For more than 25 years, Pat Garcia-Gonzalez, Chief Executive Officer of The Max Foundation has been dedicated to improving the lives of patients facing critical illness around the world. A native of Argentina, Pat has a master’s degree from the University of Washington and a technical degree in nursing.

Pat is the co-founder of The Max Foundation, started in 1997 in honor of her stepson, Max, who was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) at the age of 14. He survived until the age of 17, and his legacy lives on in the hearts of thousands of survivors whose lives have been touched by the organization.

Under Pat’s direction, The Max Foundation partners with leading physicians in more than 70 low- and middle-income countries to provide high impact medicines annually to 30,000+ patients, demonstrating that it is indeed possible to treat critical illness such as cancer and eradicate survival disparities in the developing world.

Pat is an advisor to the CML Advocates Network, the International CML Foundation, and the Board of the Partnership for Quality Medical Donations. As recognition, Pat's work is profiled at The National Museum and Center for Service in recognition of her unwavering dedication to ensuring that all people can face disease with dignity.

Pat has been honored with the following awards the distinguished Golden Tennis Shoe Award from the United States Senator Patty Murray; the First CEO Award from the Union for International Cancer Control; the first National Cancer Institute Global Cancer Medicine Humanitarian Award; the inaugural Emerging Regions Support and Partnership (ERSAP) Prize by the International CML Foundation; and more recently the 2021 Outstanding Contribution to Cancer Control Award in the Civil Society category from the Union for International Cancer Control for her role in leading The Max Foundation, as well as her personal commitment to helping people around the world face cancer with dignity and hope.

Pat lives in Edmonds, Washington, where she raised her four sons.