Menopaus

Circle of Hon!r

Inductees

2#9

...acknowledging some of $ose women

from % l&t who have done good

for women’s heal$ &sues

Judy Bayliss, Founder and Listowner

When Judy found herself entering menopause, she went looking for resources online. Finding little to none, she started one of the first women’s health mailing lists, and the first list specific to menopause issues. In the sixteen years since menopaus came online, more than 25,000 subscribers have benefitted from her continuing good work. She did good!

Lucy L. Brown, PhD

Lucy was the driving force behind the creation of what has become the definitive list of menopause symptoms. In the early ‘90s, there was very little information available for anyone researching menopause, and now fifteen years later, a search for “35 Symptoms of Menopause” results in more than 1.5 million hits, most the exact same list that was created on menopaus in 1995.

The full credits are listed next page, with photos as available.

Krista Glickman Susan Jessen Roberta L. Leon

Susan Klee Betty Clark Jennifer Hesketh Aviles

Christine Cody Keri Webb Bonnie Dreps Voigtlander

Jean Bauer Joan Starker Miriam Biddleman

Graciela Spivak Susan Ariew

Judy Bayliss - founder & owner of the Menopaus mailing listPenn State Geisinger Health System/Hershey Medical CenterHershey PA 17033

Lucy L. Brown, PH.D.Albert Einstein College of MedicineBronx NY 10461

Susanne Zumbro, Firestarter

Susanne was one of the first subscribers to the list, and as such she quickly saw how the women were bonding in cyberspace. It was her insistence that was behind the first menopaus gathering at a resort hotel in Maryland. From that first gathering, women from coast to coast in the US and Canada started organising their own gatherings including lunches, sleepovers and retreats. Susanne’s idea was the seed for many friendships that have grown stronger over the years.

Joan Starker, MSW, PhD

One of the women who worked on creating the 35 Symptoms of Menopause list, Joan is passionately committed to insuring that women have access to critical health information in order to make informed decisions. In her private practice and as a health consultant for WebMD, she has specialized in midlife and menopause issues and has spent a major portion of her career helping people cope with normal life transitions. A member of the North American Menopause Society, Joan received the North American Menopause Society 2005 Education Excellence Award.

Barbara Seaman (1935-2008)

Author, activist, and journalist, and a principal founder of the women’s health feminism movement. Due to her criticism of the birth control pill and other pharmaceutical products, she was fired, blacklisted, and censored on numerous occasions. Until the end of her life, she was writing articles and advocating for women's safety and participation in our own medical treatment. Barbara continued to write about hormonal contraceptives, childbirth, and the u n w i l l i n g n e s s o f s o m e d o c t o r s a n d pharmaceutical companies to disclose risks to patients and consumers, effectively denying them the ability to make informed decisions.

Leonie Finkel, NUFF

Leonie has a life-long interest in women’s health issues. She is a veteran at offering online support to women in need through a variety of channels on the internet. Leonie has done volunteer work at numerous non-profit health-related and civil rights organizations and was instrumental in developing non-profit status for the National Uterine Fibroids Foundation, offering unbiased, research-based information on uterine fibroids and their treatment, saving hundreds from unneeded hysterectomies. 

Of all the things I've done in my life, I am most proud of my work with NUFF.

Rachel Balsam, Political Activist

As a DES daughter, Rachel has always taken women’s health issues personally. A longtime card-carrying member and vocal supporter of NOW, Rachel has also been involved with NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) and the Northwest Women's Law Center which provides advocacy work for women and the LGBTQ communities. There's almost nothing she loves better than a good protest march, except maybe a parade in June. Women’s Rights. Nothing else.

Karen Reznek, co-founder ICORS

Karen, along with fellow Menopaus subscriber Ellen Janol, is a long-time listowner of the Asperger list. When Maelstrom lists were in danger of losing their homes, several listowners banded together to form ICORS. L-Soft made a very generous donation of space and resources. Since then Karen has been active in trouble-shooting issues for other listowners, as well as continuing to run her own lists. In addition to several local support lists, and hobby Yahoo Groups, Karen is involved in setting up email lists for her local Special Olympics.

Simmie Zacker, founder MenoGrunts

When a crisis hit, Simmie immediately stepped in by creating MenoGrunts, an off-shoot of the menopaus list. Here the volunteers donate time to track down and filter information specific to a individual 's needs, keeping confidential information away from the menopaus archives. By acting as a clearinghouse for information relevant to a specific situation, Simmie and her fellow Grunts allow a menosister in need to spend time on more urgent matters. Additionally, Simmie has run the birthday gift exchange for several years as well as special projects as the ideas hit. Kudos to both Simmie and her volunteers for walking the talk of community!

Marie Demcho-Wagor, Role Model

For going on 30+ years, Marie (aka Zarifah) has been involved with and teaching Sufi practice (including spiritual dance, walking practice, meditation and presence). She has stepped out of her secretive shell as a SF Bay swimmer (that's cold water swimming), and a drummer (middle eastern hand drum), a communications coach and a mediator.

Caroline Berry, Founder ProjectAWARE

After experiencing menopause-related health issues and not receiving satisfactory answers from doctors or other health care providers, Caroline envisioned a resource where women could learn unbiased basics about menopause and related issues in order to make informed decisions about our health. After finding a small group of volunteers, many from menopaus, to help put ProjectWARE.org together, the website provides all that, as well as research, current articles and many other resources. One of the most gratifying things for Caroline is knowing that ProjectAWARE is making a difference.

Peg N McCuaig, Lesbian Feminist

When asked at an early age what she wanted to do with her life, Peg replied she wanted to make people laugh and to make people think. Occasionally she succeeds with both. A vocal advocate of recreational and now medical marijuana, women’s rights, and LGBTQ pride, Peg’s been on government watch lists since she was a teenager. Not much of a follower and seldom a leader, Peg supports others in the revolution and occasionally provides the music so we can dance.

What happens to one woman happens to us all.

☺