It started with a bomb threat.

We were at the National Network of Abortion Funds Organizing Summit, held at a Chicago hotel last weekend. The Network consists of grassroots groups who raise money to directly help women and girls with the cost of abortion, and ever year it bring members together for training and meetings. This was my eighth year attending, and I was looking forward to the first night’s social hour, a time to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones. It’s always been one of my favorite moments.

So there we were, in the hotel bar, when the staff informed us of the threat. An uneasy silence was quickly replaced with loud chatter that reflected our anger. The police told us that the threat was non-specific, but you have to admit it was horrible timing. We were already grieving the murder of Dr. George Tiller, and the threat of additional violence, directly related to us or not, was almost too much. But true to the work that we do, we kept to the schedule. If there’s one thing abortion rights activist have in common, it’s a ridiculous amount of determination.

During the Friday morning plenary, I noticed a large number of participants under age 35. In fact, I would easily estimate more than half of the 140 attendees were young women, which left me feeling a bit giddy for the future of the movement. (The majority of Funds are all volunteer run, so those who believe young women aren’t activists should take note.)

As member Funds introduced themselves and gave their yearly reports, it became evident that abortion funding is evolving as an international movement. Not only did 55 out of the 100 U.S. member Funds attend, but Funds from England/Ireland, Canada and Mexico were also present. There’s also one Fund that operates solely online. I was thrilled to learn more about the global work to ensure access to abortion care.

I was contemplating access to rights when we learned that Gretchen Dyer, executive director of the Texas Equal Access Fund, had died unexpectedly of heart failure in a Dallas hospital. She was a tireless supporter of women’s rights, especially dedicated to bringing young women and women of color into the movement. She also loved art and film and found a way to combine her passions by writing and producing “1 in 3,” a play about abortion. Our small community faced yet another devastating loss. Once again, under the weight of grief, our determination kept us going.

Over the next couple of days, I attended a variety of workshops on fundraising and organizing, including programs on repealing the Hyde Amendment and even how to avoid activist burn out. At the Saturday evening banquet, we mourned our losses and celebrated our victories. We honored one of the original Network founders, Tom Moss, founder of the Iowa Medical Aid Fund (Tom joked that he was still one of the only men in the room, which was true).

Many other Funds were honored, including the Roe Fund in Tulsa, Okla., (part of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice), which was recognized for 30 years of service, and the Eastern Massachusetts Abortion Fund, of which I am a board member. We received props for volunteer involvement and as a model for movement building.

When the formalities were over, we moved on to the talent show. Fund members performed songs, spoken word, cheerleading (yes, cheerleading), and, of course, comedy. Though many performances emphasized the intersection between the work we do and our personal lives, it was a chance to present our whole selves and not just our roles as abortion rights activists. I was in the last group to perform, along with friends from North Dakota and Virginia. When we finished our comedy/singing act, we held up a sign that read, “Abortion Funds Rock.” Everyone stood in unison, clapping, cheering and pounding on tables in agreement.

On Sunday, the Network presented Rep. Jane Schakowsky (D-Illinois) with an award for her work around women’s rights, health care reform and social justice. Schakowsky discussed the ongoing battle for health care reform, including reproductive rights. It was a fitting end to an intense four days.

As the Summit concluded, I was exhausted, sad and ready for my own bed. I was also inspired and rejuvenated, armed with new tools and ready to take on another year of fighting the good fight. I am determined to change minds, and laws, to ensure women and girls always have access to abortion care. And after last weekend, I am reminded that I am not alone.

Wendy Brovold is the communications and marketing manager at Our Bodies Ourselves, and a board member of the Eastern Massachusetts Abortion Fund. For more information about the National Network of Abortion Funds, including how to start a Fund in your area, please visit www.nnaf.org.

Entrant: Libby Schaefer
Nominee: Dr. Diana Flannery, Professor, Ph.D.

Dr. Diana Flannery, Ph.D., is my Women’s Health hero.

