Schwartz Center Marathon Team

Meet the Schwartz Center for Compassionate Healthcare Boston Marathon Team! Each runner is committed to raise $6,000 to support pioneering education, training, and support programs designed to strengthen the relationship between caregivers and patients. Keep reading for more information on our runners and how to make a donation.

Simon Axten
Simon Axten grew up in Marblehead, Massachusetts and attended Stanford University, where he studied international relations. After graduation, he worked for six years at Facebook in Palo Alto, California helping to manage the company's communications and public policy efforts. He's currently fulfilling a lifelong dream of extended travel. His first stop is South America, where he's also been training. Simon is an avid runner and has completed three marathons (Big Sur, San Diego, and New York). His mother, Petra Langer, is the Schwartz Center's senior director of communications. Simon lives in San Francisco, California. 

Click here to support Simon! 

Robert Hanscom
Bob Hanscom lives in Andover, Massachusetts with his wife Diane and three youngest children, Michael (17), Alex (14), and Amelia (6).  His oldest daughter, Rachel (26), resides and works in Maine. Bob is a Senior Vice President at CRICO/Risk Management Foundation (the malpractice insurance captive for the Harvard medical institutions) and is responsible for the operations of its external division, CRICO Strategies.  He and his team oversee a business unit that provides risk appraisals, comparative benchmarking data, and claims management support for healthcare systems in other regions across the country. Prior to joining the Risk Management Foundation in 1998, Bob worked as an administrator at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston (1989-1993). He then went to Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts (1993-1998) where he was vice president of a number of clinical services, including the high-profile cardiac surgery program. Bob received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pacific Union College in California, and a Juris Doctor degree from Pepperdine University Law School in 1982.  He is admitted to practice law in the state of Maine, where he worked as a litigator for six years (1983-1989). In his spare time, Bob squeezes in travel, genealogical research, and running.  He began “jogging” as a college student, and has never stopped.  He ran his first marathon in Los Angeles in 1981, and has participated in numerous road races over the last three decades.

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Colleen McDonald 
Colleen McDonald is a Family Nurse Practitioner and Internal Medicine Nurse Coordinator at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. She is 46 years old, lives in Arlington, MA with her partner of 18 years. A proud mom to Noah, whose enthusiasm and resilience is her greatest source of inspiration. Born and raised in Hamburg, NY and a true Buffalo Bills fan, Colleen was a competitive swimmer and athlete through her college years, and has always valued a “personal best” race and a well played game in any sport. She has regularly participated in triathlons over the past 25 years. Victory is when she can convince a friend to join her in the fun. Colleen received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1988 at the State University of New York in Binghamton, and was fortunate to begin her career at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center under the leadership of Joyce Clifford, RN, PhD, who established a primary care nursing practice model that stressed the significance of a sustained relationship between nurses and patients throughout the course of their illness. In 2000, she received her Master of Science in Nursing at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and became a certified Family Nurse Practitioner. Colleen specializes in adolescent health, women’s health, and culturally competent care. As a nurse practitioner, she understands that compassion is an essential component of healthcare. This belief was confirmed for her last year when she was treated for breast cancer. It was the kindness of family, friends and caregivers that made it bearable. On April 16th she will run her first Boston Marathon as a member of The Schwartz Center for Compassionate Care Team in honor of her caregivers, professional and personal, whose compassion and humanity have seen her through.

Click here to support Colleen!