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Caitlyn McIntyre

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Caitlyn McIntyre, pictured second from the right, is a volunteer with the Tunnel to Towers Young Professional Network— a network dedicated to connecting younger generations to the mission of the Foundation through events, fundraising, and professional mentoring to ensure that generations to come Never Forget the attacks on September 11, 2001. Caitlyn’s father was Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department (PAPD) Police Officer Donald James McIntyre who perished on September 11th, 2001 when he and 36 other members of the PAPD rushed to Ground Zero to save countless lives that day. Caitlyn also lost her uncle, John Sherry, who was a broker in the World Trade Center.

Caitlyn is a registered nurse (RN) in a Manhattan Pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. Caitlyn’s first introduction to the Foundation was at the 2019 Tunnel to Towers Tower Climb New York City, and this was where she learned of the Young Professionals Network. Each year since 2015, the Tunnel to Towers has held the Tunnel to Towers Tower Climb NYC at One World Observatory at One World Trade Center, where over 1,000 participants climb 104 stories, symbolizing strength, hope, and the resiliency of the American spirit; this event commemorates the lives and sacrifice of all of our heroic first responders who made the ultimate sacrifice on September 11th, 2001, including New York City Fire Department Firefighter Stephen Siller and Captain Billy Burke. The Tower Climb was an exhilarating experience for Caitlyn, and it was a hallmark volunteer event with the Young Professionals Network. While completing the Tower Climb, she was in awe of the wounded U.S. Veterans of all military branches who were racing past her on the climb; Caitlyn was inspired by the tenacity of the wounded Veterans who succeeded in getting to the top of the Tower Climb ahead of her. She was overcome with emotion when she reached the top. Her experience as a surviving line of duty child came full circle when she completed the climb that her father made 20 years ago when he ran into the collapsed buildings on September 11th, 2021.

Caitlyn has answered a medical call to serve her community similar to how her father, PAPD Police Officer Donald James McIntyre, answered the call to serve and protect travelers from New York and New Jersey who travel by land, sea, air, and rail. Caitlyn knew that she wanted to give back not only professionally through her work as an RN, but also as a dedicated volunteer to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation; she wanted to help surviving families of first responders like her own, whose fathers, mothers, husbands, and wives laid down their lives in the of duty to help citizens to safety. Caitlyn is eternally grateful to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation for establishing the COVID-19 Heroes Fund that supplied frontline workers with essential PPE supplies, hot meals, and financial relief to the families with young children of frontline workers who passed from COVID-19.

In September of 2019, Caitlyn participated in the annual Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk NYC that is held each year on the last Sunday in September; the 5K Run & Walk NYC retraces Stephen Siller’s final footsteps from the foot of the then Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel to the Twin Towers and pays homage to the 343 FDNY Firefighters, 71 Law Enforcement Officers, and thousands of civilians who lost their lives on September 11th, 2001. Caitlyn had never run in the Foundation’s 5K event before, and she had an overwhelmingly emotional experience as a first-time runner. When she crossed the finish line past the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, another Tunnel to Towers volunteer stood holding a flag with a picture of her father, Police Officer Donald James McIntyre. It was an incredibly bittersweet, unexpected, and monumental moment for her to see her dad’s face as she crossed the finish line while running in his memory.

This year, Caitlyn is especially looking forward to running again in the Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk NYC, and she is excited to participate in future events like the Tunnel to Towers Young Professionals Network “Spinning for Our Soldiers” SoulCycle that took place in Tribeca on June 23rd, 2021.

More Volunteers

Mike Masters is a retired Army psychologist with over 50 years of counseling experience. He began volunteering with the Tunnel to Towers Foundation in 2019 by offering his professional tele-counseling services to Gold Star and Fallen First Responder widows and their families who are grappling with grief and stress. Mike shared that he felt a heavenly calling to offer his counseling services to our home recipients after watching one of Tunnel to Towers' PSAs that featured our Gold Star home recipient Jennie Taylor. Mike Masters had served in the Utah National Guard with her hero husband fallen U.S. Army Major Brent Taylor who was killed on November 3, 2018 during his fourth deployment to Afghanistan in an apparent insider attack. Recently, Mike has expanded his role to becoming an Ambassador for Tunnel to Towers.