I took a Women’s Health course from Diana in college and absolutely loved it. Dr. Flannery is Professor in the Department of Health and Community Services at California State University, Chico. She has delivered presentations of her work both internationally and nationally to various organizations and has published articles on tobacco, sexual health, and service learning related topics. Dr. Flannery is involved with many different population groups and instructional methods, including service learning, feminist activism, K-12 education, and environmental education and justice.

For many years, her students have been engaged in fundraising and pesticide awareness programs to migrant farm workers and their families in Butte and Glenn Counties, and have created educational materials for women’s organizations and the local environmental health department. Her teaching style and classroom environment is politically driven, socially conscious, student centered and empowerment driven. I know that students appreciate her humor and her straight forward approach to education and communication. Dr. Flannery ‘tells it like it is’ and students really respond to this with passionate engagement and discussion.

It’s amazing how these things happen in our lives; I enrolled in Dr. Flannery’s course on Women’s Health as a junior in college and it helped spearhead within me an interest in Women’s Health and social justice that brought me to the Peace Corps in West Africa and to medical school and a residency in Family Medicine, where I am now providing full spectrum health care to my patients everyday.

I love what I do and I always think about Dr. Flannery when I talk with my patients, from childhood through pregnancy and menopause, we cover the entire life cycle. I thank her for that foundation that she provided to me and many other young women and men in college who are seeking honesty and education regarding their health care needs. I wanted to thank Diana for all that she does. Thank you for this opportunity.

Entrant: Self
Nominee: A.M.M.Samsad, CEO

I am nominating myself because since 2000, I have been working for the promotion, protection and support of breastfeeding. I am playing my role in many ways to reduce mortality and enrich and protect mothers’ health in Bangladesh. I am providing training on the issues to the community trainers who would ultimately ensure mothers’ health and promote breastfeeding in the community.

Also, I encourage local organizations elsewhere in Bangladesh to include MCH [Maternal and Child Health] programmes in their activities. I have formed a network in Bangladesh to support mothers(pregnant and postnatal). I have formed 74 MSGs (Mother Support Group) in Bangladesh for ensuring safe delivery and infant and young Child Feeding. I am relentlessly working along individuals and CBOs [Confederation of Bangladesh Organisations] to promote women’s rights in terms nutrition and good health.

Entrant: Jalyssa Skalsky
Nominee: Sheri Skalsky, Women’s Health Nurse Practioner

Note: Sheri received two nominations at the same time from two different people. Both are included in this post.

What does a Health Care Hero mean to most?  To me, it means someone who most of all puts her patient’s feelings ahead of her own, makes her patients feel comfortable every step of the way, is an advocate for women all over the country, and encourages women to uphold the highest standard of health care available.  I believe Sheri Skalsky does all of these things with a passion every day of her life.

Sheri is a fantastic wife, and the mother of two children, I being one of them, who she has raised most of the time while furthering her education.  She grew up in eastern North Dakota where she developed a passion for health care.  She started out her career as an RN mainly focusing her ten years of experience in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department as a labor and delivery nurse.  From there, she decided she wanted to further her education in order to help more women.  She received her Master’s Degree from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis online while tending to her teenage children’s constant needs, as well as maintaining her full-time position as a labor and delivery nurse.  She then accepted a position where she now works as a nurse practitioner for Great Plains Women’s Health Center in Williston, North Dakota.

I may be slightly biased as her daughter, but I think her achievements as a health care professional speak for themselves.  She is not only a wonderful mother, but I can tell you since I’ve worked beside her, she is a wonderful provider.  From the time I was very young she has made me comfortable talking about health care issues and even going as far as talking to my girlfriends as well.  She was able to convey messages that have stuck to all of us as we grew about being healthy women.  She has even inspired my career in medicine because she has been such a good role model.

I believe Sheri Skalsky should be your chosen Health Care Hero, because she is a fabulous provider who cares deeply about the needs of her patients, and women in general.  She has been an advocate to the care of women her entire life, and has truly been a role model to all she has come in contact with.  She has worked extremely hard and dedicated her life to her children and her career and is constantly trying to improve and better her patient care.  She is the best mother a daughter could ask for, and the best role model anyone could ask for, and I truly believe she is the definition of a Health Care Hero.

