Joyce Graff

Joyce is President of Powerful Patient, Inc., a patient advocacy practice in Brookline.  She worked for 25 years in high tech, most recently as a Vice President and Research Director for Gartner Inc.

​

Joyce has one son, Damon, who has a rare disease, von Hippel-Lindau (VHL), which has left him blind and handicapped.  He served for three years as a Brookline Town Meeting Representative of Precinct 12. Joyce founded a support organizaton for VHL in 1993.  Patients, physicians, and researchers worked together for 30 years to understand and manage this rare disease.  Thanks to their collaboration there is now a new class of drugs that finally helps to control tumor growth of VHL and several related cancers.

​

Joyce is a passionate advocate for health and for accessibility for handicapped people.  She is a life member of the National Braille Association, and works with the Rotary Club of World Disability Advocacy to improve accessibility and inclusive education for handicapped people worldwide.  She served in 2024-2025 as the District Governor for Rotary District 7910 and in a past president of Brookline Rotary.

​

She loves visiting the JFK Birthplace as it reminds her of the home of her own grandparents. The dining room with a special little table for the little ones, the big iron stove in the kitchen, and so many of the furnishings bring back happy memories.  "It is wonderful that we have a place where this kind of living history is kept available to our children."