READ MORE ABOUT THE BETTY AWARDS
When Ellen Friebert Schupper’s father was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2013, friends and family stepped up with support. But one important puzzle piece was missing amid the casseroles and offers to drive her kids to school. “I couldn’t find anyone to talk to about how I was really feeling,” she says. Now, as executive director of ABCD: After Breast Cancer Diagnosis, Friebert Schupper has the opportunity to give others what she wished she had.
ABCD, a Milwaukee-based national nonprofit, provides free support to anyone affected by breast cancer, from those newly diagnosed to their family members. Founded by the late Milwaukee broadcast journalist Melodie Wilson Oldenburg, ABCD pairs participants with trained volunteer mentors who have lived through similar breast cancer experiences. “Even if people have an outpouring of love and generosity, they still feel lonely,” Friebert Schupper says. “We’re providing a space for people to have conversations with someone who really gets it.”
JOIN US TO CELEBRATE THE BETTYS ON DEC. 4!
Before joining ABCD, Friebert Schupper worked in leadership roles in several women’s health-focused organizations and as director of marketing at UW-Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts. She started at ABCD in 2017, blending her professional background with personal passion. The organization was at a critical crossroads due to funding shifts and a decline in awareness that led to reduced service use. Friebert Schupper stepped in to help secure a multiyear, six-figure gift from a local philanthropist – and since, the org’s impact has skyrocketed.
During her tenure, ABCD has responded to nearly 7,000 calls for support, and between 2017 and 2024, the number of mentor matches has doubled; nearly 700 of those women are in Milwaukee County.
Friebert Schupper hopes ABCD’s impact can continue to grow. Research, advocacy and legislation play a role in the fight against cancer, but she believes nothing replaces the power of supportive relationships: “This is about the power of connection.”
READ MORE IN THE BETTYS ROUNDTABLE
