Kathy Garrett, former chief financial officer of LiveNation, was very goal-oriented, say her longtime friends Connie Austin, Mary Cochran and Stacey Willard. This is why they were not surprised to learn Kathy designated a bequest gift through her estate to ALS research, establishing the Kathy Garrett Research Center for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) at Mass General Brigham (MGB).
“She was a smart, stubborn woman, with a very strong faith, but she also liked to be a little devious, with a twinkle in her eye when she pulled one over on us,” says Connie.
“This gift will supercharge our progress to understand, treat, repair and prevent ALS across Mass General Brigham and around the world.”
Kathy, who died from complications of ALS on April 8, 2024, was celebrated on the one-year anniversary of her death through an event in April 2025 at the research labs within the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at MGB, where her bequest will have an extraordinary impact.
Accelerating Vital Research
“We are so grateful for Kathy’s generosity and her commitment to helping others,” says Merit E. Cudkowicz, MD, MSc, executive director of the MGB Neuroscience Institute and director of the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS. “This gift will supercharge our progress to understand, treat, repair and prevent ALS across Mass General Brigham and around the world.”
Kathy was very particular about organization and was always checking items off her list. “Once she accepted her diagnosis, she felt that her purpose in life was to help find a cure for ALS,” says Mary. “This gift was the last thing on her list.”
Diagnosed with ALS in 2020, Kathy’s experience of living with the disease was extremely difficult, especially for someone who had been so independent, say her friends.
“During the last four years of her life, she could not do things for herself,” Mary says. “She figured out how to get through it with sheer determination, and always stayed so positive.”
ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord, controlling voluntary movements such as walking, talking, eating and breathing. While there are treatments that slow disease progression slightly and manage symptoms, there is currently no cure.
A “Center Without Walls”
In April, in addition to a reception during which ALS scientists mingled with Kathy’s friends and family, Connie, Mary and Stacey had an opportunity to tour the labs and see what her bequest will make possible. Neurologist Mark Albers, MD, PhD, Ghazaleh Sadri-Vakili, MS, PhD, and neurologist Brian Wainger, MD, PhD, offered insights into the ways in which scientists within the Healey & AMG Center pursue different investigations by collaborating and sharing insights and data to help move research forward across all neurodegenerative diseases, including ALS.
“This gift will support a ‘center without walls,’” Dr. Cudkowicz says. “It will bring scientists together from around the world to break down barriers to accelerate research and therapy development, giving people with ALS options, hope and, ultimately, cures.”
Kathy’s loved ones and the ALS community know that her gift to ALS research will serve as a lasting legacy to a woman who lived with purpose. “April 8 now holds a deeper meaning for me — not just as the anniversary of Kathy’s passing, but as a day that brought hope and healing,” Stacey says.
To learn more about how you can make a legacy gift to advance medicine, contact our Office of Gift Planning at mghdevpg@mgh.harvard.edu or 617.643.2220.
You can help scientists discover new treatments for people living with ALS by making a gift to the Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS. For more information, contact us.
