The Queen B Foundation
Our Story
The Queen B Foundation, 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was co-founded by brothers Bennett and Brenten Blakeman, along with their uncle, Doug McConnell, in 2022 in honor of Ellen McConnell Blakeman. Ellen was mother to Bennett and Brenten, and sister to Doug. The foundation name came from Ellen herself, who as the mother of two boys whose names started "B," aptly nicknamed herself the Queen B.
The primary focus is raising money for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) research. ALS has had a profound effect on the Blakeman and McConnell families. In 2006, Ellen and Doug's father, Dr. David McConnell, passed away after a 12-year battle with the disease. That same year, Ellen was diagnosed herself and also courageously lived with ALS for 12 years. Their battles are a testament to Dave and Ellen's indomitable will and strength. In 2011, five years into her diagnosis, Ellen and Doug co-founded A Long Swim, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is dedicated to raising funds for collaborative ALS research through open-water and marathon-distance swimming. The name, which borrows the ALS acronym, was also a name cleverly coined by Ellen. The Queen B Foundation is an extension of A Long Swim and its enormous success, which has raised over $1,500,000 to date.
About Ellen
The Queen B Foundation celebrates the life, achievements and drive of Ellen. She eschewed formality, and always said, “Just call me Ellen.” Ellen was an outstanding student, athlete (swimming and marathon running), speaker, seamstress, and musician (vocal, piano and oboe). As a high schooler, Ellen had the distinction of breaking a 188-year tradition when, in 1971, she and two other young women became the first females to join the ranks of Pages in the United States Senate, photographed here. They faced opposition in the tradition-bound Senate, but the U.S. Senate ultimately agreed that the gender barrier should fall. Ellen was ultimately named as “floor boy,” essentially the captain of the Senate Pages. Later on she was instrumental in organizing and managing the Capitol Page Alumni Association, of which she was a life member. She earned a Communications degree at the University of Illinois with near-perfect marks, all while she was very active in the Delta Delta Delta sorority and a manager of the student-led organization that hosted concerts and other performances on campus. After college, Ellen had a successful career in public relations with Burson Marsteller. Her PR specialty was crisis management, which she discovered suited her personality when she was on the team that managed the high-profile Tylenol poisoning case in Chicago in 1982. The Tylenol case is considered the gold standard for crisis management. While at Burson Marsteller, Ellen and her team won the Silver Anvil Award for excellence in public relations. She was an energetic volunteer, serving many community organizations, including serving on Boards for public schools, a childcare center and even a veterinary care center for a local shelter for cats. Ellen also mentored countless young people, using her boundless strategizing skills and enviable network to help young people get started in their careers and to bring people together.