Bridge the Distance Fund provides financial assistance to adult cancer patients experiencing financial hardship who must travel for specialized medical treatment, helping ensure that distance is not a barrier to accessing lifesaving care.
Our Mission
Our Vision
A future where every patient can access the best available cancer care regardless of where they live or what they can afford.
Ashley Croft Callery has spent her career helping people overcome barriers and access opportunities. An educator and nonprofit leader, she has served students and families in Nashville, Boston, Memphis, and Washington, D.C., and currently works as an Instructional Leadership Coach supporting principals across Memphis-Shelby County Schools.
In 2025, just six weeks after beginning a new role in Memphis, Ashley was diagnosed with olfactory neuroblastoma, an extremely rare cancer affecting approximately one in 2.5 million people. At the time, she and her husband were raising their three-year-old son and settling into a new city. To receive the specialized care she needed, Ashley temporarily relocated from Memphis to Houston for treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Like many patients facing a serious diagnosis, Ashley quickly learned that health insurance may cover much of the medical care itself, but not the many costs associated with getting that care. Months of travel, temporary housing, transportation, meals, childcare needs, lost wages, and time away from home created significant financial and logistical challenges at an already overwhelming time.
Ashley was fortunate to be surrounded by an extraordinary community of family, friends, colleagues, and even strangers who stepped forward to help. Loved ones traveled to Houston to care for her, community members contributed through a fundraiser, and countless people offered practical support that made treatment possible. Their generosity allowed Ashley to focus on healing rather than worrying about how to manage the burden of being hundreds of miles from home.
That experience became the foundation for Bridge the Distance Fund.
Ashley created Bridge the Distance Fund to help ensure that adult cancer patients experiencing financial hardship can access specialized treatment regardless of where they live. The organization provides financial assistance for travel-related expenses such as transportation and lodging, helping remove barriers to care and easing the burden on patients and families during one of the most difficult seasons of their lives.
Today, Ashley is combining her experience in leadership, nonprofit management, and community building with her personal experience as a cancer survivor to build a future where distance is never the reason someone cannot access the care they need.
Meet Our Founder
Launch Team & Advisors
Marissa Croft, Launch Team Member and Marketing Advisor
Marissa Croft is Director of Fashion Marketing at Varsity Spirit, where she leads integrated marketing strategies, brand development, communications, and customer engagement initiatives across a national portfolio of products and programs. With more than a decade of experience in brand management, digital marketing, campaign strategy, consumer insights, and cross-functional leadership, she has helped organizations grow their reach, strengthen customer relationships, and bring complex initiatives to market.
Prior to joining Varsity Spirit, Marissa held marketing leadership roles at TruGreen and several Memphis-based organizations, building expertise in strategic communications, content development, public relations, customer experience, and data-driven marketing. She brings a deep understanding of brand storytelling, audience engagement, and organizational growth to Bridge the Distance Fund.
Marissa's commitment to the mission is deeply personal. During Ashley's cancer treatment in Houston, Marissa regularly traveled to provide care and support, while also opening her home to Ashley's young son for extended periods so that treatment could continue with peace of mind. She has remained a constant source of support throughout Ashley's recovery and understands firsthand the challenges families face when serious illness requires extended time away from home.
As a member of the Bridge the Distance Fund launch team, Marissa advises on marketing, communications, brand development, and community engagement. She is passionate about helping ensure that patients and families can focus on healing rather than the financial and logistical burdens of accessing specialized care.
Heather Duiser, Launch Team Member and Fundraising Advisor
Heather Duiser is the Executive Director of Development at the University of Georgia, where she leads fundraising and donor engagement strategies that support the university's mission and priorities. With more than 15 years of experience in advancement, annual giving, communications, and development operations, she has built and led high-performing teams responsible for donor outreach, stewardship, strategic communications, and philanthropic growth.
Prior to joining the University of Georgia, Heather held leadership roles in annual giving at the University of Florida and served as an advancement director in independent school education. Throughout her career, she has developed expertise in relationship building, fundraising strategy, project management, communications, and organizational leadership.
A Vanderbilt University graduate and Ashley's Delta Gamma sister, Heather lives in Athens, Georgia, with her family. As a breast cancer survivor, she understands firsthand the challenges that accompany a cancer diagnosis and the importance of strong support systems throughout treatment and recovery. She is passionate about helping Bridge the Distance Fund expand access to specialized cancer care by removing financial barriers for patients and families.
