May is Brain Cancer Awareness Month — a time to honor the children and families fighting and to celebrate the communities rallying behind them. It feels fitting, then, to share a story that moved us deeply last month.
When Justine Carr laces up her running shoes and crosses the finish line of the Bend Half Marathon this spring, she'll be carrying more than miles in her legs. She'll be carrying the memory of a little girl who danced, told jokes, asked questions, and showed up every single day with a smile that could fill a room. Cameron Corno was Justine's kindergarten student and one of the bravest people Justine has ever known. Cameron passed away on June 6, 2025, after a five-year battle with ependymoma, an aggressive pediatric brain cancer. She was six years old. But in the years since Justine first set her goal to run a race in all 50 states, Cameron's spirit has quietly shaped that mission into something far greater than a personal achievement. Bend, Oregon, will be state #47. And Justine is running it — as she has before — for Cam.
This Women's History Month, the Lilabean Foundation honors the extraordinary women who surround children fighting brain cancer — from researchers driving collaboration to friends who simply refuse to let go. Every March, the world pauses to honor the women who have shaped history — the pioneers, the trailblazers, the voices that refused to be silenced. But some of the most extraordinary women doing the most extraordinary work don't make headlines. They make meals. They make calls. They make sure that a mother caring for her sick child has someone to talk to. Behind every child fighting for their life is a remarkable network of women — researchers who build bridges between science and hope, and friends who simply refuse to let go. Their work looks different. Their titles are different. But the thread connecting them is the same: an unwillingness to accept the status quo, and an insistence on showing up. This Women's History Month, the Lilabean Foundation is honored to highlight two of those women. Gerri Trooskin, Director of Partnerships at the Children's Brain Tumor Network, who works every day to ensure that no child's experience is lost and that the science of healing moves faster because people choose to collaborate rather than compete. And Alexandra Byrnes, LBF Board Member and close friend of Stewi Corno, mother to LBF Hero Cameron Corno, who knows firsthand what it means to show up when the stakes could not be higher. Together, their stories paint a portrait of what it looks like when women lead with purpose.