By Carli Johnson STAFF WRITER
After Outlaw Partners CEO Eric Ladd and his wife, Kaley Burns, watched their 3-year-old son struggle with seizures and eventually get diagnosed with epilepsy, they were motivated to find the best doctors and care to support their family.
That personal experience has since grown into a broader effort to support the nearly 3.4 million Americans who live with epilepsy.
Outlaw Partners chose the Epilepsy Foundation as the first-night beneficiary of Big Sky PBR, beginning a partnership focused on bringing greater awareness to epilepsy and supporting people and families affected by the disorder. The Epilepsy Foundation of America was established in 1968 and today operates approximately 59 chapters across the country. The organization’s mission centers on four core pillars: advocacy, research, support and awareness.
On Aug. 17, Epilepsy Foundation CEO Bernice “Bee” Martin Lee, Chief Research and Innovation Officer Caitlin Grzeskowiak and Executive Director for Nevada, Utah and Montana Jessica Veach visited the Outlaw Partners office in Bozeman to meet with Ladd and the Outlaw team and discuss the foundation’s work and plans for the future.
The meeting came as Outlaw Foundation announced a $230,000 donation to the Epilepsy Foundation.
“This is the starting line, not the finish line,” Ladd said after handing a check to Lee. “We are incredibly grateful to everyone in our community who stepped up and helped make this first phase possible. Epilepsy is a devastating disease affecting millions of people and their families, and there is still so much work to be done. Our commitment is to keep pushing—to help advance research, improve care, connect families with the best resources available, and ultimately help drive toward better treatments and cures. This is just the beginning.”
The group discussed epilepsy research, education, advocacy and patient support, including efforts to improve seizure safety in Montana schools. The Epilepsy Foundation has advocated for seizure first-aid training for school personnel, which teaches educators how to recognize and respond to seizures, a potentially life-saving practice.
The organization also discussed the needs of Montana families living with epilepsy, and touched on research and the importance of patient data in improving epilepsy treatment and care.
“There is no standard of care for epilepsy,” Lee said during the meeting, describing differences patients can encounter in diagnosis and treatment.
Make a donation to the Epilepsy Foundation.
