J. Christine Wilson

“I have some good ideas and I have a lot of passion,” says J. Christine Wilson, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees. “I think passion is probably my biggest asset in philanthropy, and certainly for Joslin.”

Vision patient to visionary
J. Christine Wilson was about 14 when her eye doctor sent her to Joslin for the first time. He had detected “problems” during a routine eye exam and wanted a second opinion. At Joslin, Chris and her parents became more worried when Lloyd M. Aiello, M.D., finished his assessment and began to discuss his diagnosis: retinopathy, a sight-threatening complication of diabetes. “I remember that he was choked up,” says Chris, who recalls thinking “this is not good news.”

Dr. Aiello and William P. Beetham, M.D., founder of the Beetham Eye Institute, recommended pan-retinal laser photocoagulation, a procedure they had invented that was radically new at the time. Chris’s parents were unsure about laser surgery, but Chris wasn’t. “Absolutely, we’re doing it,” she said. “Schedule it right now.”

A Private Appreciation
Thanks to the vision-saving technique, which she received many times over the coming years, the retinopathy has not been a problem. And Chris and her parents were so impressed with the eye unit that she began receiving all her care at Joslin.

People often understate the commitment that diabetes management requires. “I’m not a good rule follower,” says Chris. “Sometimes I’m compliant and sometimes I’m not, and there were years when I was not at all. I’m very grateful that I was closely watched and that I’m now healthy.”

She finds it comforting to know that Joslin has good mental health programs since diabetes can be “a major psychological disease, not only physiological.”

Getting Her Hands Dirty
Chris describes her current role as Vice Chair on the Board of Trustees as a dream come true, one she envisioned at the time of her first laser surgery. “It was a dream that somehow I would come back and work for Joslin in some capacity,” she says.

It allows her “to be a real advocate for Joslin—not only for Joslin’s world famous research and what we can provide to patients here—but also as an advocate in raising money.”

Chris says she wants to make sure Joslin remains “the premiere institution and to stay ahead of curve. It takes resources to maintain that position in science and treatment.”

And that means contributing on paper and in action. Chris learned from her parents that philanthropy includes financial support and “getting your hands dirty, rolling up your sleeves and getting in there and working. I have done just that,” she says. Her father also nurtured her belief that reworking the structure of organizations and policies, from the top down, is the key to success. “My philanthropy is wonderful but if policies don’t change, all the hard work that we’ve all done and all the resources that we’ve given are for naught.” This has sparked political activism from Chris, as well as her work for non-profits and foundations.

“I can afford to get excellent care,” she says. “A lot of people don’t have that ability and that’s not fair. When I’m not working on Joslin, I’m working on that.”