A Letter From the Board Chair | Q4 Newsletter 2025
From the Board Chair
2025 was an amazingly successful year for Man Up to Cancer.
You’ll read elsewhere in this newsletter about how we held our largest Gathering of Wolves to date, sent the most backpacks to patients, and saw the most in-person and virtual meetups. We moved our online platform from Facebook to Circle.
We also hired Matt Kozlovac to be our executive director. I have the pleasure of working closely with Matt in my role as board chair. If you haven’t met him, Matt is an impressive guy and is deeply ncommitted to the MUTC mission. We are in great hands.
As the year came to a close, the current board of directors – me, Trevor Maxwell, Joe Bullock, Don Helgeson, Joe Catarineau and Martha Raymond, who is the founder of the Raymond Foundation and the Gastrointestinal Cancers Alliance, approved the budget for 2026 and a new slate of board members.
On the budget side, MUTC will be a half million-dollar non-profit organization. Less than 10 percent of non-profits grow to this size, which in my mind speaks to the need for and importance of helping mind find connection and avoid isolation during cancer. I am thrilled to let you know that 90 percent of our budget funds the programs that support our growing community.
The makeup of the board of directors will change beginning in 2026. Joe Bullock will roll off the board as he becomes a full-time employee of the organization. He and Don, who also rolls off, will serve as advisors to the board, representing our communities and the programs we serve. Trevor, Joe Cat, Martha and I will remain on the board.
We will be joined by four great individuals: Mitch Stoller, chief philanthropic officer for the American Association for Cancer Research; Marielle McLeod, director of programs and advocacy for Cancer Hope Network; Duane Seibel, a self-employed mental health and school/workplace culture consultant and member of the MUTC community from Nanaimo, Canada; and Ric Downs, business development leader for oncology technology companies and a cancer survivor.
Looking forward to 2026, the board will develop a strategic plan for the organization and assist with incorporating MUTC as a non-profit in Canada. Working with Matt and the Leadership Team, we will serve as advocates for the organization to expand promotion and support for the organization.
I look forward to my first full year serving as chairman of the board for this amazing organization.
Michael Holtz
MUTC Board Chairman