Empowering people affected by MS to live their best lives

Making a Difference

August 27, 2025

Susana Cummings

A group of cyclists in helmets and blue KPMG kits smile in front of palm trees and an inflated blue arch at the start of Bike MS. — KPMG’s teams have raised $5.5 million. KPMG’s Southern California offices stand out during the Bike MS: Bay to Bay event.

National Team program.In 2024, 33 KPMG teams with 448 members participated in Society events, raising more than $250,000. Among other accolades, the company was honored for its efforts in 2025 with the Corporate Champion Award by the Greater DC-Maryland and Greater Northwest chapters.KPMG supports the organization in many ways, including:

Asking clients and suppliers for support
Sponsoring events
Giving its professionals time off to volunteer
Helping raise awareness about MS through social media and
Fostering volunteerism during its Community Impact Day in August, where the Society is among a handful of supported national organizations

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Dillon and her mother, Gerda Loeb, have since spread the word about MS, raised funds through work events and the media, and helped attract participants to the Central Florida event with the support of their employer, KPMG, LLP.“It's cool to see a wave of blue amongst a sea of orange,” says Dillon, a senior associate in commercial credit.The duo is part of a far-reaching corporate team that has supported the Society in many ways for decades. KPMG, an audit, tax and advisory firm, is among 3 dozen businesses and organizations that take part in the Society’s National Team program.In 2024, 33 KPMG teams with 448 members participated in Society events, raising more than $250,000. Among other accolades, the company was honored for its efforts in 2025 with the Corporate Champion Award by the Greater DC-Maryland and Greater Northwest chapters.KPMG supports the organization in many ways, including:

Asking clients and suppliers for support
Sponsoring events
Giving its professionals time off to volunteer
Helping raise awareness about MS through social media and
Fostering volunteerism during its Community Impact Day in August, where the Society is among a handful of supported national organizations

Two women in blue T-shirts that read KPMG pose for a picture holding yellow and green Walk MS circles during an outdoor event. — KPMG employees Elana Dillon (left) and Gerda Loeb raise awareness about multiple sclerosis at work, Walk MS and on social media.

Asking clients and suppliers for support
Sponsoring events
Giving its professionals time off to volunteer
Helping raise awareness about MS through social media and
Fostering volunteerism during its Community Impact Day in August, where the Society is among a handful of supported national organizations

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Asking clients and suppliers for support
Sponsoring events
Giving its professionals time off to volunteer
Helping raise awareness about MS through social media and
Fostering volunteerism during its Community Impact Day in August, where the Society is among a handful of supported national organizations

Supporting Healthcare Access for People With MS

MS Navigator® in helping people with the disease live their best lives.“It's so, so critical to know you have someone in your corner,” says Gifford, who wants to do his part to help people without medical insurance, nearby health facilities or transportation get the care they need.Gifford, a senior managing director at the KPMG office in Tysons Corner, Virginia, is among 12 employees on local Society boards. Despite juggling multiple responsibilities, he enjoys helping steer his chapter’s outreach efforts, welcomes the fundraising challenge and looks forward to Walk MS events and Bike MS rides.Gifford walks with 2 KPMG teams and rides with 2. One of them was among the company’s top fundraisers in 2024 with more than $32,000 in donations at Bike MS: Nation’s Capital. In addition to contributing to researchers’ efforts to end MS and helping those affected access the care and information they need, he says, event participation comes with perks.“You feel like, ‘Hey, I've really accomplished something here at the end of the day, both for myself and for the fight against MS’.”He enjoys the opportunity to meet different people, take in the views and catch up with his wife and friends during the long bike rides.“It's fun to exercise,” Gifford says. “It's fun to be part of a group. It's enjoyable to do things outside the office with your colleagues.”Ride participants do not have to be avid cyclists — they just have an interest in helping others, he points out. “It's not a race, it's a ride.”Rest stops every 10 miles offer plenty of food, drink and conversation, he adds. “And no one really cares how much you do or how long it takes for you to do it. They just like you are there and supporting this amazing organization.”" c-nmssatomrichtext_nmssatomrichtext-host="">

When a partner at KPMG asked Dirk Gifford to become a Society local trustee 4 years ago, he jumped at the chance even though he didn’t know anyone with MS. Since then, he has seen the important role the Society plays through programs such as MS Navigator® in helping people with the disease live their best lives.“It's so, so critical to know you have someone in your corner,” says Gifford, who wants to do his part to help people without medical insurance, nearby health facilities or transportation get the care they need.Gifford, a senior managing director at the KPMG office in Tysons Corner, Virginia, is among 12 employees on local Society boards. Despite juggling multiple responsibilities, he enjoys helping steer his chapter’s outreach efforts, welcomes the fundraising challenge and looks forward to Walk MS events and Bike MS rides.Gifford walks with 2 KPMG teams and rides with 2. One of them was among the company’s top fundraisers in 2024 with more than $32,000 in donations at Bike MS: Nation’s Capital. In addition to contributing to researchers’ efforts to end MS and helping those affected access the care and information they need, he says, event participation comes with perks.“You feel like, ‘Hey, I've really accomplished something here at the end of the day, both for myself and for the fight against MS’.”He enjoys the opportunity to meet different people, take in the views and catch up with his wife and friends during the long bike rides.“It's fun to exercise,” Gifford says. “It's fun to be part of a group. It's enjoyable to do things outside the office with your colleagues.”Ride participants do not have to be avid cyclists — they just have an interest in helping others, he points out. “It's not a race, it's a ride.”Rest stops every 10 miles offer plenty of food, drink and conversation, he adds. “And no one really cares how much you do or how long it takes for you to do it. They just like you are there and supporting this amazing organization.”