Jennifer Kenney, Launch Team Member and Patient Communication Advisor
Jennifer Kenney is a reading specialist and elementary educator with eighteen years of experience teaching and supporting students across Florida and Georgia, including in her current role serving the children of Rockdale County, Georgia. Her career reflects a deep, sustained commitment to literacy and to the students and families who need the most support to succeed.
That same instinct, breaking down what is complicated into something clear, manageable, and human, is exactly what Jennifer brings to Bridge the Distance Fund. Spend any time with her and you will see why families trust her: she has a gift for taking something overwhelming and making it feel possible, one step at a time. That is precisely the experience we want for every patient who comes to us in a moment of crisis. As a member of the Bridge the Distance Fund launch team, Jennifer advises on patient-facing communications, helping ensure that our grant application process and materials are clear, compassionate, and easy to navigate for families who are already carrying so much.
A Vanderbilt University graduate and Ashley's Delta Gamma sister, Jennifer met Ashley on their freshman dorm hall and the two have remained close friends ever since. She lives in Conyers, Georgia, with her husband. She is passionate about helping ensure that no family facing a cancer diagnosis has to navigate unnecessary barriers to the support they need.
Elise Russo, Launch Team Member and Governance Advisor
Elise Russo is the Director of Operations for the Vanderbilt Clinical Informatics Center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she leads initiatives focused on improving the safety, effectiveness, and user experience of clinical information systems. Her career has spanned healthcare operations, biomedical informatics, patient safety, research administration, and project management, with experience at both Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Baylor College of Medicine.
In addition to her healthcare leadership experience, Elise has been actively involved in nonprofit service and grant review through the Junior League of Nashville, where she has contributed to community impact and funding allocation efforts. She brings valuable expertise in program design, evaluation, governance, and grantmaking processes, helping Bridge the Distance Fund develop fair, transparent, and sustainable systems for serving patients.
A Vanderbilt University graduate and Ashley's Delta Gamma sister, Elise lives in Nashville with her husband and young daughter. Her commitment to Bridge the Distance Fund is deeply personal: her family experienced firsthand the challenges of traveling for specialized cancer treatment when her mother underwent treatment for brain cancer. She is passionate about helping ensure that financial barriers do not stand between patients and the care they need.
Katy Spinks, Launch Team Member and Grants Administration Advisor
Katy Spinks is a Grants and Contracts Officer in the Mark Chaffin Center for Healthy Development at Georgia State University's School of Public Health, where she manages complex grant-funded initiatives focused on supporting children and families. Her work includes coordinating federally funded programs, developing grant budgets and compliance processes, and helping research teams successfully manage funding throughout the grant lifecycle.
Katy earned both her Bachelor of Science in Child Development and Master of Education in Child Studies from Vanderbilt University. Throughout her career, she has worked in research, nonprofit organizations, and family-serving programs. Her professional experience includes supporting studies on early childhood education, family bereavement, maternal mental health, and child maltreatment prevention. Her graduate research examined how parents and siblings cope with the loss of a child to cancer and the resources needed to support families during that experience.
As part of the Bridge the Distance Fund launch team, Katy helps design grant applications, funding review processes, documentation requirements, and financial assistance procedures. She brings expertise in grants management, program administration, and creating systems that are both rigorous and accessible to those seeking support.
A Vanderbilt University graduate and Ashley's Delta Gamma sister, Katy was one of the first friends to travel to Houston to support Ashley during cancer treatment. She lives in Auburn, Georgia, with her husband and two young children. Her commitment to the mission is both professional and personal. Having supported loved ones through serious illness and witnessed firsthand the challenges of traveling for specialized cancer care, she understands the importance of reducing barriers for patients and families during an already difficult time. She is passionate about helping ensure that financial hardship does not prevent patients from accessing the treatment they need.
Bridge the Distance Fund is a fiscally sponsored project of Social Good Fund, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. Through this partnership, donations to Bridge the Distance Fund are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law and are administered in accordance with Social Good Fund's charitable oversight and compliance requirements.
Fiscal sponsorship allows Bridge the Distance Fund to focus on serving patients while operating under an established nonprofit framework.