Second Nomination
Entrant: Rebecca Parker

Sheri Skalsky, WHNP-C, is the true definition of a Health Care Hero. She is not only a wonderful mother and wife; she is also the most amazing provider a patient could ask for. She has been an advocate of women’s health care her entire life, and has dedicated most of her time and energy bettering the lives of women, while maintaining time for her friends, family, and community.

Sheri grew up in eastern North Dakota where she developed her passion for health care. She and her husband Dave made their life here where he tended a farm and she worked at a clinic. She attended college while raising her lovely children and received her RN, which she put to work in as a Labor and Delivery nurse at a hospital in western North Dakota. She put in ten years of experience here, helping women through the difficult task of childbirth, often working nights so she could spend more time with her children.  She even furthered her education becoming a Lamaze teacher, helping women with all facets of the birthing process. She decided, however, she wanted to do more.  She obtained her Master’s degree from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis online while attending to the needs of her teenagers and continuing to maintain her full time position as an L&D nurse, which are each full-time positions in and of themselves.  She has always remained a dedicated wife and mother, as well as a hardworking member of her community, despite the hardships of higher education.

After completing her Masters, she obtained a position and Great Plains Women’s Health Center, where she now works as a WHNP-C. She works extremely hard for her patients there, often working after hours and constantly updating her knowledge and education by attending conventions and classes. She recently took a side job working for the Upper Missouri Health unit, which provides lower cost care to the community where she provides women’s health care. She has an excellent repertoire dealing with younger women, who are often afraid to take care of issues of their health care and sexual health. As a friend of her daughters, I can tell you she frequently spoke with us about health issues most parents would be too afraid of, and it really stuck with all of us.  She was also a huge role model for her daughter, helping shape her future career. She was never afraid and always made us feel comfortable coming to her with any concerns.

Sheri Skalsky, WHNP-C is the true definition of a Health Care Hero. She is extremely dedicated to her patients and their well-being, as well as her family and community. She is passionate about the health of women and the advancement of this science, and dedicates her life to the study and advancement of it. She is a wonderful role model, wife, and mother, and is a true health care hero in her community.

Entrant: S. Omowale Fowles
Nominee: Cynthia Callahan Davis, Director of HIV Education and Outreach Programs

Mrs. Cynthia Callahan Davis, M.P.H. (UCLA) has been one of the key Health care professionals engaged in the fight to save the people of Los Angeles County, especially women, from the tragic effects of the HIV/AIDS virus. As the Director of HIV Education and Outreach Programs at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles since the late 1980’s, Mrs. Davis has raised money for local community education activities, special programs and training seminars.

She has raised the awareness of local and national communities about the threat of HIV/AIDS, as well as other sexually transmitted diseases and how to prevent them, while dispelling myths and misinformation about the virus and its consequences. Through her indefatigable efforts, she has raised the level of commitment of health care and non-health care activists to join this struggle.

In the Los Angeles Times article, “Soft Side of AIDS War” (25 December, 2008, The Region section), she has been recognized for her efforts to expand the struggle for women’s health and well-being from the Los Angeles metropolitan area in which Drew University is located to the world stage.

This shift started in the early 1990’s when she presented papers at two international conferences: the Women’s – AIDS Conference, held in Uganda in 1992; and the Fourth World Conference on Women, sponsored by the United Nations, which was held in Beijing in 1996.  Although her work was the subject of another article, entitled “On the Frontline of the HIV/AIDS Epidemic:…” in Black Issues in Higher Education (24 March, 2005), for the most part, Assistant Professor Davis has toiled, lectured and traveled for decades in quiet, yet effective, anonymity.

She has elevated the HIV/AIDS education, information distribution and fund-raising struggle from the national to the global community of women through the development of her “Dolls of Hope” project: cloth dolls that are hand-made by women in AIDS awareness groups around the world.  These and other hand-crafted items are often exchanged and sold to generate funds for “Dolls …” projects and education programs.

She has stretched the positive influences of the 1960’s African American saying “each one, teach one” and the empowering impact that it has had on young women– especially Black and Latina adolescents from South Central/Central metropolitan Los Angeles and Compton — to include women of all ages from Birmingham and Brooklyn, from Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and Cape Town, South Africa to South East Asia and Central America.

