Philanthropic Advisor
Christy Hudson (formerly Barrow) is an Independent Advisor focused on philanthropic initiatives in life science and medical research. She is currently retained by the Pershing Square Foundation, supporting its life science portfolio and programming. In particular, she is responsible for managing all aspects of the Foundation’s two in-house grantmaking initiatives, the MIND Prize in cognitive health and neurodegenerative disease and the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance (PSSCRA), which annually awards the Pershing Square Sohn Prize that emboldens early-career investigators to pursue innovative research projects at a stage when traditional funding is lacking. She also currently co-chairs the Grants Administration Working Group of the Health Research Alliance, a collaborative member organization of nonprofit research funders that is committed to maximizing the impact of biomedical research to improve human health.
Prior to launching her independent practice, Christy was previously a Program Director at The Pershing Square Foundation. Christy came to the Foundation from Shizuoka City, Japan, where she promoted international understanding and communication as a participant in the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. Before the JET Program, Christy worked as a Development Officer at The Rockefeller University, a world-renowned center for scientific research and graduate education, assisting in fundraising, donor stewardship, and event planning for the fundraising initiatives Women & Science and Parents & Science.
As a recent college graduate, Christy worked in the laboratory of Dr. Abigail A. Baird, Professor of Psychological Science at Vassar College, whose research focused on the brain and behavioral basis of adolescent development. Christy graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vassar College in 2011 with a B.A. with honors in both Psychology and Japanese.