Skip to Main Content

Dan and Ellen Crown

Couple Creates an Enduring Legacy of Support

Dan and Ellen CrownEllen Crown was diagnosed with Crohn's disease as a teenager. As loyal, enduring supporters of the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation, she and her husband, Daniel, have made it their mission to help others battling Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Their generosity has made a significant impact on the Foundation's work for the past three decades.

Ellen and Daniel, along with their family, have funded numerous Foundation research projects, including championing the launch of two major research initiatives—the Microbiome Initiative and the Environmental Triggers Initiative. Insights from these projects are leading to new approaches to the diagnosis, treatment, and interventions of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Through these initiatives, researchers are working to isolate the microbes, genes, and environmental factors that impact disease and looking for ways to manipulate them—which will form the basis for new therapeutic interventions. These interventions would be the first time that a treatment could be developed to address the cause—NOT the symptoms—of IBD.

In addition to the millions of dollars of financial support to these vital projects, the Crowns have been advocates for the Foundation, spearheading fundraising events to support critical mission programs by bringing new supporters to the Foundation. Ellen and Daniel have been volunteer leaders for the Foundation's Greater New York Chapter—both serving on the chapter's Board of Directors and Daniel serving as a former board president. Ellen has been particularly devoted to the chapter's annual Women of Distinction luncheon, which she has chaired for the past 23 years since taking the baton from the event's founders. The event draws close to 900 of New York's most influential women every year, and has raised over $26.6 million to date.

Ellen and Daniel's generosity has impacted the lives of thousands of IBD patients across the country, and their ongoing benevolence is paving the way to a future free of these devastating diseases.

You, like the Crowns, can help support finding cures for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. To learn how you can help, contact Susan Carriker at scarriker@crohnscolitisfoundation.org or 252-597-5085.