Cindy K. Parseghian Bio
Cindy K. Parseghian
President, Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation
Cindy Parseghian, M.B.A., is founder and president of the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation in Tucson, Ariz.- a volunteer, nonprofit organization that funds research on the fatal genetic disorder known as Niemann-Pick Disease Type C and related neurodegenerative metabolic disorders. She has helped raise more than $30 million dollars in research support and has directed the research program that has expanded the number of labs researching Niemann-Pick Type C from fewer than five to more than 55 worldwide since the foundation's inception in 1994. Previously she was president, chief financial officer, and controller of MCS Telecommunications in Tucson, and has also worked as a certified public accountant. Mrs. Parseghian earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Notre Dame and her master’s in business management from the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.
2009’s Woman of the Year recipient
Cindy Parseghian is “a role model for all women in this community; as a mother and family member, as an advocate for children and for medical research, and as a fundraiser for causes that reach far beyond the Tucson community”.
In 1994 just months after learning that three of their four children had a fatal disease, Cindy founded the Ara Parseghian Medical Research Foundation with help from her father-in-law, Ara Parseghian, the legendary Notre Dame football coach, and has dedicated her life to directing the foundation with the hope of saving the lives of children and young adults around the world afflicted by Niemann-Pick Type C (NP-C) disease. This rare genetic disorder took the lives of Cindy and Mike’s three children, Michael, Marcia and Christa. Through her own loss, Cindy’s passion and commitment are stronger than ever to raise the funds necessary to find a treatment and cure for all children living with this fatal disease.
Through Cindy’s extensive efforts, the Foundation has raised over $35,000,000, providing hope for hundreds of families throughout the world. Her service as a volunteer to local non-profits has included the March of Dimes, St. Thomas the Apostle Preschool, the Steele Memorial Children’s Research Center, Pima County Medical Society, Angel Charity for Children, the Catalina Foothills School District Foundation and the National Nieman Pick Disease Foundation.
Cindy currently chairs the San Miguel High School Board of Trustees, The Critical Path Institute Advisory Board, the Wells Fargo Community Advisory Board, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, the Translational Genomics Research Institute board of directors and University of Notre Dame Science Council.
Cindy and Michael Parseghian have one child, Ara (age 23), a graduate of Princeton University and student at Tufts Medical School.
