United To Save Lives

Meet The Executive Leaders Dedicated To Building A World Without Blood Cancer

Each fall, thousands of colored lanterns illuminate cities nationwide as part of a powerful event that brings hope to people affected by blood cancer.

At The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) annual Light The Night, a national fundraising campaign that includes nearly 100 events, attendees carry lanterns that tell powerful stories: red for supporters standing with people facing blood cancer, white for patients and survivors and gold to honor lives lost to these diseases. Together, they symbolize a shared commitment to a cancer-free future.

Among the brightest forces behind this mission are Executive Challengers, a community of hundreds of business leaders who rally their networks to raise millions for LLS. Last year alone, they helped raise over $10 million to fuel life-saving research and vital patient services, accelerating progress toward LLS’s bold goal: more than one million years of life by 2040.

“Executive Challengers are shaping the future of blood cancer treatment, leaving a legacy of innovation and impact,” says Coker Powell, LLS's executive vice president and chief revenue officer. “Their contributions ensure more patients survive, celebrate milestones and live longer, healthier lives.”

Meet three Executive Challengers who proudly carry their lanterns and learn how their fundraising drives real impact.

Why She Carries A Red Lantern

Fourteen years ago, Swati Navani attended her first Light The Night while working at a biotech company that developed lymphoma treatments. The experience left a mark. “Seeing all these patients, survivors … all the different lanterns, I was like, ‘Okay, what am I going to do to make a difference?’”

Now a leader in Pfizer’s hematology division—where she liaises between the company and experts in lymphoma and myeloma—Navani channels her professional focus into her passion for fundraising. As a member of LLS’s New Jersey Board of Trustees, she’s committed to raising awareness for the organization’s groundbreaking research, advocacy work and patient education and support programs.

Though Navani has carried a red lantern at Light The Night as a general supporter, she also walks in memory of her sister, who passed away from breast cancer. “I'm there for the survivors as much as I am as a supporter,” she says.

The Impact She Hopes To Make

A few years into her LLS work, Navani had a unique idea: She launched a Bollywood-themed fundraiser gala—complete with Indian dance, cuisine and community—to bring her culture and joy to the cause. Once an event she struggled to fill, the gala is now a local success, drawing hundreds each year. This year, an added auction helped her raise most of her funds, and every event honors a physician making a difference in cancer care. “It's all about making it fun for people,” she says.

Navani’s north star is a cancer-free world. Until then, she’s focused on improving quality of life for patients through better treatment and outcomes.

“It's wonderful to see new medications, new options for these patients and less side effects,” she says. “We're really making a quality-of-life difference, [and] I hope that only gets better and better from pharma research [and] from what LLS is doing every day.”

Why She Carries A White Lantern

For Mikki Larner, supporting LLS is deeply personal: She’s the first blood cancer survivor in her immediate family in three generations. Both her father and grandfather passed away from the disease. Diagnosed with lymphoma during the pandemic, Larner recalls that time as “mind- and body-altering,” crediting her care team, friends and family for helping her through treatment. After entering remission, she says, “I wanted to find a way that I could return that support with a personal tie-in.”

Larner, a technical sales specialist at medical equipment manufacturer David Schnur Associates, discovered Light The Night through a social media post and joined the Executive Challenge after learning how vital fundraising is to LLS. While reaching out to her network, she uncovered a surprising link: LLS helped fund research for rituximab, the immunotherapy that successfully treated her. “That just further justified what I was doing with LLS,” she says.

The Impact She Hopes To Make

At her first Light The Night event, Larner carried a white lantern to symbolize her blood cancer experience, surrounded by her doctors, friends and family. “It didn't really matter what color my lantern was. It was that I showed up and all these other people showed up,” she says.

As part of her fundraising work, Larner shares resources on research and patient support with newly diagnosed family members and others she’s met along the way. It’s become an outlet to deepen her relationships and share more of her story. “I'm doing what I would have liked people to have done for me,” she says. “I want to ensure that future patients and their friends and family … have the same opportunity for successful treatments.”

Why He Carries A Gold Lantern

Over seven years ago, Stuart Sullivan began carrying a red lantern at Light The Night—symbolizing support for someone facing cancer—to stand with his coworker diagnosed with leukemia. Sullivan, the chief financial officer of convenience store chain QuikTrip, was motivated to become an Executive Challenger by LLS’s commitment to advancing research and improving patients’ lives. Over the years, he’s tapped into his network locally and across industries to raise awareness and drive fundraising for LLS.

The cause became even more personal when his stepfather was also diagnosed with leukemia. After losing both his coworker and stepfather, Sullivan now carries a gold lantern in their memory.

“It’s very important to show that support, because ultimately, we want to achieve [a future] where we don't have people carrying gold lanterns anymore, because we want to get to a point where people aren't losing that battle,” Sullivan says.

The Impact He Hopes To Make

Sullivan has served on LLS’s local board and as corporate walk chair three times, leading efforts to accelerate support from the business community and drive growth to advance LLS’s mission. He continues his involvement to honor his loved ones and champion future blood cancer patients.

“I stay involved because I do value the work [LLS is] doing,” he says. “I know it's changing lives, I know that it's making a difference long-term. I really appreciate them having an ultimate goal to put an end to blood cancer, and I am optimistic that will happen at some point.”

Participant Name	Employer
Rob Mannino	The Kulka Group