First Descents lost a great friend and leader.

Allan will be missed tremendously by his FD family and the Vail Valley.  He dedicated his life and passion to helping people with cancer and was an instrumental leader in the FD organization and mission. 

We love and miss you Allan.

 

Please find a letter from his family below.

 

Dear Friends -

As Allan says, “In the big game, you can lose with a full house and win with a pair of threes… you just never know.”

We are extremely saddened to share that our loved one, Allan Goldberg, passed away this morning. As many of you know, over the past few years Allan had been fighting cancer for the second time in his life. In recent months, it had spread but Allan continued to fight bravely while focusing on all of the positive things he was doing with his life. He spent the last week with his family on vacation at the beach in North Carolina. He returned home to D.C. on Friday and passed away this morning. His family was with him.

We know that Allan went on his own terms — focusing on living life, enjoying family & friends, and not allowing cancer to get in his way. We will miss him deeply. Allan was looking forward to moving back to Washington, D.C. to be closer to his family and friends. He spent the last two years in Colorado as a leader of First Descents, a non-profit organization focusing on survivorship of young adult cancer patients. Allan’s whole life has been dedicated to building upon his experiences with cancer to enrich the lives of everyone else who has been touched by the disease. He has inspired countless people through his optimism and courage. He was one of our heroes.

The memorial service will be held at Danzansky-Goldberg Memorial Chapel at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 25th, located at 1170 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD, 20852. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Camp Okizu or First Descents.

Please forward this message to anyone you feel would want this information.

And to close with another Allan saying, “Life is crazy; make sure you bring a jacket.”

Love,

Allan’s Family

Whitney Bell comes to First Descents from the Lance Armstrong Foundation in Austin, TX.  She lived in Texas for 11 years starting with Waco, where she attended Baylor University and received her bachelor’s degree in Outdoor Recreation Management and master’s in Sport and Event Management and Marketing. From there, she moved to Austin and started her non-profit career. She and her husband, Tyler Haggard, grew up a block apart from each other in Arkansas where he taught her how to whistle with her fingers and that boys grow up to be much different looking than when they were in junior high. They found each other again after college and, amidst 3 hurricanes, got married in 2005. They have a cat named Dave and two dogs, Campbell and Maggie, who love laying around the First Descents’ office and playing with anyone that walks in the door. In her free time (HA!) Whitney is training for Ironman triathlons, marathons, and life in general. 

Whitney Lange, Program Operations Manager for First Descents, is truly a product of the outdoors. Raised in Glacier National Park, Whitney moved on to compete for the Chico State women’s track team before transferring back home to graduate from the University of Montana in 2003.   As a fly fishing guide, Whitney spent eight years sharing the beauty and adventure of Montana's waters with global visitors.  Before coming to First Descents, Whitney co-owned and operated a land title company in rural western Montana. Today, Whitney is thrilled to live in the Colorado Rockies and on her days off she enjoys skiing, fishing, trail running with her beloved pup Charlie, and traveling to Portland and Glacier.  "Walk around, pick up rocks."