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A Publication of WTVP

40 Leaders Under Forty

As development director for ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Corinne Olson manages fundraising initiatives to support St. Jude’s mission to advance cures and means of prevention for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. She provides strategic vision and direction to team members, donors and volunteers, and has helped raise more dollars per capita for St. Jude than any other region in the country.

Fundraising has increased substantially since Olson joined the ALSAC/St. Jude team in 2013. The programs she directly leads have allowed the Central and Southern Illinois region to raise more than $9.4 million in the last fiscal year—including $450,000 from the 2021 St. Jude Telethon. She has also led the Tribute to the Stars of St. Jude Gala to new heights, raising a record $615,000 in 2019 and taking the event virtual last year during the global pandemic.

In addition, Olson leads numerous youth and collegiate fundraising initiatives as well as the St. Jude Peoria golf outing, growing it from raising $40,000 in her first year to $140,000 this past year. In 2017 the St. Jude Walk/Run in Bloomington-Normal doubled in fundraising in a single year under her direction, while her leadership helped the 2018 Tribute to the Stars event receive the “Largest Dinner Revenue Growth Year over Year” at the 2019 ALSAC Volunteer Leadership Conference. Along with these large-scale events, she manages a portfolio that raises an additional $1 million annually for St. Jude.

Outside of the workplace, Olson sits on a number of boards directed at improving the community. She is currently serving her second year as co-chair for the Community Leadership School hosted by the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce. She sits on the Peoria PlayHouse Membership Engagement Committee and the Pathways to Success Conference committee for Women in Leadership of Central Illinois. As an active member of the Junior League of Peoria for eight years, she served on multiple committees and remains a sustaining member. A member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, she is active at St. Thomas School and a past coach and judge for local figure skating competitions. PM

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