About The Iris Fund

The Iris Fund was founded in July 2017 after the Crystal-Aleman family suffered the devastating loss of their daughter Iris after an emergency C-section. Iris was just 28 weeks old. In the immediate days after, the family learned two fundamental things: 1) the basics of how a woman's body works during labor have yet to be understood; and 2) the stigma and isolation around this kind of loss is crippling. 

A mother at risk of preterm birth today has the same interventions available to her as her mother and grandmother had. In the aftermath of losing our daughter, and confronting these gaps in knowledge and care firsthand, we built an organization with a clear purpose: to raise awareness and to drive funding toward basic science and innovation in pregnancy research and to improve care for mother and families.

Eight years later, The Iris Fund is the leading private funder of basic science research to determine the causes of preterm birth, working to help mothers and babies have safer and healthier pregnancies and deliveries. As a principal convenor and advocate for preterm babies and their families, The Iris Fund is determined to make certain no family endures heartbreaking complications and loss due to prematurity.

Iris’s parents, Brittney Crystal and Jose Aleman,
with her brother Bruce and sister Opal.

Our Timeline

  • On July 15, 2017, Iris Crystal-Aleman is born and passes away due to prematurity.

  • The Iris Fund is created by her parents Brittney Crystal and Jose Aleman to honor their daughter’s legacy.

  • Friends, family and strangers rally to support efforts to end preterm birth, including through local and global endurance events like the NYC Marathon to raise awareness and funds for medical research.

  • The Iris Fund invests in basic science research and engineering at Columbia University, where a female-led team of doctors, scientists and engineers are working to determine the causes of labor by examining the structure and function of the cervix and how it interacts with the uterus.

  • The Iris Fund and GE HealthCare work bridge gaps in research, supporting research and data-sharing efforts across major U.S. hospitals and universities.

  • The Iris Fund led the coalition which drove the passage of the $2,500 Stillbirth Tax Credit in Connecticut in 2022 to provide grieving parents with support.

  • In response to requests from clinicians and with partners, The Iris Fund helps to deploy patient sensitivity trainings to help practitioners and hospital staff best support women experiencing pregnancy after loss.

  • Since its founding, The Iris Fund provides connection and support to parents looking for resources when experiencing isolation and stigma after a terrible loss.

  • The Columbia University team supported by The Iris Fund creates the world’s first “digital twin” of a uterus and cervix, a leap forward in helping leaders in preterm birth examine how a specific woman’s body functions during pregnancy and labor.

  • In 2024, The Iris Fund officially becomes a 501(c)(3) independent non-profit organization.

  • By 2025, The Iris Fund receives support by more than 4,000 people worldwide and has raised more than $1.8M in pursuit of its mission.

Our Team

  • Brittney Crystal

    FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

    Brittney has an BA and MA in International Relations from Lehigh University and Webster University in Geneva. She's worked at the United Nations in Switzerland and Save the Children with a focus on operational excellence and emergency response.

    Among the projects she was most proud to work on at Save the Children were emergency deployments to the Philippines and Japan and rolling out a Continuous Improvement Program. Brittney now devotes her time to consulting and working on the Iris Fund. She and Jose (her husband) live in Connecticut and have three children (Bruce, Iris, and Opal).

  • Danielle Tranzillo

    BOARD CHAIR


    Danielle is currently Chief Strategy & Growth Officer at The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk. Prior to this role, Danielle held various positions at Save the Children across her 17-year tenure—fundraising, communications, strategy, operations and continuous improvement. Danielle earned her BA in Marketing from Fairfield University and her MBA from Western Connecticut State University. Danielle lives in  Southbury, CT with her husband and two young children. 

  • Earl Moran

    BOARD MEMBER


    Earl has an MBA from Vanderbilt University and served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Botswana for 4 years. He worked at Save the Children in the US and overseas in various senior management roles—from accounting to strategy to program design and implementation—for 28 years. He and his wife Annie live in Connecticut and they have two daughters.

  • Heike Sommer

    BOARD MEMBER

    Heike worked at Save the Children for over 20 years. She began her career in the emergency response department, was instrumental in the organization’s uptake of continuous improvement, and later moved into financial management for the global organization. She lives in Westport with her husband and two dogs, Frank and Luca.

  • Emily Bergantino

    COMMUNICATIONS SUPPPORT

    Emily has spent more than 20 years in non-profit communications, including more than a decade at Save the Children managing strategic communications, C-suite communications and leadership development. She earned her BS in International Affairs and BA in French Literature from George Washington University. She lives in Fairfield, CT with her husband and two children.