Christy Hudson (née Barrow) is an Independent Advisor specializing in philanthropic initiatives in life sciences and medical research. She currently serves as a retained advisor to The Pershing Square Foundation, where she supports its life sciences strategy and grantmaking programs. In this role, she leads and manages two of the Foundation’s flagship in-house initiatives: the MIND Prize, focused on advancing cognitive health and research in neurodegenerative disease, and the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance (PSSCRA). Through PSSCRA, she oversees the annual Pershing Square Sohn Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research, which empowers early-career scientists to pursue bold, high-risk research at a critical stage often underserved by traditional funding sources.

Christy also serves as Co-Chair of the Grants Administration Community within the Health Research Alliance, a collaborative network of nonprofit research funders dedicated to accelerating biomedical discovery and improving human health.

Prior to establishing her independent advisory practice, Christy was a Program Director at The Pershing Square Foundation. Earlier in her career, she lived in Shizuoka City, Japan, where she promoted cross-cultural communication and education as a participant in the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. Before her time in Japan, she served as a Development Officer at The Rockefeller University, where she supported fundraising, donor engagement, and event strategy for programs advancing women in science and child and adolescent health research.

Christy began her career in research, working in the lab of Dr. Abigail A. Baird, Professor of Psychological Science at Vassar College, where she contributed to studies on the neural and behavioral foundations of adolescent development. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vassar College in 2011, earning a B.A. with honors in both Psychology and Japanese.

Christy's fun fact: People don't know I'm good at singing Christmas carols in Japanese!