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Joe
Perry, Senior Director
Joe Perry, executive director, has been with Gilda’s Club Metro Detroit since September 1997, after joining as a social work
intern and rising through the ranks to become program director in 2001. Under his leadership, Gilda’s Club Metro Detroit
has consistently had the greatest number of new members and the highest member utilization of Club services. Due to his
success, Perry currently mentors other Gilda’s Club program directors.
Like many associated with Gilda’s Club, Perry’s life has been deeply impacted by cancer. His father, mother and sister
have all faced the disease, and it was the act of helping his mother-in-law cope with the loss of her husband to bile-duct
cancer that inspired him to return to school to obtain a Master of Social Work degree. His desire was to help families
discuss the impact cancer can have on them, both individually and collectively.
“My own experience during my father’s cancer in the late 1960s was one where no one discussed the disease or asked
how I was doing and whether I understood what was going on,” he said. “That’s an experience I hope to change for
others through my efforts with Gilda’s Club Metro Detroit.” Joe and his wife, Kathy, have been married for 15 years and have two children – Rachel and Kyla.
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