At 788 feet of vertical elevation, the Columbia Center in downtown Seattle is one of the tallest buildings west of the Mississippi. It takes 69 floors, or 1,311 steps, to reach the highly acclaimed observation deck with breathtaking views of the entire Puget Sound region. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Big Climb event raises money through individual and team fundraising, sponsorship and entry fees which is then invested in its mission to fund blood cancer research and support services for patients. In 2018, the Big Climb raised a record breaking $3,007,080. Big Climb Seattle will be taking place on Sunday, March 24, 2019.

Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

 The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) mission is to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. LLS is the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. Since the first funding in 1954, LLS has awarded more than $1 billion for research specifically targeting leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma. LLS has invested $3.6 million in ten research projects in Washington state, including eight at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and two at the University of Washington. Since the mid-1990s, LLS has invested over $30 million in local research. 

Meet the Big Climb Staff

Kelli Fagan, Senior Campaign Manager

Kelli is originally from Portland, Oregon, and has made her way all over the country through pursuing her first passion of figure skating. Kelli started her career as a figure skating coach in Houston and then as a staff member in Athlete Development at U.S. Figure Skating Headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In July of 2015 Kelli transitioned to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society as Campaign Manager for Light The Night in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In May of 2017 she moved to Seattle and joined the Big Climb team. Kelli is a graduate of University of Delaware, where she earned her degree in Sport Management. Kelli’s passion for LLS comes from losing 2 dear friends to blood cancer. With a competitive spirit and love for fundraising and sport, Kelli’s passion for curing blood cancer continues to grow with the unique opportunity to work on Big Climb Seattle.

Fun fact: Kelli is a 4 time national medalist in synchronized figure skating with University of Delaware

Jamie Gross, Campaign Manager

Jamie is originally from Tahoe City, California and relocated to Seattle in October 2016. Jamie has a degree in Environmental Science from Connecticut College, as well as a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Washington. Although her career started in environmental education, she comes to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society with fundraising and program coordination experience and is excited to build relationships with the dedicated Big Climb teams and participants. Watching her uncle fight and ultimately lose his battle to Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma drives Jamie to raise funds to find a cure and hopefully prevent others from suffering.  

Fun Fact: Jamie has been to 24 countries and can’t wait to add more to her list! 

Sam Egan, Campaign Specialist

Samuel is originally from Eugene Oregon and moved to the Seattle area in 2018. Samuel has a dual focus business degree from the University of Puget Sound and a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Oregon. After working for the University of Oregon Alumni Association, Samuel moved back to the Seattle area to be closer to family and to change career paths to focus on funding cancer research.  Samuel’s passion originates from seeing a family member suffer from multiple myeloma and participated in his first 5k cancer run in 2018.  

Fun Fact: Samuel has been a coach for two rugby teams: University of Puget Sound and Washington University in St. Louis.

Contact Us

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
5601 6th Ave South, Suite 182
Seattle, WA 98108

501C3: 13-5644916

Phone: (206) 628-0777
Fax: (206) 292-9791

Email: bigclimbseattle@lls.org 

LLS Information Resource Center: (800) 955-4572