Alexis Weisbrod has a deep background in fundraising and the arts – but she didn’t expect to find her people among scientists and medical researchers.

“I always thought of art and science as distinct and failed to see how similar they are — but I do now,” she says. Alexis is Team Leader at NFX, the fundraising arm of the Gilbert Family Foundation’s Curing NF work. With extensive experience working in both dance and the arts, she initially worried she wouldn’t be able to truly connect with the mission-driven world of neurofibromatosis (NF) fundraising. What she discovered surprised her.

Watching NF researchers think creatively to develop hypotheses around an understudied disease changed things for her, as did the inspiring NF community. The ingenuity required to push boundaries in rare disease research – coupled with the advocacy of the NF community – looked a lot like the creative process she’d always known.

Since joining the team a little over a year and a half ago, Alexis says it’s the people who keep her energized day-to-day. She describes her role as rich with collaboration — across the Gilbert Family Foundation, the broader NF community, and partner organizations — all united by a shared commitment to moving the needle to accelerate a cure for NF. “I have met some interesting people through this work that I now count as friends,” she says.

Looking ahead, Alexis hopes NFX becomes a connective force for families navigating an isolating diagnosis. “No family, regardless of how mild or severe a manifestation, should face it alone.” Her vision is a future where awareness around NF is widespread enough that a diagnosis comes with a community ready to help. Thanks to her leadership – especially as the driving force behind the annual beNeFit gala to raise awareness and funds to support groundbreaking research and treatment – the team has grown and made incredible progress. In 2025, the beNeFit raised $12M, bringing the total amount raised to over $90M.

And when she’s not building that community or raising awareness on “the most common rare disease,” you might find Alexis in a dance studio. After nearly a decade away, Alexis returned to dance last year — a reminder that the things that feed your soul have a way of coming back to you again.