Sometimes you never know who you will be seated next to at a luncheon. I attended the American Cancer Society’s Mother of the Year Luncheon and seated to my right was Don Distasio, CEO of American Cancer Society. After our first course, I knew I had to interview him for the Plaza Personality column.
Rob Arango: Where did you grow up?
Don Distasio: In Brooklyn, New York.
Rob: Where did you go to school?
Don: From the beginning, I went to Holy Family Elementary School, Bishop Ford High School, and then a big change, Indiana State University.
Rob: How did you get to the American Cancer Society?
Don: At Indiana State, the school had a placement center, so I went down to learn about job interviews. One day, the guy asked, "What about the American Cancer Society? Would you be interested?" And I said, "Well, obviously they fight cancer, but what do they do?" So he told me to go down and talk to them, so I did. What they told me was really more of a story about the American Cancer Society (ACS) rather than an interview - it intrigued me.
I was probably 22 years old at the time. I pursued the job and I started working at the ACS in Indianapolis for a few years and then moved to Queens where I ran the Queens office for close to 20 years. I was the Executive Vice President or Director and at that time the ACS had 57 divisions - and Queens was one of them. That is how I got my start, and I have been with the ACS for 38 years. So I tell people that I found it by accident, which is really true, and that I stayed on purpose. You're talking about going from 1/3 survival rates to 2/3 survival rates with 11 million survivors walking around the country today. Some people think when you are diagnosed with cancer that it is all over, which is not true, and working with the ACS is a great opportunity to share that hope.
Rob: What do you think the time frame is for a cure? Do you think we will see it in our lifetime?
Don: The only way I can answer this question, and I am not at all avoiding the question, is this way: Cancer is like 100 different diseases in one, and every cancer is oddly different. A lot of it depends on your age and your health. I believe that cancer will become really more of a chronic disease than it would be, more like diabetes that needs to be treated, but I just think in the next 5-10 years there is going to be huge breakthroughs as there have been in the last 5-10 years. We try to identify young researchers because the established researchers usually do very well with government funding.
I don't know if I should share this with you, but I had Prostate Cancer a couple of years ago. They caught it very early, but they're not ready to say, “Don, you don't have to do anything about it - you can choose not to.” I had the robotics surgery, which was science fiction. I'll tell you this: It was amazing, that machine, and how they do it.
Rob: Where are you now with everything?
Don: I'm 2 and a half years out. You know, I love sports, so zeros aren't a great thing (except for in golf), but zero PSA's... that's great news. I just had my PSA done recently, and it continues to be "undetectable," as they call it, so I am good. When I was told I had Prostate Cancer, I was still stunned even though I had been in this business for a long time. I never had the feeling of "this is it.” I felt very confident, and continue to feel very confident, that I am going to be fine.
Now I do have the benefit of working with the ACS, but if we can get to men and women when they first are diagnosed, we can give them all of the information that they need... and quickly. If they need transportation, if they need housing, if they need supporters, we can get that for them... or we can refer. We refer them to Gilda's Club, we refer them to cancer care, and it is such an amazing help because you give them this level of comfort even though they are scared.
Rob: How has the nonprofit world changed in the post-recession economy?
Don: On the negative side, the nonprofit world has seen very aggressive budget constraint, definitely budget reduction though it's not to impact what you are doing every day or to harm the program. The truth is, when these tough times come, people are more desperate for information. We created a patient service center so that, when we get a newly diagnosed patient, his or her name is faxed to us. We have patient navigators, staff, and volunteers on the hospital's premise. Another thing we got into with fundraising is our program called "Determination," which is essentially endurance events, mostly ones that are already established. For example, we get 300 slots in the New York City Marathon, through which we will raise minimally $1,100,000. Actually, people apply to us - they say they are willing to raise that kind money, and they also tell amazing stories about why they are raising that kind of money.
Rob: So are these cancer survivors?
Don: No, though they could be. But more likely they are people whose family members – wife, husband, girlfriend, child – dealt with cancer. They are committed. We were in the Brooklyn half marathon last Saturday, in the New York City half marathon about a month ago, and, of course, in the big New York City Marathon. That is all brand new money for us, so that was extremely helpful. We said we have to invest into staff people who understand that world because it's a very different world. A good gala staff person could not do this kind of activity and visa-versa. It's such a different world - you have to walk the walk and talk the talk.
Rob: What are the best parts of your job at the ACS?
Don: Clearly, the people, who are a combination of incredibly committed and dedicated staff people who have shown themselves to be just that (committed and dedicated), especially within the last couple of years, and incredible volunteers, some of whom you have met and know.
Rob: Is volunteerism a big part of your life? And why?