Mike Masters

Michelle Chernyavsky is a high school student and avid volunteer with the Tunnel to Towers Foundation— the preeminent 9/11 charity organization that was founded from the tragedy of that day to honor the sacrifice of the Fire Department of New York City (FDNY) Firefighter Stephen Siller, who gave his life while saving others on 9/11. Michelle has been a volunteer with Tunnel to Towers since March 2021 with the In the Line of Duty Program when she was just 13 years old, learning about the Foundation through her family. The In the Line of Duty Program consists of the Smart Home program, the Fallen First Responder Program, and the Gold Star Program. After learning about our mission, she wanted to make a positive impact in the lives of the people that we help. The In the Line of Duty Program administrators communicate directly with Tunnel to Towers’ home recipients, and Michelle displays sincere care and compassion for each of our program participants. Some of Michelle’s tasks include writing handwritten birthday cards, holiday cards, Line of Duty Death anniversary cards, and packaging personalized gifts to our home recipients. She takes careful care and consideration into each handwritten note that is sent out to them. Michelle initially volunteered to fulfill the required community service hours for her school, and though she had been offered other opportunities to volunteer she chose Tunnel to Towers above all other opportunities. Michelle wanted to join in on our mission to do good and help the families with young children of America’s heroes and also help our nation’s most catastrophically injured veterans. Although she fulfilled her required community service hours for the school year in June 2021, she continued to volunteer at Tunnel to Towers twice a week through the summer months and has far exceeded the required amount of community service hours for this school year. Michelle has completed over 200 hours volunteering with the Foundation. Michelle recognizes the value in every task that she undertakes, and she takes her volunteer role very seriously at Tunnel to Towers. She has been dubbed the “Volunteer of the Year” for the In the Line of Duty team; Michelle is an asset to the home recipient program administrators, putting her heart into her work while bringing a positive attitude each and every day that she comes in.

Michelle Chernyavsky

Megan Coll, Edward Coll, and Henry Coll are three cousins that will be running in the 2021 TCS New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 7th, 2021 in memory of Robert Coll— a loving father to his daughter Megan and fun-loving uncle to Edward and Henry, who was killed in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Robert’s daughter and two nephews formed “Team Woody” for the marathon, which is Robert’s nickname given to him by his colleagues he worked with at the One World Trade Center. They are running and fundraising on behalf of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation— the preeminent 9/11 charity organization that was founded to honor the sacrifice of Fire Department of New York City (FDNY) Firefighter Stephen Siller, who gave his life while saving others on 9/11. Robert Coll worked as a stock broker on the 81st floor of the South Tower. On September 11, 2001, he was last seen on the 80th floor of the building rendering aid to a woman who was in respiratory distress. Robert, along with a close friend and colleague, gave up their lives trying to save this woman who needed help and, sadly, they all perished that day. Megan was only two years old when she lost her father on 9/11, and she had to learn about who her father was through the stories of his friends and family; Robert was described to her as a man who was caring, fun-loving, the life of the party, and a person who was always willing to lend a hand to those who needed him. Henry and Edward, Robert’s nephews, described their heroic uncle as a “jokester” and the “light of the family”.“Losing our uncle was truly a tragic loss to our family”, they said. Robert came from a family of nine, and was one of two boys. Megan, Edward, and Henry have participated in the annual Tunnel to Towers New York City 5K Run & Walk several times in the past, and they have been familiar with the Foundation’s mission for a while. This year, they banded together and decided that they would to fundraise for a charity dedicated to ensuring America never forgets the great tragedy of the attacks on September 11, 2001— America’s Darkest Day. These three cousins are an active trio, and the three of them exercise regularly. Participating in this year’s marathon has a deeper meaning for them: they are commemorating the hallmark year of the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, as well the 50th anniversary of the TCS New York City Marathon, and running in memory of Robert Coll makes this a momentous event for them. All three cousins plan to stay involved with the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, and they are looking forward to participating in future events.

The Coll Family

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