How it all began.

In February of 2013, I left my job in finance and moved to Nanyuki, which is located three hours north of Nairobi, Kenya's capital city. I lived there for two years working with street kids and other vulnerable children.

Beryl Markham said, “Africa is mystic; it is wild; it is a sweltering inferno; it is a photographer’s paradise, a hunter’s Valhalla, an escapist’s Utopia. It is what you will, and it withstands all interpretations. It is the last vestige of a dead world or the cradle of a shiny new one. To a lot of people, as to myself, it is just ‘home.’ It is all these things but one thing - it is never dull.”

Caitlin, my best friend, longed to visit me there and meet the kids. To see, with her own eyes, the big cats, the elephants, and watch the equatorial sun rise up over Mt. Kenya. She dreamed of seeing the endless night sky, pinpricked with silvery stars. She was an adventurer at heart but she had cystic fibrosis, a genetic, progressive lung disease, and by her twenties, she could no longer stray too far from her medical team. In February of 2014, her health plummeted. She was transferred by med-flight from Brigham & Women’s in Boston to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center where she was listed for a lung transplant. The surgery was filled with uncertainty and side effects, but if successful – like so many were – it would provide her with the opportunity to do many of the things that, before this time, had never been an option. She would finally be able to travel to Africa.

For many tragic reasons, Caitlin had to wait 2.5 years for her transplant and by then, her chances of success were low. She did not survive.

Why The Leo Project?

Caitlin loved the arts and children, and she advocated for creativity. She viewed the arts as an integral part of education and furthermore, public health. She was an art history major, partial to the Northern Renaissance and Early Christian periods. From Joni Mitchell and the Talking Heads to Bob Dylan, she appreciated good music more than anyone. She excelled at graphic design and taught herself basic coding. She painted and sketched and was a brilliant writer. Many of the services offered at The Leo Project happen to be the same creative and supportive outlets that enriched Caitlin's life during her thirty-three year struggle with cystic fibrosis.

What is Behind the Name?

In Swahili, Leo means today. Being an astrological Leo was part of what defined Caitlin. She was a lion, as fiery and courageous as they come and she taught us, more than anyone, that all we have is today. Additionally, Caitlin and I met as fifteen-year old students while attending St. Mark’s School and will forever be lions, the St. Mark’s mascot.