About the Meningitis B
Action Project

The Story Behind the Project

The Meningitis B Action Project was started by Patti Wukovits and Alicia Stillman, two mothers who each lost their young, healthy daughters too soon to a now vaccine-preventable disease, Meningitis B (known as MenB). High school senior Kimberly (Patti’s daughter), 17, died one week before her graduation. College sophomore Emily (Alicia’s daughter), 19, died just 36 hours after her first symptoms. In the case of Kimberly and Emily, while both had received the MenACWY vaccine, the MenB vaccine was not yet available to help protect them from MenB.

In 2014, to educate the public about meningococcal meningitis and MenB vaccination, Patti and Alicia each established their own foundations named after their daughters. Learn more about The Kimberly Coffey Foundation (Facebook) and The Emily Stillman Foundation (Facebook). Both mothers have since joined forces under the Meningitis B Action Project to make sure other parents don’t needlessly suffer the same fate.

The objective of the Project is to:

1. Empower young adults (and their parents) with information to talk to their healthcare provider about Meningitis B and the vaccine that can help prevent it 

2. Encourage healthcare providers to discuss Meningitis B and the MenB vaccine with their patients

3. Increase awareness of Meningitis B on high school, college and university campuses 

4. Engage policymakers to ensure broader access to the MenB vaccine

“If I didn’t know, I’m sure other people don’t know. I said to her that day, I’m going to figure this out. By educating both parents and students on Meningitis B, its symptoms, and the vaccine to stop it, we have the ability to save other young people from this deadly but preventable disease.”

- Alicia Stillman, mother of Emily Stillman and Co-Founder of the Meningitis B Action Project