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Entrant: Morrisa B. Rice
Nominee: Sabrina Matoff-Stepp, Ph.D., HRSA Office of Women’s Health Director

I am pleased to nominate Sabrina Matoff-Stepp as a 2009 Women’s Health Hero.  For the last two years, she has not only been my supervisor but also one of my best mentors. Sabrina is always willing to help others strive to be the best they can be. She is sought out as a mentor by student interns, fellows, and scholars because of her commitment to mentoring and giving back. She is a role model for many people looking for a strong and caring leader.

Sabrina has given me confidence in my ability to advance in my career goals, and help others who are beginning their Federal careers. Perhaps this is because she started her federal career almost 20 years ago as a clerk-typist and has worked every day since to be who she is today!

For the last six years, Sabrina has been the Director of the Office of Women’s Health at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). In this capacity, she is responsible for coordinating women’s health activities across HRSA programs, and building collaborations across federal, state, and local levels. One of the most amazing things about Sabrina is that she worked full time while in graduate school at the University of Maryland, College Park!

She completed her Masters degree in 1998, focusing on body image concerns of African American and Caucasian women over age 30, and her doctoral dissertation in 2007, which focused on the impact of case management on outpatient visits for men and women living with HIV/AIDS.  Her ability to multi-task and stay on course is like none other! Besides her job and her school work, Sabrina is also a peer reviewer for a health education honorary journal, and the lead behind the creation in 2007 of an undergraduate scholarship award for minority students at the UCLA School of Nursing.

Sabrina is a passionate advocate for persons living with HIV/AIDS, particularly women. Last year, she helped organize a three hour learning institute focused on women and HIV/AIDS at the 2008 Ryan White All Grantee Meeting. In addition, she has led a HRSA effort to create a quilt recognizing the strengths of women living with HIV/AIDS.  She is a fierce and loyal advocate and community volunteer to help other underserved populations, as described briefly below.

Since 2000, Sabrina has volunteered for McKenna’s Wagon, a mobile soup kitchen program at Martha’s Table, Washington D.C.  The program operates seven days a week, 365 days a year. Teams go out into the Washington D.C. community and provide free sandwiches, soup, desserts and beverages to the city’s homeless population. Sabrina volunteers with a church group the first Sunday of each month to help with this activity.

More recently, Sabrina has begun volunteering at Calvary Women’s Shelter in Washington D.C., a nonprofit organization that provides housing and support services to homeless women. She has taught two classes on nutrition and emotional wellness to the women residents and has been asked to continue teaching on a monthly basis. On an international level, Sabrina has sponsored a young girl and her family in Zambia since 2003. Sponsorship provides for basic health necessities, medicine, and clothes. Sabrina loves writing to her sponsored child and receiving letters and photos back!

Sabrina remains dedicated to help the underserved, especially women, in her personal and professional life.  She is always willing to listen, to lend a hand, and to go the extra mile. Therefore I highly recommend Dr. Sabrina Matoff-Stepp for the 2009 Women’s Health Hero award.

Contest Administrator Note: Add 9 votes to the total below — entry was accidentally posted twice and we consolidated the votes and comments.

Entrant: Solina Marquis
Nominee: Mary Lou Ballweg, President and Executive Director, Endometriosis Association

My Health Hero – and all-around hero – is Mary Lou Ballweg, co-founder, organizer and President and Executive Director for the last 29 years of the Endometriosis Association, an international organization with headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but an influence as wide as the world.

Mary Lou has carried the endometriosis torch for almost three decades, bringing this mysterious disease out of the Dark Ages and into the light, out of the closet and up for discussion and investigation, improving the lives of millions of women and their families and our global public health.

I would not be the least surprised if you are asking yourself, “Endometriosis – what’s that?” This disease is one of the most widespread conditions in the world, but one of the least-known and understood. In the late 1970s, Mary Lou didn’t know a thing about endometriosis either. She was a successful young career woman who had recently left the position of managing editor of Investor, Wisconsin’s Business Magazine to launch her own film and communications company.

