Billy Starr

As Founder and Executive Director of the Pan-Mass Challenge, Billy Starr has dedicated 45 years to funding life-saving breakthroughs in cancer research. Combining his passion for cycling with his activist spirit, Starr has led the organization, which is now on the cusp of contributing over $1 billion for adult and pediatric cancer care and research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI).

Founded in 1980, the PMC, a bike-a-thon with 16 routes ranging from 25 to 211 miles, raises more money for charity than any other single athletic fundraising event in the country and contributes 100 percent of every rider-raised dollar to DFCI. In 2023 alone, the PMC raised $72 million, bringing its 44-year contribution to DFCI to $972 million. The PMC is DFCI’s single largest contributor, representing more than 62 percent of the annual revenue of The Jimmy Fund.

Starr has built a unique organization that performs at a level of proficiency rarely found in either the corporate or nonprofit worlds. The PMC infrastructure consists of 12 full-time and six part-time employees; a 13-person volunteer coordinating staff; a 17-person Board of Directors; an 11-person Advisory Board; 6,000+ cyclists; 4,000 volunteers; 200 companies, which donate more than $7 million worth of merchandise and services annually; and more than 400,000 individual gifts made to PMC cyclists throughout the year.

Throughout his time with the PMC, Starr has received honorary degrees from Babson College in 1998, Bay Path College (Doctor of Laws) in 2008 and Salem State University in 2014. In 2019, Starr received an honorary degree from Northeastern University when he served as the commencement speaker for its College of Professional Studies.  He has also received the Jimmy Fund’s Tom & Jean Yawkey Memorial Award (1993) and the National Lung Cancer Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award (2006), was honored by the Friends of DFCI for more than 30 years of service (2010), and received the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition’s Community Leadership Award (2014) as well as DFCI’s Sidney Farber Medical Research Award (2014), a prestigious honor given to those who have made an exceptional contribution to reduce the burden of cancer on society. In 2004, Starr was featured in a documentary about entrepreneurs entitled Lemonade Stories, along with corporate moguls Richard Branson, Russell Simmons and Arthur Blank. Additionally, the Peer-to-Peer Professional Forum honored the PMC as Program of the Year in 2017 and has named the PMC among the top cause-related cycling events for the last several years, as well as the #3 peer-to-peer fundraiser in the country in 2022.

Starr is considered a pioneer of the $5 billion athletic fundraising industry and consults on event programming around the globe. He’s worked with Pelotonia to benefit the James Cancer Center in Columbus, OH; the Eagles Autism Challenge in Philadelphia, PA; the Dolphin Cycling Challenge for the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center in Miami, FL; Pedal the Cause for the Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis, MO; the Ride to Conquer Cancer for Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto; Cure on Wheels for the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL; the Aspen Ride for the Cure for the Susan Komen Group in Aspen, CO; and with a cycling fundraising event in Tuscany, Italy.

Before starting the PMC, Starr earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Denver in 1973 and a Master’s in Education from Northeastern University in 1978. He was also a reporter for newspapers in Massachusetts and Colorado, worked in public relations, and was the squash coach at Babson College. An avid cyclist, skier, and racquet player, Starr has ridden in and fundraised for his own event for each of its 45 years. Starr lives with his wife, Meredith, in Wellesley, MA and together they have two daughters, Hannah and Sophia.