Don: I am just amazed at the commitment of people, who are very busy people. It's hard for me to do volunteer work though I'd like to do more. I see these people who are so committed to us, and that's definitely a great thing. Then, this almost sounds corny, but I will often hear people who get huge recognition in awards say, “You know, this is great, but it is not like fighting cancer,” but then I remember that that is my job, everyday. That is such a special feeling.
Rob: Is there a mission in the ACS that promotes volunteerism? Do you have to push for volunteerism? Or are you simply blessed that just the goodness of people makes them step up to the plate?
Don: It is a bit of both. There are definitely people who step up to the plate and say, “I want to get involved! How can I get involved?” But, like anything else, there are a lot of charities, good charities. The competition is huge, so we're always looking like we want to start a new gala, but you have to have the right people to do this. So, to start, you look at and think about who knows you and who knows whom. If you want to try to get someone like Cynthia Lufkin... How do you get to a Cynthia Lufkin?
The one benefit we have in New York City, and actually in Buffalo and Rochester, too, is that the Hope Lodge is just so spectacular that often we can convince people to come and see it. As much as you describe it, you have to come see it for yourself. You have to see the gratitude in the eyes of the people at Hope Lodge - it is so amazing and also so hard to explain unless you see it.
Rob: How did that (the Hope Lodge) come about?
Don: Well, I knew that there needed to be one when we first merged the division, and the question was: Is it doable in NYC with costs and all kinds of coding? We just determined that we were going to do this. The board was with me the entire way, and we thankfully received a huge gift from the Jerome L. Greene Foundation to name the building. It is weird to see a dream come true, because it is first and foremost a dream.
Rob: What is your biggest success? Or what is your biggest fear?
Don: I'm not sure about the biggest fear. I don't think that way. It's not that I don't have fears. Everybody has a fear about something, but I guess my biggest fear would be to not see my children and family do well in life. They are all at that point where they are about to take off. My daughter just gave us a new granddaughter, which is so special. My youngest just graduated college and will probably go on to an MBA program. My middle son works for AXA Equitable, so they are at the beginning, and I do worry about that.
Rob: What do you do for fun?
Don: I love to golf, and I love to cook.
Rob: Who do you most admire?
Don: Probably my mother.
Rob: What do you love about New York?
Don: The electricity, the excitement, the “can-do” attitude.
Rob: Do you have any regrets?
Don: I have a regret that I sold my home in Bell Harbor, NY, too early. That was my regret because now I can't afford to buy it back (laughing).
Rob: If you were to pick three people to sit at a table with you at a gala tonight, alive or dead, who would they be? Why?
Don: Mickey Mantle; one of The Beatles, either Paul McCartney or John Lennon; and then, probably Abe Lincoln.
Rob: What are the top three skills you need to succeed in fundraising?
Don: It's not really a skill, but you have to believe in the cause. You have to be able to talk so naturally about what the charity does, what's the good of it, and what's different about it. You have to be able to pick out what it is that intrigues the potential donor. Plus, you need to have good sales and relationship management skills. You have to know how to work a room, do the networking, follow up appropriately. You know, it really comes down to sales.
Rob: What are the most challenging aspects of raising money for the ACS?
Don: I would say that, on the positive side, we do very well with all the $25-$75 donations. Our struggle is getting into the more philanthropic, higher level sort of distinguished giving... major giving. Now we've done well when we've had Hope Lodges, but we really feel that we need to be sitting in front of people who can give significant dollars for research and for some of our other programs, and that's been a difficult transition for us.
Rob: If you didn't do this, what would you do?
Don: I was always curious about the lawyer thing way back when. But I have to tell you that I would love to cook, to have a small restaurant, or something like that.
Rob: What is your favorite dish? If you make one dish that is your dish, what is it that you cook?
Don: I make a dish called Chicken Tomaso. I think it is from an Italian restaurant in Brooklyn. It's almost like a chicken franchise and a chicken parmigiana combined.
After the interview, Don followed up by sending me recipe, which I gladly share with you.
Don's Chicken Tomasso
Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken cutlets (flattened)
flour
salt and pepper
2 eggs
olive oil
white wine
1/2 can crushed tomatoes (32 oz.)
1/2 small can beef broth
butter
mozzarella cheese
Method:
1. Dredge cutlets in flour with salt and pepper.
2. Dip floured cutlets into egg batter.
3. Fry in pan with olive oil.
4. Place chicken in roasting pan.
5. Deglaze pan with white wine.
6. Add tomatoes and bring to boil.
7. Add beef broth.
8. Swirl in butter.
9. Pour sauce over cooked chicken.
10. Place mozzarella cheese on top of each cutlet.
11. Bake in oven.