She was a rising star with tremendous energy and a bright future when she suddenly became seriously ill with endometriosis. After numerous physician consultations, Mary Lou received an endometriosis diagnosis, but instead of being offered a cure, or even some viable treatment options, she was left with more questions than answers. Frustrated by the lack of awareness and the dismissive attitude she frequently encountered among medical professionals, in 1980 Mary Lou founded the Endometriosis Association (EA).

Today, it is conservatively estimated that 89 million girls and women from all racial and socioeconomic groups around the world have endometriosis. Endo, as it is often called, strikes those as young as eight and, contrary to popular belief, it can and often does continue to cause symptoms well past childbearing years. While doctors and health researchers once believed that endometriosis affected only a woman’s reproductive system – and only in “career women” – thanks to Mary Lou’s unflagging focus on the need to educate physicians, patients, and the public, we now know that endo is a challenging, widespread, and puzzling hormonal and immunological disease with proven links to toxins in the environment.

Despite its obscurity, this disease can and does bring dramatic and life-altering consequences to women’s lives, frequently causing debilitating chronic pain and infertility and a lifetime increased risk of allergies, asthma, and eczema, as well as a greater chance of developing autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis, and many types of cancer, including ovarian tumors.
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Entrant: Nikki Demetriou, MSN, CNM, FNP-C
Nominee: JoAnne Lindberg, President/Founder – Birthlink

JoAnne stands out as a women’s health care hero due to her creation of BirthLink, a Chicago birth network.  Many expectant parents are overwhelmed with questions regarding their birth options and BirthLink helps them to link up with providers who match their needs and philosophies.  This network also helps to sustain the practices and livelihoods of these birth providers, and acts as a birth information resource easily accessible to anyone on the web.

Entrant: Julie Cristol
Nominee: Katherine Winkler, Midwife, Southeast Health Center, Philadelphia, PA

Kate Winkler has been a midwife in Philadelphia’s health centers and hospitals for over 20 years. She represents the huge contribution that midwives make to the health of women and babies in the Philadelphia region. She worked at Booth Maternity Center, Temple Hospital, Pennsylvania Hospital and is currently at Greater Philadelphia Health Action’s South Philly clinics.

She provides health care that is infused with a sense of social justice and empowerment at a vulnerable time in women’s lives. She is guided by a strong inner sense of fairness that strengthens the women and families she cares for so tirelessly. She considers each woman’s individual needs and provides culturally sensitive care that honors the woman and her family. She personifies the “Midwifery Model of Care,” which is based on evidence and focused on the individual as part of a larger family and social system.

For the last three years, Kate has served a largely immigrant population in South Philadelphia. She spends countless hours advocating for her clients in large and small ways. She pays for phone cards so that women can try to get medical records from Mexico that would allow them to avoid unwanted repeat cesareans. She faxes information countless times, offers a shoulder to cry on and is always someone you can rely on.  She negotiates with physicians, county assistance case managers, family members, interpreters and managed care employees with great determination and always with a strong sense of what the woman wants and needs. She is quick to discard methodology that is proven useless and always questions new practices until she is really sure they are effective. Even on the craziest, worst day, she does not complain and maintains her wry, quiet sense of humor.

She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2003 and has continued to work through a recurrence and its associated treatment for the last year. Her dedication to her work and her clients defines her. Even this horrible illness has not dimmed her enthusiasm and steadfast determination to help women.

Kate and I graduated from our Midwifery programs in 1988. We both began working in Philadelphia at the same time. Since the early 1990s, we have worked as colleagues in various settings. Currently, we work together at Greater Philadelphia Health Action. She joined my staff in 2005, which was when we began our Centering Pregnancy Program. This program offers group support, childbirth education and prenatal care in a culturally appropriate setting to uninsured immigrant women at the Southeast Health Center. It is a model program and Kate is largely responsible for its continuation and success.

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Entrant: Olivia Hamilton
Nominee: JoAnne Fischer, Maternity Care Coalition, Executive Director

JoAnne Fisher is not only my Women’s Health Hero, she wears that cape for every birthing woman in Pennsylvania.  This year she celebrates her 20th year as Executive Director of the Maternity Care Coalition.

