Philanthropist Shelly Kivell Joins BCRF’s Board of Directors

Founder of BCRF’s Westchester Luncheon takes on a new leadership role

We are proud to announce that Shelly Kivell has joined our esteemed Board of Directors, co-chaired by Kinga Lampert and William P. Lauder. At a time when research funding faces tremendous challenges, we are deeply motivated that our Board of Directors includes trailblazers in business, law, media, and philanthropy—and is now strengthened by Shelly’s addition.

Shelly is a New York-based philanthropist, breast cancer survivor, and longstanding BCRF supporter for more than 20 years. She has championed and served the organization in numerous ways since 1999, when BCRF’s late founder Evelyn H. Lauder personally invited Shelly to join the Foundation’s Advisory Board.

In 2006, Shelly founded the annual BCRF Westchester Luncheon, which has raised more than $3 million to date for breast cancer research, and she served on the event’s leadership for nine years until relocating to Manhattan. Since 2018, Shelly has been a co-chair of BCRF’s Symposium and Awards Luncheon and BCRF’s New York Hot Pink Party.

Shelly was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 35 years old and raising three young children. After completing treatment, she researched breast cancer nonprofits and put her support behind BCRF. 

“I wanted to become involved in a breast cancer organization to make sure that my two daughters—and women all over—would not have to experience what I had been through,” she said. “I realized that the way to protect women in the future is through research.”

In addition to her work with BCRF, Shelly and her husband, Dr. Howard Kivell, are committed to numerous causes and nonprofits. Shelly serves on the Executive Committee of the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, the board of Footsteps, and the Dean’s Council at Weill Cornell Medical College. She is also a member of Neshamot, a UJA-Federation impact philanthropy group.

“I’m excited about becoming more involved with the nuts and bolts of BCRF,” she said. “I’ve watched BCRF grow from a small organization to the powerhouse it is today. I hope to be part of the Foundation’s next growth era and be able to see the end of breast cancer.”