Marci Spellman, the executive director and founder of Time For Life, is the parent of a child diagnosed with cancer in 1990. Treatment for her daughter, Rachel, included an intensive chemotherapy and radiation regime and bone marrow transplantation. Ms. Spellman was motivated by the lack of services offered to families, and by the chronicity of living with the medical and psychological sequelea.

She founded Time For Life in March of 1999 in order to address these problems. After completing a Bachelors' degree from Saint Joseph College in West Hartford, Connecticut she received a Master's Degree in Psychology from Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, Connecticut, where she specialized in the effects of childhood cancer on families. As an intern at The Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Ms. Spellman served as a Child Life Therapist working with families in the pediatric oncology unit. She was employed at The University of Connecticut Health Center as project coordinator for a national project funded by the Department of Health and Human Services developing an inclusive model of childcare for children with disabilities. She also worked as a Crisis Counselor at Bristol Hospital, Bristol, Connecticut. Ms. Spellman recently conducted a research study examining the psychological effects of childhood cancer, which is currently being prepared for publication.

Currently she is employed as an adjunct faculty member in the Psychology Department at Saint Joseph College. She is a contributing writer to the Starbright Foundation website which features information on insurance and financial issues for families with a chronically ill children. Ms. Spellman is a recent recipient of The Greater Hartford Chamber of Commerce Community Service Award, The Colleen Rice Award and The Rocky Hill Board of Education Distinguished Alumni Award. The combination of her education, her personal experiences, and her extensive professional background provides her with the knowledge and sensitivity necessary to work with families of children with cancer.