About the Program
At Citadel Securities, colleagues are encouraged to use their expertise to strengthen the communities where they live and work. Through the firm’s Community Leaders program, which provides nonprofit board matching, governance training and financial support, employees are helping organizations around the world advance their missions and create lasting impact.
How Aaron Moss Supports the Columbia Babies Heart Fund
Aaron Moss, Head of Technology and Low-Latency Recruiting at Citadel Securities, became involved with the Columbia Babies Heart Fund after his son received a life-changing medical diagnosis. Following this diagnosis, Aaron developed a deeper understanding of congenital heart disease and committed to supporting the research and care that helps children survive and grow into healthy adults.
The Columbia Babies Heart Fund supports pediatric heart disease research and care at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Its work centers on advancing discovery and translating research into surgical practice to improve outcomes for children.
For Aaron, the work became tangible shortly after his son was born. What initially appeared to be a benign heart murmur led to further testing and a congenital heart disease diagnosis. Although his son is doing well today, Aaron knows that open-heart surgery is likely part of his future. The experience, he says, “changes how you see everything,” forcing families to think differently about medicine and access to care, as well as how quickly breakthroughs in research reach the patients who depend on them.
Through Citadel Securities’ Community Leaders program, Aaron was connected with several health-focused nonprofits. The Columbia Babies Heart Fund stood out for the scale of its impact and the opportunity to take on an active leadership role. He joined the organization’s board with a focus on strengthening the systems that support research and care.
The fund supports research that helps surgeons better understand the unique anatomy of each child’s heart before operating. At Columbia, clinicians use advanced imaging and 3D modeling to plan complex procedures and improve outcomes. “Columbia is already seen as a leader in pediatric cardiology,” Aaron says. “The fund helps give doctors the resources they need to keep advancing that care.”
In his role on the board, Aaron is beginning to explore how the organization can attract top clinical and research talent, an effort informed by his background in recruiting technical talent at Citadel Securities. “How do you make an institution the destination of choice,” Aaron says, “whether you’re building an engineering team or a world-class medical center?”
The Columbia Babies Heart Fund also focuses on building awareness around congenital heart disease, which remains widely misunderstood. For Aaron, the work reinforces the importance of connecting clinical progress with the families it serves, a goal reflected in the fund’s annual gala, which brings together families and clinicians to share patient stories. That same sense of responsibility carries through the organization’s efforts where many board members and leaders have direct experience with pediatric heart disease and imbue the work with urgency and empathy.
Aaron credits the Community Leaders program with helping him channel his personal experience into meaningful action. He describes the process as thoughtful and targeted, connecting what mattered most to him with an organization where he could achieve sustained impact beyond financial support.
He hopes his story encourages others to engage, even if they do not immediately see a clear connection between their work and a cause. “We are incredibly privileged to work at a firm like Citadel Securities,” Aaron says. For him, the Community Leaders program offers a way to turn that privilege into something that delivers tangible, life-changing outcomes for families beyond the firm.
To learn more about how you can support community-driven impact like this, visit our Civic Leadership page and explore Citadel Securities’ Community Leaders program.
