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 Sue
Warren Fratt’s ’72 career in service dates back to her
freshman year at Willamette, when she got her first taste of helping
people in need. Fratt remembers learning that the nearby Oregon
School for the Blind was asking Willamette students to serve as
classroom volunteers.
“A friend and I went and volunteered,” recalls Fratt,
the executive director of the Oregon and Southwest Washington affiliate
of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. “It was the
first experience I’d had where I really felt I was making
a difference and impacting lives. And it just really felt good.”
In that classroom, where for about five months Fratt saw both
gratitude and gratifying results from her hands-on assistance, a
seed was planted that grew into a career of service that so far
has spanned nearly 20 years. Before joining the Komen Foundation
five years ago, she worked for the American Cancer Society for three
years. Before that she spent nine years coordinating the Washington
state governor’s Southwest Washington satellite office in
Vancouver.
“That takes us back to 1987,” says Fratt, “so
I feel like my career has always been about helping people and making
things better. I just feel very blessed that I’ve been able
to create a career out of helping others and assisting them when
they’ve needed help.”
Although she was raised in Lake Oswego, Ore., Fratt has called
Vancouver, Wash., her home since 1974. Her husband, John Fratt,
is the director of government relations at the Port of Vancouver.
She has three children: Andy Sellers, a Seattle realtor; Katie Sellers,
23, a recent art history graduate of Evergreen State College; and
Robert Sellers, 21, a student at Washington State University.
At the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Fratt oversees
the work of a small staff and large group of volunteers who each
year put on the largest road race in Oregon and Southwest Washington,
the Race for the Cure. It’s an event that draws more than
32,000 participants.
“The race raises awareness about breast cancer,” says
Fratt, “and it offers an opportunity for women who are survivors
or newly diagnosed to get the sense that they’re not alone.
There is a community here working to support them, to improve their
quality of life and to find a cure for breast cancer.”
Fratt says about 54 men and women are diagnosed with breast cancer
each week in Oregon. Some of those diagnosed have been friends of
hers. “So it is personal work,” she says. “I am
not a breast cancer survivor, but I have every intention of being
one should I be diagnosed.”
The race fees and other funds raised by the foundation pay for
mammograms and diagnostic services in Oregon and Southwest Washington
for people who couldn’t otherwise afford them. The foundation
also grants money to other nonprofit organizations to provide breast
health education to medically under-served populations.
“We’re just 13 years old and we’ve gone from
nothing in ’91 to a $2 million plus organization that’s
making a difference in breast cancer,” she says. “What
we’re proudest about is that 75 percent of the money we raise
stays here to help people in Oregon and Southwest Washington. The
other 25 percent goes mainly to research to find the cure.”
Fratt laughs when she realizes that her biology degree from Willamette
ultimately gave her a good background for a career in service and
non-profit administration.“It helps having some background
and understanding in the basic biological science to understand
some of the issues that key researchers are trying to address,”
she says.
For that she is grateful to her biology professors, namely Grant
Thorsett, Donald Breakey and Martha Springer. Fratt, who was a member
of the Chi Omega sorority and a four-year participant in Glee, says
another unexpected advantage of her Willamette experience was the
proximity to the State Capitol. Observing the workings of state
government fed her interest in politics, which she continued to
follow after moving to Washington and eventually going to work for
the governor’s office.
“I went over to the State Capitol frequently to sit in the
galleries and watch the proceedings – and have the cinnamon
rolls from the concession stand!” says Fratt with a laugh.
“I did have an interest in politics but nothing real structured.
I was interested in the process and listening to floor speeches
when the legislators were meeting. It was just another benefit of
Willamette.”
Fratt became a volunteer on the election campaign for Booth Gardner,
who served as Washington’s governor from 1985 - 93. Her volunteer
work eventually led to a position as coordinator of the governor’s
Southwest Washington office. But once she was employed, she didn’t
stop volunteering.
“While I was in the governor’s office I did a lot
of volunteering in the community, as well,” Fratt recalls.
“I was PTA president. I co-chaired the Kaiser Shipyard’s
50-year anniversary celebration and I volunteered for Children’s
Home Society. So volunteering has always been part of my adult life.
It’s just integrated.”
“I have a real personal ethic about volunteering and being
active in your community,” says Fratt, whose personal interests
include snow skiing, reading and watching movies.“My volunteer
experience really did start at Willamette and it is something that
is very important to me.”
– Susan G. Hauser
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