MCC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to making the needs of mothers and their families visible through policy advocacy and research, and meeting those needs in the community every day through the outreach of teams of Community Health Workers.

Since 1989, JoAnne has raised MCC from a fledgling neighborhood project with a staff of 3 to a statewide organization with staff of over 70, and a budget of $116,000 to over $4.5 million. MCC’s programs include the operation of MOMobile outreach sites providing services to at risk mothers right in their neighborhoods including one in the Riverside Correctional Facility,  two Early Head Start locations, The Cribs for Kids program which provides safe sleeping options to families in need, the Smoke Free Mom’s initiative, and an HIV/Aids prevention program for at risk women.

In addition JoAnne leads MCC’s efforts to advocate for policies that support the women served by these programs – most recently through the report “Insuring Healthy Births” which she will present jointly with area mothers impacted by the faulty insurance system at a rally in Harrisburg at the Capitol Rotunda on Monday May 4th.

JoAnne says of her work, “Birthing is a powerful experience whether it results in a baby or an organization. I am grateful to have been a midwife to MCC, to work with passionate and talented people and to advocate for women and children every day.” Joanne’s own talent and passion are evident everywhere I go, when I say I work for MCC inevitably someone says “Oh, you know JoAnne Fischer?” Her reputation, energy and warmth precede her.

At a recent staff meeting JoAnne’s anniversary was recognized by those who work with her every day.  We were all invited to stand and convey our own experience of that warmth and vitality.  It was evident to me, even as a new member of the MCC community, that she had made an effort to connect with every woman (and the two men as well!) in that room.

I had my own experience of this: at another meeting I had the chance to contribute some of my own ideas – and shook like a leaf the whole time I was speaking because I was so nervous. When I got home that evening there was a message on my Facebook page (yes, JoAnne is on Facebook!) complimenting me on my effort and my ideas. It is a small thing, but when you consider how large a job she has, and how many people she takes the time to connect with in that way in any given day it is no wonder that her name is known far and wide.

I literally found out about this contest ten minutes ago and today is the entry deadline. If I had the chance I could compile story after story just like those tributes I heard at the Maternity Care Coalition staff meeting about what a fantastic leader and mentor JoAnne is. I know there is no better, stronger, more dedicated champion of the health of childbearing women than JoAnne Fischer and no one is better deserving of the recognition of the Our Bodies Ourselves community. Celebrate with us at MCC by joining with us to honor her 20th Anniversary year of serving the women of Pennsylvania!

Entrant: Katherine Vaughn-Jehring
Nominee: Susan Corrado, Community Parish Nurse

I have served in communities for over 20 years and I have not met a more inspiring person than Susan Corrado, R.N. Susan is a deeply dedicated, hardworking, respectful, considerate and thoughtful individual willing to accept people in whatever circumstances they arrive, and assist them in creating more fulfilling lives.

Susan’s compassion for and commitment to her community gives me hope for our future. Susan works with residents of an extremely impoverished urban community, serving over 400 women (and over 200 men) annually. Her radiating smile, gentle encouragement and unflinching optimism are exactly what’s needed by the women she serves.

It’s a challenge to quantify Susan’s greatest contributions to the women in this community. Susan has worked especially hard to inspire, nurture, support and encourage the women in this neighborhood. She has created women’s empowerment groups, women’s healing circles, women’s relationship safety programs, single mothers’ support groups, women’s community building groups, women’s personal growth retreats, and women’s leadership development programs, as well as focused programs addressing women’s health concerns.

All of these special efforts are above and beyond the individual, one‐on‐one work she does with area women providing holistic health care from a parish nurse perspective.

While there are hundreds of stories about her work, one stands out in my mind…
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Entrant: Kath Mazzella
Nominee: Jeanette Preston, Founder of PANTS

Jeanette is an amazing woman. She is a Gyn Cancer Survivor, a nurse and a Methodist Preacher. She has all the experience in the world to share her wonderful experience and knowledge. She came to the Royal College of Gyn/Obstetrics United Kingdom with me to lobby for an International Gyn Awareness Day (IGAD) . From this meeting she picked up the banner – took back to her home city the idea of IGAD -where Dr. Lopez, Gyn and Jeanette celebrated the day in style – bringing in medical professionals and community together.

