Daily Inspiration: Meet Megan Oleno

Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Oleno.

Hi Megan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi there! My name is Megan Oleno. I am 28 years old and was born and raised here in Arizona. I started as the Event Director for the Pearce Family Foundation (PFF) in June 2022. The Pearce Family Foundation is a public 501 C3 non-profit organization based in Scottsdale. The organization’s mission is to provide financial assistance to families with a child diagnosed with life-threatening or chronic illness. I met the founder and CEO, Meghan Alfonso, in 2011 when she and I worked for Phoenix Children’s Hospital Foundation (PCHF). When she left her role there, she saw the need for a program like PFF and started the non-profit. I originally found myself working at PCHF after I had been diagnosed with cancer at the age of 15. After I concluded chemotherapy and radiation as a freshman in high school, I was motivated to give back to the hospital that saved my life. Over the years, Meghan Alfonso and I stayed in touch, and I volunteered at her fundraising events. The stars finally aligned this year for Meghan and me to work together again, and I couldn’t be happier to be able to dedicate myself to growing PFF. Being in a similar position to the families we can help with daily is the most rewarding feeling.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
Elaborating on the mention in the previous question — Most people’s priorities as a freshman in high school were centered around their friends, their plans for the weekend, or what boy they had a crush on, for example, but mine looked a little different. After a friend had pointed out a lump right above my collarbone on my left side, I showed my mom, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep if we didn’t go to the emergency room right then. I was a healthy kid, never having been to the hospital before, and I had just played two competitive soccer games that day, so my mom knew something wasn’t right. Our local ER transferred me via ambulance to Phoenix Children’s Hospital. To this day, I still remember waving goodbye to my mom as the ambulance doors closed and feeling confused about what was going on. I was at PCH for about a week, where they ran all the tests under the sun, heart tests, blood tests, a bone marrow sample procedure, and a biopsy, all of which came back to confirm that I had stage two Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. My friend noticed cancer at my collar bone was a seven out of ten on the severity scale and had also spread to under the bones in my chest that rated off the charts from there. I underwent four months of chemotherapy, losing all my hair, and 14 days of radiation treatment. I had the best support system then and even had some friends shave their heads with me. Going through this trial at 15 taught me through gained perspective on life that every moment we have is so precious, and things that we have once considered to be an obstacle are now things to build us up and make us stronger simply.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am proud of how I have grown professionally since I began working at 15. I spent time in different fields of work over the years, and I feel it helped shape me to be well-rounded and skilled in many areas. I was a preschool teacher for a while, working with little ones. I then worked at a luxury resort, quickly advancing to a managerial role in hotel operations. Then, I transferred to marketing, where I expanded my creativity and design skills. I then challenged myself to learn about web development and software. I worked for a local tech company where I got to travel internationally, developing products for clients and doing training for hundreds of people at a time. Of all my experiences, I have found that my heart has always been in philanthropy. To me, there is no greater work than to work to help others that need support. I take pride in my work as a professional and put my entire heart into all that I do, so I feel very excited for the future of PFF and the impact that we can continue to make in our community every day.

What changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I believe that charity work will never go out of style. As long as there is a need, I know that we, among many other passionate people at other organizations, will continue to work to support it. And I believe that people innately feel good when they get the opportunity to help others – there isn’t anything like it. Together, we can make a huge difference in so many lives.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.pearcefamilyfoundation.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pffarizona/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pffarizona