Posted on March 1, 2022
It takes a village for ADAO to advance education, advocacy, and community efforts. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “A woman is like a tea bag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”
Tuesday, March 8, marks this year’s International Women’s Day. Here at ADAO, we are so grateful for the support, hard work, and dedication of so many women in our community. Today we honor all the women who are dedicated to ADAO’s mission of spreading knowledge about asbestos prevention and exposure. I would like to thank the 60 women below for sharing their story and those who work tirelessly to help ADAO accomplish our education, advocacy, and community efforts.
There are so many brave women who are Meso Warriors. Women like Annamarie, Debbie, Mavis, Janelle, Lou, Julie, Jan, Rachel, Anita, just to name a few. Throughout their illnesses, when others would have taken to their beds, these women fought, and continue to fight, for a better world — a world free from lethal asbestos. Without their bravery in sharing their stories, fewer people would find community with ADAO and awareness of the dangers of asbestos wouldn’t be discussed. Please take a minute and read the Warrior stories from women below.
There’s my daughter, Emily, who lost her father to mesothelioma, a cancer we could barely pronounce or understand, at just 13 years old. Since then, she has been by my side, helping me build ADAO so that other families do not have to suffer like ours did. Her strength and courage in the wake of tragedy has given me the strength to keep fighting, even when we hit roadblocks. She has attended Congressional meetings, edited documents, spoken at conferences, and more. I am honored to say she is my daughter.
The women on ADAO’s Board and Leadership team, including Kimberly Cecchini, Ellen Costa, Linda Reeves, Barbi McQueen, Dr. Celeste Monforton, Dr. Jacqueline M. Moline, Dr. Christine Oliver, Dr. Andrea Wolf and Dr. Claire Deacon have also put parts of their lives or jobs on hold in order to support ADAO. Thank you to the many women who have championed the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now (ARBAN) Act or helped us get Global Asbestos Awareness Week (GAAW) off the ground year after year.
ADAO has been blessed with interns, volunteers, and staff members from around the world, including Masireh, who works with us from her home in Gambia. Over the years, women including Sara, Rebecca, Richa, Nicole, Savannah, Shelby and many others, have spent countless hours writing reports, speaking at events, strategizing the best way to get messages across and furthering our mission in numerous other ways. We truly have had the unique opportunity to work with so many bright young minds, something that strengthens the work of ADAO.
Across the miles, we are galvanized like steel. Fernanda Giannasi as founder of the Brazilian Association of People Exposed to Asbestos (ABREA) is a strong leader and fierce activist in pursuit of a Brazilian and global ban. Vicky in Italy has spent years translating blogs, legal proceedings, victims’ stories, and our organizations work. Sue Ann, filmmaker and conference videographer, makes each of our conferences legacy events. Our voices would be faint without their unwavering dedication to global communication.
I wish I could shout-out every single woman who has made our work possible, but that would take days. For now I will say that I hope working with ADAO empowers women worldwide to stand up for their health and wellness. The world would be a darker place without their energy and resolve.
As the Spanish Proverb says, “To tell a woman everything she cannot do is to tell her what she can.” Thank you to these women for educating many generations about the dangers of asbestos, and fighting for a healthier, safer world for us all.
Linda Reinstein