Source: Radio One Charlotte
Women’s History Month is a celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture, and society. Mix 107.9 recognizes Women’s History Month by Celebrating HERstory. We celebrate Erin Santos, the President of the Isabella Santos Foundation.
Erin Santos arrived in Charlotte in 1999, a graduate from Ohio University with a degree in Business Administration. She immediately began work at LendingTree.com as a Project Manager and in 2005, welcomed her first child, Isabella.
In the fall of 2007 Erin’s life was forever changed when Isabella was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma – a rare form of pediatric cancer. Affecting less than 700 children in the U.S., Neuroblastoma is so rare that few treatment options exist and the survival rates are dismal. In the first year of her diagnosis, the Santos family decided to create the Isabella Santos Foundation to raise money for this rare disease and organized several events in the Charlotte area to help fund treatments. For the next five years, Isabella battled her disease between treatments in New York City and Charlotte, and fought through five different relapses. She ultimately passed away at the age of 7 in 2012.
Since Isabella’s death, the Isabella Santos Foundation has funded over $7 million dollars toward expanding the scope of research, treatments, and supporting families affected by rare cancers. ISF is currently funding a $5 million-dollar global rare pediatric cancer program here in Charlotte at Levine Children’s Hospital. This marks the single largest commitment made by any foundation in the hospital’s history.
Erin was recently married in 2022 to Blair Primis and their children, Avery (22) – NYC Fletcher (19) – Chapel Hill, Brady (17), Grant (16) and Sophia (13) currently live in the Dilworth Crescent Community here in Charlotte, NC. Along with her ISF work, they also actively support the Community Blood Center of the Carolinas, the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Ronald McDonald House having once been beneficiaries of these fine organizations. She maintains an active lifestyle and enjoys running, taking Barry’s Bootcamp classes, traveling with her husband, playing Gin and exploring new areas of Charlotte. She hopes to eventually move to Charleston, South Carolina and expand the reach of ISF to serve all children in the Carolinas.
