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![\"group](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/advancement\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/PCunningham-photo-for-profile-2022-Dialogue-scaled.jpg\")
(Clockwise, left to right) Sabrina Cunningham; Jonathan Friedberg, MD; Patrick Cunningham; Danica Cunningham; and Cynthia Angel, MD<\/p><\/div>\n
On the walls of Patrick Cunningham\u2019s downtown office in City Hall hang four pastel landscapes of Hawaii, which his late wife, JoEll, painted to remind him of their trip in 2015. \u201cJoEll created such beautiful works of art\u2014pastels, acrylics, oil paintings,\u201d says Cunningham, Rochester\u2019s deputy mayor. \u201cShe loved art, music, and life and she had this amazing, infectious laugh. I miss it all.\u201d<\/p>\n
JoEll Mileo Cunningham died on November 6, 2018, after a six-year battle with ovarian cancer. It was her second bout with the disease, having been treated for cervical cancer in 1993. After several years into her ovarian cancer treatment, Cunningham asked his wife\u2019s oncologist, Cynthia Angel, MD, how much longer the family had together. She said about two years.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when Cunningham, who was then the CEO of Manning & Napier, a local wealth management company, announced his retirement<\/a>. \u201cJoEll was such a fighter,\u201d he says. \u201cShe lived another two and a half years. Our daughters, Sabrina and Danica, were 26 and 22 at the time. I\u2019m grateful for every moment we all had.\u201d<\/p>\n In the summer of 2022, Cunningham made several gifts to Wilmot totaling $1.6 million. To honor his wife, $750,000 of that gift established the endowed JoEll Mileo Cunningham Cancer Research Fund, which advances ovarian cancer research and names the seventh floor at the Wilmot Cancer Institute after his late wife. Although this gift was originally established as a bequest, Cunningham decided to fund it now. \u201cMy daughters and I wanted to do something to combat the disease that killed their mother,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n Most of the rest of Cunningham\u2019s gift provides immediate support for Wilmot\u2019s Discovery Fund. \u201cI wanted to help Dr. Friedberg\u2014Wilmot\u2019s director\u2014fund priority areas at his discretion, for instance, to support pilot research and faculty recruitment initiatives,\u201d he says. In addition, Cunningham\u2019s gift helped fund the 2022 Warrior Walk and the 2022 Toast to Your Health Wine Auction, for which he served as co-chair.<\/p>\n Cunningham has been engaged with Wilmot since 2016. Several years after his wife\u2019s diagnosis, he joined the board and is now on its executive committee. \u201cWilmot has given us\u2014our family and this community\u2014so much,\u201d adds Cunningham. \u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to give back and our gifts help advance cancer research, recognize the caliber of Wilmot\u2019s faculty and staff, and celebrate JoEll\u2014an amazing wife and mother.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n JoEll Mileo Cunningham<\/p><\/div>\n The couple met on the Charles River in Boston. Cunningham\u2014then a junior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)\u2014was a member of the Community Boating Club. For an annual $35 fee, members like him could borrow a boat whenever they wanted. They also took out newbies to introduce them to boating.<\/p>\n \u201cOn one chilly morning, I stood in line for a cup of coffee outside the boathouse,\u201d he says. \u201cI noticed this young woman in front of me and I tried to get her attention. As luck would have it, JoEll was new to the club, and I was scheduled to give her an introductory boat ride.\u201d<\/p>\n Cunningham adds, \u201cThat morning led to our first date\u2014a picnic. I did it up right, too. I brought a loaf of white bread, some Oscar Meyer bologna, and a small jar of French\u2019s mustard. I forgot a knife, so we had to use our fingers to spread it. JoEll took a different approach to the outing and made Russian tea cookies from scratch. Those early days led to a very happy 35 years of marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n Cunningham was born in Queens, N.Y., but moved to Bloomingburg, N.Y.\u2014a rural, 800-person town\u2014when his parents divorced at age 11. \u201cMy mom raised me and my three brothers,\u201d he says. \u201cShe didn\u2019t make enough money as a secretary to feed four hungry boys though, so she also worked as a waitress on the weekends. We still needed welfare and food stamps to get by, too. Times were tight and I learned the value of hard work at an early age.\u201d<\/p>\n In high school, Cunningham\u2019s guidance counselor noticed how well he did in science and math and told him he should think about being an engineer. Patrick didn\u2019t know what an engineer did, but he applied to RIT, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and MIT. He got into each but chose MIT because it gave him the best financial package. He graduated in 1979 with a degree in biology.<\/p>\n For about the next 10 years, Cunningham worked in engineering, technical sales, and management positions in N.J. and Texas. He was an entrepreneur, too, and cofounded a company when he was in his 20s. In 1988, he sold that company, and a few years later ended up in Rochester.<\/p>\n In the early 1990s, Cunningham worked as a recruiter, which is when Manning & Napier hired him to look for a business development candidate. \u201cI read the description for that job and thought it sounded like the perfect position for me,\u201d he says. \u201cI ended up bringing Manning & Napier just one resume for that job\u2014mine.\u201d<\/p>\n It was a great learning experience for Cunningham, who rose in the company\u2019s ranks and joined its executive leadership team. After 19 years with Manning & Napier, he became its CEO in 2010 until his retirement.<\/p>\n Cunningham met Malik Evans \u201902S (MBA) on the Rochester Museum and Science Center\u2019s board of directors. Later, Cunningham recruited him to join Wilmot\u2019s board. Soon after becoming mayor-elect, Evans asked Patrick to become his deputy mayor.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen Mayor Evans asked me, I said \u2018why?\u2019 I\u2019m not political,\u2019\u201d says Cunningham. \u201cMayor Evans told me he didn\u2019t want a career politician. He wanted someone with management skills and who could motivate and organize people. He also wanted someone who cared. That was me. For a long time, I did not like what I was seeing in the city: the violence, generational poverty, and the state of the city school system. I grew up without resources and can appreciate the hardships many people face.\u201d<\/p>\n After being asked to join Mayor Evans\u2019 team, Cunningham went to breakfast with Carlos Carballada, a local Rochester businessperson who served as deputy mayor in 2016. They discussed the opportunity. \u201cCarlos told me, \u2018if you don\u2019t take the job, you\u2019ll regret it for the rest of your life,\u2019\u201d says Cunningham. \u201cHe was right\u2014I know I\u2019m in the right place, doing the right thing, and, I hope, making a difference for the better.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”grid” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” background_color=”#e7e7e7″ css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n Gifts like Patrick Cunningham\u2019s help us advance knowledge, drive innovation, and improve the lives of patients. Contact Clare Flanagan<\/a>, Executive Director of Advancement for Wilmot Cancer Institute, to learn more about how you can make a difference, too. [\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”25px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner row_type=”row” type=”full_width” use_row_as_full_screen_section_slide=”no” text_align=”left” css_animation=”” box_shadow_on_row=”no”][vc_column_inner][vc_empty_space height=”20px” image_repeat=”no-repeat”][vc_column_text fnt_family=”Roboto Condensed” fnt_size=”12″ css=”.vc_custom_1664980109117{border-top-width: 1px !important;border-top-color: #c4c4c4 !important;border-top-style: solid !important;}”]<\/p>\n![\"JoEll](\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/advancement\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/JoEll.jpg\")
How it began<\/b><\/h4>\n
Growing up<\/b><\/h4>\n
A successful career<\/b><\/h4>\n
Becoming the deputy mayor<\/b><\/h4>\n
Get involved<\/b><\/h4>\n