Welcome New Board Directors: Bridget Gormley and Douglas Kechijian

Meet Bridget Gormley

Bridget Gormley is the Strategic Outreach and Planning Manager at Barasch & McGarry, where she leads outreach, education, and advocacy initiatives to expand awareness of the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund (VCF) and the World Trade Center Health Program (WTCHP). In this role, she develops strategic partnerships, manages community programming, and helps responders and survivors access critical health and compensation resources.

In addition to her advocacy work, Bridget is an accomplished writer, director, and producer. She began producing passion projects shortly after earning her master’s degree in Human Rights, focusing on social, political, and economic issues. Before launching her own film work, she served as a producer for the Golden Trailer Awards, an industry-recognized event celebrating excellence in motion picture advertising.

Bridget’s most recent project, Dust: The Lingering Legacy of 9/11, is an award-winning documentary that chronicles the rise in post-9/11 illnesses and cancers that continue to turn survivors into victims. Through this film, she amplifies the personal and public health impacts of toxic exposure, contributing to national conversations on accountability, environmental health, and long-term survivor care.

She is also a member of the 9/11 Memorial & Museum Visionary Network, supporting programs that preserve historical memory and deepen engagement with the ongoing legacy of 9/11.

Across her work in film, advocacy, and public engagement, Bridget brings a strategic, human-centered approach rooted in storytelling, justice, and community resilience.

Meet Dougas Kechijian

Doug Kechijian is a physical therapist and CEO and co-founder of Resilient Performance Systems. Resilient systematically navigates the continuum between acute rehabilitation and athletic performance. Resilient’s clientele includes athletes and operators from Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association (NBA), professional mixed martial arts, X Games, Winter and Summer Olympics, Major League Lacrosse (MLL), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), federal law enforcement tactical teams, military special operations forces, and those with a history of persistent pain and extensive surgical backgrounds. Resilient also advises organizations about medical and performance staffing, program development, and injury risk mitigation strategies.

Before beginning his sports medicine practice, Doug was a Pararescueman in the U.S. Air Force where he deployed throughout the world to help provide technical rescue capability and emergency medical care to U.S. and allied forces. He is a nationally certified paramedic with advanced training in emergency, trauma, and wilderness medicine. In 2015, he was selected as one of the U.S. Air Force’s Outstanding Airmen of the Year. Doug previously served on Tuesday’s Children’s Junior Board.

Doug received his AB in Biology from Brown University and MA in Exercise Physiology/Doctor of Physical Therapy from Columbia University.