wcw3-24

just some
thoughts
Louise Bruderle
Editor and Publisher
West Coast Woman
Fiona Crawford, Ph.D.
Seems like every day there’s news about an Alzheimer’s
“breakthrough” or a promising new medicine
or treatment and yet the progress to finding some
treatment that halts or prevents or cures Alzheimer’s
is not yet at hand. But that doesn’t mean there
aren’t people working hard to find solutions.
Someone who has been hard at work on research
in this field for over 30 years is Fiona Crawford,
Ph.D., President and CEO at The Roskamp Institute.
Since opening in 2003, The Roskamp Institute, a
Fiona Crawford 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, has been “a leader
in the global effort to better understand and treat
diseases of the mind. The foundation for the Institute’s work was set more than
a decade ago by the Institute’s two lead researchers, Drs. Michael Mullan and
Fiona Crawford,” according to their website.
Dr. Crawford was part of the team of researchers that discovered mutations
of the gene that leads to early onset Alzheimer’s disease more than 30 years ago.
That crucial breakthrough identified the first genetic causes of Alzheimer’s—an
important step in developing treatment and guiding further research.
Dr. Crawford is a molecular geneticist and neuroscientist and also one
who is skilled at explaining the complexities of her work in layman’s terms.
Our far-reaching conversation covered the disease of Alzheimer’s, but other
brain-related conditions from traumatic brain injury, Gulf War syndrome, and
post-traumatic stress disorder with stops along the way looking at sports from
obviously hazardous American football to most sports from soccer to rugby,
equestrian and as she noted, even gymnastics. Unless your extracurricular activity
is stamp-collecting, there’s risk in varying degrees to that fragile orb that
sits above our shoulders.
And it’s appropriate that Brain Awareness Week is March 11-15. Alzheimer’s
disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder affecting more than 6.5
million Americans. For those of you afflicted or else caring for a loved one with
the disease, I hope you find some comfort in reading about Dr. Crawford and
her team’s work.
WCW’s 36th Anniversary
Another year, another anniversary - WCW is now 36. We launched officially on
March 17, aka St. Patrick’s Day, and I’ve always said that gave us luck to go with
the hard work and endurance.
March is also Women’s History Month. Step into the wayback machine to
pre-1974 when a married woman could not get a credit card in her own name.
If she did apply, she’d be asked about her intent to bear children or her birth
control practices. Even the indomitable Billie Jean King, who supported her
household from her tennis earnings (plus she put her husband through law
school), could not get a credit card in her name.
That brought back memories of a few women
I profiled in the WCW early years. A few told me
they had experienced just what BJK had. Though
they were successful, they couldn’t get credit cards
in their own name. Fast forward and you don’t
hear stories like that anymore (thankfully) and
as the decades have passed, the narrative of the
WCW we have profiled has shifted to women who
start a business in their own name, on their own
terms and not as a partner or a result of marriage.
Technology has also changed since the late
‘80s. To this day I still hear, “I just like to feel a
paper in my hands.” I was one of those people,
too. Sunday morning meant a stack of papers and
coffee (many people also shared that fond memory
with me was well).
But those days are long gone and well, not very
practical or, for publishers, sustainable. Personally,
I have switched to all digital subs and I admit the downside is that I don’t
read as deeply. And I hate reading on my iPhone, that’s for sure. But I now read
many more items from a variety of sources that if they were on the coffee table
in paper form, they’d crush the table to the floor.
A reader recently seemed annoyed that we don’t have more paper copies
around where she works. Simple math: printing + labor + delivery is in the
thousands. Our e-edition (identical to the print version) costs $30/month, but
we continue to print a hard copy of WCW nonetheless.
Kudos to a Past WCW -
Meg Lowman
Dr. Meg Lowman, Executive Director of the
Sarasota-based TREE Foundation, has been
awarded the 2023 Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson
Global Leadership Prize by the Tällberg
Foundation. Lowman was selected in recognition
of her “scientific, educational and
advocacy work globally to protect and restore
forests.”
Lowman pioneered the science and
exploration of the eighth continent —
forest canopies. Over 45 years, she has
worked to protect mature trees and forests
around the globe and support tree canopy
research. Through the TREE Foundation, she
spearheaded the design and building of many canopy walkways and research
stations throughout the US and in countries around the world.
Lowman is committed to educating children and adults across the globe
about the need to protect the oxygen-creating and carbon-storing big trees
that sustain life on Earth. She was an early designer and user of tools for
“arbornauts” -- scientists, researchers and citizen scientists who climb trees,
using everything from slingshots, ropes, and hot-air balloons, to canopy
walkways and construction cranes to enable whole-tree exploration, not just
the forest floor.
An advocate for big trees and endangered forests, Lowman feels that, “We
must save our eighth continent if we are to save ourselves.” Over the last
decade, she has assisted in the creation of a UNESCO Man and Biosphere
Reserve surrounding a Malaysian canopy walkway, established partnerships
with Coptic priests in Ethiopia to save the country’s last remaining church
forests, published a 2021 memoir, “The Arbornaut,” which chronicles her
adventures as a female scientist and her dedication to mentoring girls in
science, and launched her passion project “Mission Green,” an initiative of the
nonprofit TREE Foundation which she co-founded in 1999.
Learn more about the TREE Foundation at treefoundation.org, and about
Dr. Lowman at canopymeg.com.
Another Champion West Coast Woman
- Donna Judge
World Champion Donna Judge received a top
honor last month as Grandmaster Robert Bowles,
the style head of Shuri Ryu Karate, promoted the
local karate instructor to the rank of 9th degree
Black Belt. This is an achievement that very few
make in the martial arts.
Donna has been a resident of Sarasota for 63
years. This year she celebrates her 50th year
in the martial arts. She has owned and operated
Suncoast Karate Dojo for 45 years, literally
teaching hundreds of students. Donna has won
20 world championships, and has represented
the USA in six countries.
She has received two mayor citations for being
a goodwill ambassador for Sarasota. Donna
(l-r) Ambassador Vassilis
Kaskarelis and Dr. Margaret
“Canopy Meg” Lowman, Executive
Director of the TREE Foundation.
Donna Judge
worked security for Sarasota high School for 27 years. The year she retired she
was inducted into the Sarasota High School Hall of Fame.
I remember when I profiled Donna at her home. First of all, she is unbelievable
humble. It took more than a few requests to see her trophy collection in
another room. It was like seeing the terracotta warriors in China - wall to wall
trophies all lined up, some 3-4 feet tall.
Louise Bruderle | Editor and Publisher |
westcoastwoman@comcast.net
We welcome your thoughts and comments on this column and on other columns and features in this issue.
You can reach us at westcoastwoman@comcast.net. We’re on the web at www.WestCoastWoman.com.
4 WEST COAST WOMAN MARCH 2024