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FeedIn the Heat of It
The Burn Foundation’s Patricia Porter has a flair for fire safety—and leadership.
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The multi-alarm blaze that swept through five apartment buildings in Conshohocken’s Riverwalk at Millennium complex in August was a devastating wake-up call to the 375 people it displaced. It also served as a grim reminder that we all need to be more prepared for the life-altering impact of fire-related injuries.
One person who doesn’t need any reminding is Haverford’s Patricia (Patsy) Porter, president and CEO of the Burn Foundation in Philadelphia. As its most recent leader, Porter is charged with extending the reach of this tiny but invaluable organization. For 35 years, the foundation has offered support to the burn-care community, survivors and their families. In the last five years alone, it’s provided more than $1.8 million to Crozer-Chester Medical Center, Lehigh Valley Hospital, St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children and Temple University Hospital—all of which treat burn patients from more than 160 referring hospital emergency rooms in Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southern New Jersey and Delaware.
The foundation also plays an active role in raising funds for the city and region’s firefighters, hosting 10 or so golf outings each year, and spreads awareness about fire safety and prevention across the area. Other important contributions include funding of pressure garments—an expensive ($650-$1,000 per set) but necessary component to burn recovery—and scholarships to the Mid-Atlantic Burn Camp.
Since opening its doors in 1973, the foundation has had four strong leaders, including Peter Brigham, Cynthia Rauso and now Porter, who started as an interim replacement in 2007. After a national search, she was the last one standing.
Porter may not flaunt it, but she knows how to make a good first impression. With her stylishly short haircut, all-natural glow and polished presentation, she could easily hold her own in any corporate boardroom. The vice chair of Episcopal Academy’s board of trustees, she also chaired its marketing committee and the school’s parents association. Before coming to the area, she was a vice president at New York City advertising agency Benton & Bowles.
The fact that she’s landed at the Burn Foundation perhaps comes as a bit of a surprise, even to her. But in the end, it suits her roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-it-done character—something members of the Episcopal Academy community have observed over the years in her various leadership roles there.
Whereas a lot of folks are inspired to take on the seemingly endless responsibilities of running a nonprofit for personal reasons, Porter’s appointment came on the heels of the sudden death of Rauso. The transition happened so quickly that Porter didn’t have much time to question whether she was right for the job.
“I wasn’t working professionally at that point, but I was thinking about it,” says Porter. “I thought this was a good way to push myself off the diving board.”
Right off the bat, Porter was charged with writing a FEMA grant request (something she’d never done before) and finding a new home for the foundation. And now that she’s got her bearings, she goes about the duties of her new post with pride—a pride shared by her colleagues.
“Right away, Patsy came off as knowledgeable and very capable,” says Rev. Carol Gadsden, a burn survivor and member of the Burn Foundation’s board. “She’s a velvet hammer. Incredibly gracious. Able to galvanize people and move them ahead—without force.”
Gadsden adds that when Porter came in, the foundation hadn’t been putting enough emphasis on survivors. “Patsy sensed that immediately,” she says.