A man in a cycling helmet and a red, blue and white jersey that reads Nation’s Capital smiles while holding his bike outdoors. — Dirk Gifford leads local KPMG teams in Greater DC-Maryland chapter Walk MS, Bike MS and Dinner of Champion events, and serves on its board.

Volunteers in Action

Stephanie Isaacson, a managing director in KPMG’s San Diego office, has volunteered or participated in Society events since 2007 in honor of her sister Susan and others with MS. The firm sponsors Bike MS: Bay to Bay along the Pacific Coast Highway with funds, a team of riders and about 40 volunteers under her leadership.The company’s support at Society events throughout the country, Isaacson says, makes all the difference. “It's not just lip service. It's really doing the work and putting the money, and then the time and effort of the people to support it, which is fantastic.”Among other team sponsor duties, Isaacson recruits riders and volunteers, organizes pep rallies at 3 KPMG offices in Southern California and hosts happy hour to deliver riders’ bibs. She also manages a rest stop near the Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve, where she makes sure that, along with the usual pickle juice, granola bars and energy drinks, there are plenty of donuts to go around. “They go like hotcakes.”As cyclists crest a long hill toward the end of the ride, a wall of KPMG volunteers ring cowbells. “We make it a big party,” says Isaacson.

Cyclists make a stop at a rest stop as KPMG volunteers ring cowbells. — After a long climb up a hill, donuts are always popular among cyclists at the KPMG rest stop during Bike MS: Bay to Bay.

After a long climb up a hill, donuts are always popular among cyclists at the KPMG rest stop during Bike MS: Bay to Bay. — As Bike MS participants crest a hill to get to a rest stop north of San Diego, KPMG employees cheer them on.

Corporate Support That Fosters Community

The collaboration among employees from different areas of KPMG at events creates a stronger sense of community in its workforce, Way says.“From the business angle,” he adds, “it's great for KPMG to show up in the communities where our professionals live and work, and to be active participants in an event that is well respected and very popular within a given community.“And I think it's important to show our professionals that KPMG supports people from all backgrounds, who may be impacted by all sorts of different health conditions, and that we make sure that we're working together for the better, in the name of our values, to help create strong and thriving, healthy communities.”At a time that diversity is a touchy subject, KPMG’s support of the Society and employees with MS also shows that it’s effective in the workplace, adds Dillon, from the Orlando office. “Not only does it work; it's necessary. We need people from all facets of life.”Loeb adds that her and her daughter’s work against MS has not only led some co-workers to get tested for it, but also contributed to the culture of the company, an effort it values enough to include in performance evaluations.“It has made us rock stars here,” says Loeb, who often gives talks about ways to support co-workers with MS.

Team Members Against MS

support group and took part in Walk MS. Years later, as she looked for a way to get more involved in the community, her boss at KPMG encouraged her to join something she was passionate about. Since then, she has served on the Society’s local boards in several markets and on the National Board of Directors for 13 years. Now, Foote is the U.S. ambassador to the MS International Federation.Along the way, she appreciated her firm’s support for her volunteer activities and the Society, encouraged others there to fundraise for it and helped colleagues with disabilities.A national managing partner, audit operations for KPMG US, Foote some years raises as much as $35,000 for the Society by asking co-workers and others to make donations, attend Dinner of Champions or join her at Walk MS, among other efforts." c-nmssatomrichtext_nmssatomrichtext-host="">

Dillon recalls how encouraging it was when she first joined the firm to learn about a partner with MS, Dana Foote. “I was brand new here, and it was just so cool to see a woman who was so advanced in her career and battling this stand up for herself and show that MS does have a place in the workforce and we have every right to be transparent about it.”At KPMG, Foote is the “fearless leader” who inspires colleagues’ involvement with the Society, Way says.After her diagnosis in 1998, Foote turned to a Society support group and took part in Walk MS. Years later, as she looked for a way to get more involved in the community, her boss at KPMG encouraged her to join something she was passionate about. Since then, she has served on the Society’s local boards in several markets and on the National Board of Directors for 13 years. Now, Foote is the U.S. ambassador to the MS International Federation.Along the way, she appreciated her firm’s support for her volunteer activities and the Society, encouraged others there to fundraise for it and helped colleagues with disabilities.A national managing partner, audit operations for KPMG US, Foote some years raises as much as $35,000 for the Society by asking co-workers and others to make donations, attend Dinner of Champions or join her at Walk MS, among other efforts.

A couple and their two daughters smile outdoors during a Walk MS event. — Walk MS is a family affair for Dana Foote, husband Donovan and daughters Katelyn and Kristin.

“It's not a hard sell,” she adds. “It's really not.”Foote remembers how scared she was early on about MS and the impact it could have on her rising career. At first, she shared her diagnosis with just a few. Eventually, she ended up disclosing her MS after becoming a partner in 2007 and co-founding and co-chairing the firm’s disability network that same year.“I didn't want my disability to hold me back. I didn't want people to think I’m different,” she says. “But from that time on, it's just not a big deal. People know Dana has MS, but they support me. They support the MS Society.”

Susana Cummings

Susana Cummings is a senior specialist for bilingual content with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

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