serve trauma survivors for the better.
Your gift today can transform trauma care and save lives tomorrow.