As an operation and quality associate at Fogarty Innovation, Julianna Rose makes sure that Fogarty Innovation operates safely and effectively. She oversees workplace training compliance, ensures new employees and companies have the equipment they need, and trains startups on implementing quality management systems. So why is her desk piled high with brightly colored backpacks, pocket folders, highlighters, and flash cards?
Over the past year, Rose has spearheaded a new community service initiative at the nonprofit medtech incubator: Fogarty Gives Back. With support from chief alliance officer Allie Gregorian and communications and education associate Lizbeth Villalobos, she’s mobilized the Fogarty community to give their time and resources to those in need. So far, Fogarty employees and companies have participated in two school backpack drives for Family Giving Tree, faced off in staff-versus-startup canned food drives during the holidays, spent an afternoon sorting produce at Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, and volunteered at the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Peninsula Costaño Elementary School’s summer carnival.
Last week marked the culmination of the second backpack drive. Before the “stuffing party” could begin, Rose and her team were tasked with sorting the mountains of donated supplies by grade level (K–2, 3–5, and 6–12), then arranging everything in a way that made it easy for Fogarty team members to fill each backpack with the correct quantity and selection of items. When the eraser dust settled, Fogarty had 110 fully stocked backpacks—exceeding the goal of 90—plus 16 empty packs and an entire bin of excess supplies.
DxD plants the seed
The idea for the program came to Rose after participating in an inclusive leadership seminar hosted by Diversity by Doing HealthTech (DxD). “There was one session that focused on community inclusion and outreach, and it really resonated,” she said. “They talked about how giving back can enrich company culture, and I thought it would be meaningful for Fogarty to build a culture of service—supporting our local community in addition to our work advancing health through technology innovation.”
A lifelong commitment to service
The topic was particularly evocative for Rose because of her own history of giving. “I grew up volunteering,” she said. “I remember in high school, a group of us were serving lunch at a homeless shelter, and I was the only student who actually sat down and talked with the people at the shelter. Just learning their stories was heartbreaking, and it showed me, not only how fortunate I am, but also that I can make a difference in other people’s lives.”
Another powerful memory was volunteering with her dad, (Fogarty COO Mike Regan), to help build a house in Mexico. “What really touched me was handing the keys to the family,” she recalled. “For us, a house has to have multiple rooms and a bathroom. But all this family needed to be happy was four walls and a roof over their heads. It made me think about why I felt I needed so many material things when some people need so little to feel complete.”
Energized by the DxD seminar and her personal values, Rose pitched the community service idea to Gregorian. Her enthusiastic support prompted Rose to send out a survey gauging interest and soliciting ideas for what kind of giving the program might entail.
An enthusiastic response
The response exceeded expectations. People wanted to donate both money and time and expressed a particular interest in giving that would benefit kids, animals, and families. “Everyone was so excited to be a part of a community giving program. I had the hardest time because people started asking me for more information every day,” she recalled.
Together, Rose and Gregorian formalized the vision for Fogarty Gives Back, setting a target of four initiatives per year and alternating between financial contributions and hands-on service. Each event is designed not only to give back but also to bring the Fogarty community together. “We wanted to foster stronger connections between staff and startups,” Rose said. “These events help people step away from their desks and do something meaningful together.”
To this end, Rose makes sure that each event wraps in a shared activity, whether that is a slightly chaotic backpack-stuffing party, a post-produce-sorting happy hour, or public recognition for the food drive champion.
Building excitement
For each initiative, Rose builds momentum and involvement by making the progress towards each goal visible. For the canned food and backpack drives, she stacks the supplies in large plastic tubs in public space, with goal charts taped to the wall that track donations. “People like to see their contributions add up,” she said. “For the first backpack drive, I drew a giant backpack and colored it in as we got the school supplies. I’d send out updates showing what we had and what we still needed.”
Afterwards, she closes the loop by reporting back to participants—tallying donations, celebrating milestones, handwriting thank you notes, and highlighting the real-world impact of their efforts.
In retrospect though, the most powerful benefits may be beyond the services provided or items donated. “These events generate a noticeable buzz,” said Rose. “Participating in these efforts creates a little bit of joy and builds a deeper sense of community and purpose here at Fogarty.”