Bravo Jeanette – you are a winner in my eyes. Go Jeanette!!

Entrant: Bree Wellwood
Nominee: Abby Howe-Heyman, CNM, RN, Professor, Phillips Beth Israel School of Nursing

As a woman who has been an active participant in my own health care for a number of years, I know that the mainstream health system doesn’t always trust or respect me. Maybe I’m exaggerating about how bad my cramps are? Or underestimating the number of partners I’ve had? What is refreshing and inspiring about Professor Abby Howe-Heyman, CNM, RN, is her insistence that women be treated as experts in their own health.

Abby is a graduate of Smith College, Columbia University School of Nursing, and SUNY Downstate Health Science Center in Brooklyn’s Midwifery Education Program, and has been a midwife since 2000. She was a nurse at Elizabeth Seton Childbearing Center, a midwife at Bronx Lebanon Hospital, and then helped start Clementine, a Midwifery Practice in Brooklyn.

Currently, Abby is a professor at Phillips Beth Israel School of Nursing (PBISN), where she teaches the OB and Women’s Health components of the Care of Childbearing and Childrearing class. Abby’s passion for women’s health and midwifery has inspired a number of students to consider Midwifery, or at least use a midwife for their own pregnancies.

PBISN is an associates degree program, and while most of the students have plans to continue on for advanced practice training, the main focus is on patient care at the RN level. It is here that Abby’s real contribution is evident. Whether we were discussing comprehensive birth control options, prenatal nutrition, or breastfeeding counseling, the underlying message was always to listen to our patients, to hear what they need and where they are coming from. There are so many opportunities for women to feel like a failure in the childbirth process (insufficient cervix?), but Abby taught us to accept each patient and support her however we can.

There are many lessons we will take from nursing school, and from Abby’s class in particular (like putting cabbage leaves on engorged breasts), but the simple act of respecting our patients will be the most lasting one.

Note: Whitney received two nominations at the same time from two different people. Both are included in this post.

Entrant: Meryl Heyliger
Nominee: Whitney Pinger, Certified Nurse Midwife

I am writing to nominate Whitney Pinger, CNM, for the Women’s Health Heroes Award because she is by far a hero to me and to my family!

Before I met Whitney in person, I knew that she would be my midwife. We spoke on the phone several months before my daughter was born and Whitney shared her résumé, basically, with me on the phone. I was impressed! Throughout our conversation, Whitney emphasized the need for me to feel comfortable with whatever decision I made and to feel confident in my capacity to have a natural birth. As she shared her experiences, and encouraged me to share my views as well, I knew that I would be able to talk openly with her, in a way that differed from my regular doctor.

It was not an easy decision to switch from my obstetrician to a midwife, but what I’d been experiencing with my doctor felt so technical and matter of fact. After meeting Whitney, I knew my husband and I made the right decision to have her help us deliver our baby. My husband accompanied me to every appointment and through our visits, he also developed a trusting relationship with Whitney. She’d ask what we were thinking and feeling, what questions we had, and would always remind us that we needed to do what felt right to us in preparing for labor and delivery.

Whitney is a wealth of knowledge! Her experience and commitment to a research based practice helped us to quickly trust her, feel comfortable, safe and prepared. Even now, almost 5 months after my daughter’s birth, my husband or I will ask, “What would Whitney say about this?” I’ve contacted her with questions about friends’ birth experiences and she continues to be readily available and willing to help.

Whitney led my “team” during labor and delivery and I am certain that I would not have had the birth experience that I had without her! No matter what I was experiencing, I knew that Whitney was there to make sure I was okay. She held my hand, guided my husband and doula, gave updates, encouraged, was compassionate, ensured that my birth plan was followed, and gave the support I needed throughout my labor and delivery.

