I have consistently contributed my technical and leadership skills (on a pro bono basis) to numerous community non-profit organizations. I have served on the Board of Directors for local swim clubs, school PTA’s, and school Site Councils. For more than 8 years I have voluntarily directed management and maintenance of the digital scoring system at high-school swim and water polo events. And as a parent of two children with a life-threatening chronic illness, I am passionate about fundraising for causes that improve the lives of those who live with such challenging conditions. I encourage all women in STEM careers to bring their technical and leadership skills directly their communities – you can make a huge contribution, all while serving as a great role model for youth who will be our next generation engineers and scientists.
Swim President, Scorekeeper, and Master’s Swimmer
While serving on the Board of Directors for a local swim club, I proudly worked with others to bring the business operation into this century by transitioning the club’s operations from paper-based to web-based. Talk about ROI! Membership dues delinquencies were reduced 100% and volunteer hour participation increased 80%. An increase in parental involvement led to the launch of another exciting initiative, the establishment of a Master’s Swim group for the club. See photo ops below: (1) with USMS swimming rep, officially at our local pool, to launch the program, and (2) with other new members of the Master’s Swimming group.
It takes some technical knowledge to operate and maintain the sophisticated software and hardware components used to operate swim and water polo meets, and some organizational skills to run successful meets. Schools look to volunteer parents to fill this need – they just don’t have budget for it! Many years of meet operation and management have built camaraderie with a strong parent team on our community pool decks!
Cystic Fibrosis Fundraising Champion
Two of my three children are brave Cystic Fibrosis warriors, and I wholeheartedly invest myself in Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) and Boomer Esiason Foundation (BEF) fundraisers to help find a cure. In the photos below, I’m representing! As a 2017 Team Boomer NYC marathoner I completed my 11th marathon and individually raised $4k for BEF. Our 2017 80-member NYC Marathon team collectively raised over $300k in the fight against CF.
After the (shocking) CF diagnosis of my two oldest children, at the ages of 4 and 6, I became a strong advocate for treatments and methods to maintain lung function and overall health. An integral part of that advocacy was becoming a champion fundraiser to help find a cure for this disease. The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, through its many fundraisers, has forged breakthroughs in treatments that have lengthened the average lifespan of someone with this disease from less than 10 years (1960’s) to nearly 40 today. The Seery Squad (our CFF Great Strides Team) grew from a few participants to many over the years as our children grew (and maintained great health!). Some photo ops of the Seery Squad as it grew through the years:
Margaret Seery 