I am participating in Walk for Children’s 2022 presented by UPMC and UPMC Health Plan because I want to make a difference for sick kids and their families. I will be joining thousands of others in my community and across the world in support of a movement to advance pediatric health care for kids and families in need.

Personally, my career brought me to CHP twice; once, doing basic science research in rheumatology and infectious diseases, and then years later my externship and following first job in a clinical lab. As part of the academic research group, I was lucky enough to be part of the team moving from the old campus in Oakland to the new, state-of-the-art campus in Lawrenceville in 2008/2009. As a member of the clinical lab staff, I was part of a dedicated team that aided in diagnosis and treatment of kids from all walks of life - their stories have stayed with me and I still think about them often.

In October of 2020, during the height of the pandemic, my son was taken by ambulance from Magee Women's Hospital to Children's, less than 24 hours after birth, in order to have surgery and subsequently spent time in the NICU. I was well aware of what a great facility and healthcare team worked at Children's but it wasn't until I was the mother of a patient that I really got an appreciation for just how lucky we are to have CHP in our backyard.

Please help me reach my fundraising goal by making a donation to my page. You, too, can help provide hope, healing, and healthier tomorrows for the brave kids at UPMC Children’s Hospital.

Thank you for your support as I Walk for Children’s!