All while caring for me, I learned about Whitney’s advocacy work, experience in the field of natural childbirth, and leadership.  She works tirelessly to serve women and is an incredible advocate for us. Without question, Whitney is a hero for me, my family, and many others. I am extremely happy to submit this nomination; Whitney is truly an asset in our community and we have been very fortunate to have her in our lives!

Second Nomination
Entrant: Heather Wilson

Whitney Pinger is indisputably a women’s health hero.

Whitney, now a senior Certified Nurse Midwife in the Washington, DC region, began her midwifery training 30 years ago in Berkeley, CA.  She was attracted to midwifery as a high school student after reading “Our Bodies, Ourselves” and began a string of apprenticeships with lay midwives.

Whitney was at the forefront of the homebirth movement in the late 1970s and received her training at the Berkeley Women’s Health Collective.  She obtained her midwifery degree at Yale University and has been a staunch advocate for natural birth and the midwifery model of care ever since.

As a CNM, Whitney has run low-income clinics, established multiple private practices, and served as faculty at Yale, Georgetown University, and the Washington Hospital Center.  Several Washington, DC area midwifery practices have closed in recent years.  Whitney filled the void by creating a new private practice dedicated to natural birth in a hospital setting and opened her door to women who were shut out of these closing practices.  She continues to actively promote natural birth, women’s autonomy, and maternity care reform in an environment that can be antagonistic to low-tech, high-touch birth.  Whitney is currently touring regional hospitals with an educational presentation about evidence-based midwifery practice.

I am privileged to apprentice with Whitney and to see her in action, both as a birth activist and as an incredibly nurturing and intuitive midwife.  I see her, time and again, establish trusting, respectful relationships with her patients.  She encourages them to listen to and follow their instincts and empowers them to be active participants in their health care.  Whitney creates an environment that enables laboring women to dig deep and do their work without distraction.  She manages birthing women with patience, flexibility, creativity, and compassion and trusts the birthing process.  Whitney is an inspiration to me, her patients, and her colleagues and is our hero.

Entrant: Self
Nominee: Carolyn Thomas, Founder of Heart Sisters

I didn’t realize that heart disease is the #1 killer of women – until I had my own heart attack in May of 2008.

I wish I knew before then what I have learned since.  Heart disease not only kills more women each year than breast cancer, it kills more women than all cancers combined. Heart disease kills more women than men each year.

We know that for the last three decades, virtually all cardiac research has been done either exclusively on men, or with women represented in  statistically insignificant numbers.  Because of this, women are shockingly under-diagnosed and under-treated compared to male heart patients.

I am, unfortunately, living proof of that. I was sent home from the E.R. – misdiagnosed with acid reflux – in spite of presenting with textbook heart attack symptoms (crushing chest pain, pain radiating down my left arm, sweating and nausea).  Two weeks of agonizing ongoing attacks later, I was hospitalized for an emergency angioplasty and implantation of a shiny new stainless steel stent in my left anterior coronary artery, which was 99% blocked.

In October 2008, five months after my heart attack, I became the first Canadian ever invited to attend the annual Mayo Clinic Science & Leadership Symposium for Women With Heart Disease in Rochester, Minnesota.  This life-altering five days was part world-class cardiology lecture and part community activism bootcamp!

Since returning home to the West Coast from Mayo Clinic, I have devoted myself to helping educate other women about their biggest health threat.  I volunteer to speak wherever and whenever my health allows – at Heart & Stroke Foundation events, at workplace staff meetings, at health care employee workshops, and at what has become my signature community education event: my ‘Pinot & Prevention’ parties!

I am passionate (some might say obsessed!) with helping to raise women’s awareness of heart disease from the unique grassroots perspective of a heart attack survivor and 2008 Mayo Clinic-trained community educator.

To this end, I’ve developed a website called Heart Sisters to help provide distinctive female-focused information about heart disease risks, prevention, and women’s heart attack symptoms that may surprise you.

Unable to return to work yet as Communications Coordinator at our local hospice/palliative care society, I feel like I have now found my life’s work through my voice while I am off work on medical leave.

I hope to prevent other women from going through what I did, to encourage other women to become their own best health advocates, and to demand equal health care, diagnosis and treatment to combat their most dangerous disease.