Jeff Keith

President & Co-Founder

Jeff is the inspiration for the Connecticut Challenge as well as its Co-Founder and President. Jeff is a 35 year cancer survivor; he was diagnosed at age 12 with an osteogenic sarcoma. Two weeks after his diagnosis, Jeff's right leg was amputated above the knee, and he underwent 18 months of chemotherapy. Jeff would go on to be a high school ski team captain and a NCAA lacrosse team goalie at Boston College.

Jeff's philanthropic career took off after college, when he became the first amputee to run across the United States. He raised over $1 million for the American Cancer Society, and covered 3,300 miles in just nine months. After his run, Jeff didn't stop moving, he re-focused his efforts towards long-distance swimming and cycling. In addition to the run, Jeff is responsible for founding three non-profit organizations: The Connecticut Challenge, Swim Across America and Swim Across the Sound. Over the last 20 years, these organizations, dedicated to supporting cancer survivors, have raised over $50 million with over 1,000 volunteers, 40,000 donors and over 3,000 active participants.

View the Timeline of Jeff's Survivorship Journey

Soon after finishing his run across America, Jeff entered the MBA program at the University of Southern California and embarked upon a career in investment banking, with 18+ years as a high yield bond salesman at Salomon Brothers, Merrill Lynch and UBS.

As a cancer survivor and philanthropist, Jeff has focused on leading initiatives through development and fundraising in the cancer arena that range from discovery research to state-of-the-art cancer survivor programs at institutions like the Yale Cancer Center, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and St. Vincent's Medical Center.

Jeff lives in Fairfield, Connecticut with his wife Karin and their three children. You can always find him riding the roads of Fairfield County, swimming laps in the local pools, or skiing the slopes of nearby Vermont.

You can email Jeff at jeff@ctchallenge.org.