Fw: Loss of Scleroderma Pioneer ... Sharon Monsky

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From: " ilena rose " <ilena@...>

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Sent: Friday, May 17, 2002 1:51 AM

Subject: Loss of Scleroderma Pioneer ... Sharon Monsky

> http://66.40.99.109/artman/publish/article_130.shtml

>

>

> Memorial Services for Sharon Monsky

> By KEYT Staff

> May 14, 2002, 5:00am

>

> A memorial service is set for this afternoon for Sharon Monsky--a local

> woman who battled Scleroderma for more than twenty years.

>

>

> MONSKY, Sharon

>

> Sharon Monsky passed away on Saturday night, May 11. She was a victim of

> systemic scleroderma - a chronic disease of the connective tissues - and

> had lived with it for nearly twenty-one years. She is survived by her

> three children, Max, , Montana, and their father, Mark Scher.

> Her mother, Ramelle Monsky, her sister Robin Monsky, and her brother

> Henry Monsky also survive her.

>

> She was born on October 23, 1953 in Omaha, Nebraska. In her youth,

> Sharon was a nationally ranked figure skater and a top United States

> Olympic contender. In 1965, she was the youngest female figure skater to

> have ever achieved the Senior Ladies' Gold Medal Compulsory Skating Award.

>

> Sharon received her BA in Economics from Pitzer College, where she

> graduated top of her class. She then moved to San Francisco where she

> worked on the Pacific stock exchange for First Chicago and ran the most

> active options trading desk at the exchange. Sharon received her MBA

> from Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 1980 and was

> offered a coveted position with the renowned San Francisco management

> consulting firm, McKinsey and Company, Inc.

>

> She was on track to be one of the youngest women partners in McKinsey's

> history, when, in 1982, she was struck with scleroderma - a little

> known, widespread, and incurable disease that affects mostly women in

> their child bearing years. It was then she started investigative

> research into the disease. She found that there was little to no

> documentation on scleroderma and quickly put her business skills to

> work. In 1987, Sharon founded the Scleroderma Research Foundation - the

> only one of it's kind, driven on finding the cure for scleroderma by

> blending together science, research, private funding and political

> leadership. The organization exists today as the only one in the nation

> dedicated exclusively to finding a cure for scleroderma.

>

> Sharon leaves a legacy behind - Two research centers; The San Francisco

> Bay Area Scleroderma Research Center at UCSF and the East Coast

> Scleroderma Research Center at Hopkins in Boston. She has traveled

> to Washington many times, meeting with Presidents Reagan, Bush, and the

> Clintons to raise worldwide awareness for scleroderma, increase federal

> funding, and assist in every way possible to find a cure for a disease

> affecting nearly half a million Americans. She has made many friends in

> politics, including Senator Barbara Boxer as well as many dear friends

> in the entertainment industry.

>

> Sharon won numerous prestigious awards; in 1994 she won six America's

> Awards, dubbed the " Nobel Prize For Goodness " ; in 1996, the American

> Medical Association's International Health and Medical Film Award was

> presented to her in recognition of her courage and achievements as well

> as her part and consultation on the ABC Television Film, " For Hope " ; in

> 1997 she was presented the National Volunteer Advocacy Award by Research

> America in Washington - the United States' premier health research

> advocacy organization; and every couple years, for nearly two decades,

> as chairman of the Scleroderma Research Foundation, Sharon spearheaded

> " Cool Comedy - Hot Cuisine, " the Foundation's signature fundraising

> event. The benefit helped to raise awareness and much-needed funds to

> cure the disease which ultimately took her life.

>

> Thanks to Sharon's work, over 14 million dollars has been raised for

> innovative research. She has brought much to the world of science and

> increased knowledge of this previously unknown and unrecognized disease.

> She believed very strongly in the Foundation's slogan, " Together, we can

> make a difference. "

>

>