For Jackie Didio, community has never been abstract. It has been tangible, lifesaving, and deeply personal. In moments when her daughter was diagnosed with cancer and everything shifted, it was the people who showed up that carried her family forward and ultimately inspired the creation of the Madelyn James Pediatric Cancer Foundation. In this conversation, Jackie reflects on how community shaped her path, redefined success, and continues to guide her leadership and purpose.
The People Who Carried Us Forward
How has community been a part of what got you to where you are today?
Community is everything. One thing my husband and I talk about often, and get emotional about, is the immense gratitude we feel for the people who showed up for us. It continues to be overwhelming in the best way. Sometimes it feels like, “I cannot believe how many people are showing up for us.”
It started with a GoFundMe that people created so we could get through that period. That support is really the reason we started Madelyn James. Our community showed up and allowed me to leave my job without a major financial impact on our family at the time.
The reason we wanted to build Madelyn James was to give other people that same sense of community, even if it is not quite as deep. The communities we had in the D.C. area where I grew up, in upstate New York where my husband grew up, across the country, and now this incredibly special community in Philly have been game-changing for us.
Meeting other leaders like you, meeting other women, and meeting people who are open about their experiences and have welcomed me personally into the community has meant so much. Especially because I feel like I have really struggled with the identity shift I have experienced over the last few years, which I know so many of us have.
Breathing, Pausing, and Staying Connected
What are some of the habits you have developed that allow you to remain resilient and continue moving forward?
I need time and space, even if it is just five minutes, to breathe. I tend to hold things in deeply. Yoga, mindfulness, or even just walking my dog in the morning and being outside helps force me to pause. Those moments are honestly game-changing for me.
When someone reminds me to breathe, I realize how much I needed it. Another important habit is connection. Community and friendship matter so much. Being able to grab coffee with someone, talk things through, and feel like my experience is normalized is critical for me.
As an entrepreneur doing so many things related to Madelyn James, it can feel isolating on top of the personal experience. Being part of different programs and intentionally building habits that keep me connected to others has been essential.
When Success Becomes Something Simpler and Deeper
What would you say is your definition of success today?
I do not know if I have fully defined success yet. Right now, success looks like paying the bills each month, being able to drop off and pick up my daughter from school, and spending meaningful time together as a family. Those feel like very foundational measures of success to me.
I am also still figuring out what success means for my identity. Before my child got sick, I was exactly where I wanted to be in my career. I was an executive director at a nonprofit preschool. I love education, I love kids, and I spent most of my career in that space. That felt successful. It felt like everything I had worked toward.
When Maddy got sick, everything shifted. I never imagined leaving my job because I thought that was where I was meant to be. But success changed. I wanted success for my girls, and we were able to make different choices because of my husband’s job.
Now success feels simpler. Can we pay our bills? Can we enjoy time together? Can we help other people with the knowledge we now have? I do not want anyone to have to learn what it is like to be a cancer parent. It is a terrible experience. That has shifted who I am and what I prioritize.
When Responsibility Replaces Courage
What do you think keeps women from taking opportunities that might be hard but also fulfilling?
It is fear. Fear of the unknown and fear of instability. Letting go of people and certainty is incredibly hard, and I still struggle with that.
When Maddy was still alive and in treatment, we kept asking ourselves what we were supposed to do. Should we start a fund? A nonprofit? Go back to work? I knew I did not want to build another nonprofit in the traditional way.
We spoke with a leading researcher in pediatric cancer access and equity, and when she told us that no one else was doing work like this, something clicked. It did not feel like courage. It felt like responsibility. I had information and lived experience, and if I did not use it for something meaningful, I did not know what I would do. Starting Madelyn James felt like the only path forward.
Effort Doesn’t Always Control Outcomes
What is a hard lesson you have had to learn?
One of the hardest lessons I have learned is that working incredibly hard does not guarantee a certain outcome. I have always been a hard worker. That is something I know about myself.
When I left my job, I joked on LinkedIn that I had become the executive director of my family. I worked so hard in that role, and Maddy still did not make it. That is a devastating lesson to carry. There is nothing I could have done differently to change that outcome.
That truth fuels why I want Madelyn James to succeed and support other families, even though I know I cannot control outcomes. We lost a Madelyn James baby this past year, and that was incredibly hard. But being able to walk alongside families, connect them to resources, and support them through something we have already lived through matters deeply to me.
I no longer believe success is linear. That has been one of the hardest lessons to accept.
Trust Your Gut & Quiet the Noise
If you could give your younger self advice, what would you tell her?
I was very shy and unsure of myself, and I still feel that way sometimes. I would tell myself to trust my gut. I have strong intuition, but I often second-guess myself when experts or others offer advice.
I would say to trust what you want to do and quiet the outside noise. At my core, I just want to be heard. If someone can say that about me, that is enough.
I would also tell myself to be kinder to myself. I am still my own biggest critic. And even now, I would say this to myself: you know more than you think you do.
About Jackie Didio
Jacquelyn (Jackie) Horstmann Didio is a nonprofit executive, fundraiser, and pediatric cancer advocate with over 17 years of experience—and, most importantly, a mom to twins: one in the clouds and one here on earth. With the heart of a social worker, she is the founder and Executive Director of the Madelyn James Pediatric Cancer Foundation and a bridge builder who has led and supported nonprofits of all sizes through socially responsible, equity-centered fundraising and leadership.
