I am honored and feel very privileged to have chaired the Howell Foundation for several years.  It has indeed been a journey that will hold a soft spot in my heart. As the late Susan K. Weber, wife of Dr. Stephen L. Weber, Past President of SDSU, told me at a convention, "Talk from the heart and be brief". That quote has been an inspiration to me for years.

There is so much that I would like to share but I want to emphasize the three areas that we have developed and in which we are currently making an impact:

 Funding scholarships to our outstanding undergraduate scholars who are doing research on women's health issues is our number one priority. As the year ends, we have funded 11 scholarships for a total of $40,000 for 2014.  THANK YOU DONORS!

Our Health Lecture Luncheon Series, keeping the women we love healthy, continued through the presentations of doctors and scientists speaking to us on areas that are so important such as Longevity and Nutrition, Pelvic Floor Disorders, Nutritional Pain Management and Parkinson's Disease.

Our third area is the Community Engagement Initiative.  Our first project in 2012-2013 focused on preventing diabetes in pregnant Latina women and partnered us with SDSU. We are excited that our next involvement in the community is geared towards obesity in college age young women, again with SDSU. I am so pleased to have been a part of establishing this initiative during my leadership. 

This journey could hot have taken place without the inspiration  of Dr. Howell.

In closing, I want to thank my outstanding Board of Directors who has made this happen and a very special thank you to our Tanya Fortuna, Administrator - she has kept me on track.

As my term as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Doris A. Howell Foundation comes to a close, I know the Foundation is in great hands with incoming Chair, Dr. Carole Banka, in January, 2015.

I once again wish to thank each and every one of you for your loyalty and support. We need you to continue to believe in our important mission - Keeping the Women We Love Healthy.

Have a beautiful Holiday with many blessings,

Pattie Wellborn

Foundation Fast Facts: 

Howell Scholars Program 

� Founded in 1995

 � Awarded 195 research scholarships for a total of $505,225 to date

� Applications solicited at UCSD, SDSU, USD Hahn School of Nursing, and all CSUs through joint effort with CSUPERB.

� All research projects have a women's health aspect

� All  projects are overseen by a Faculty Mentor

A very special thank you to our 2014 Scholarship Donors for funding full research scholarships of $3,500 or more:

• The Bollinger Family Scholarship - Alex and Barbara Bollinger
• Maribeth Kauss Memorial Scholarship - Carolyn and Christopher Northrup
• Perfall Scholarship - Clay and Anne Perfall
• Susan Rose Memorial Scholarship - Beatrice K. Rose, M.D., M.P.H.
• Penelope Smith Scholarship - Penelope Smith, MD
• Soroptimist International of La Jolla Scholarship

If, indeed, the health of the women in your lives or their families is important to you, the solutions rest in the hands of academically gifted young researchers such as the ones the Howell Foundation supports at the undergraduate level through scholarships.  We are thrilled to tell you about two Howell Scholars who have distinguished themselves by having received very impressive honors and recognition. 

Hot off the press:  Howell scholar Justin Siu, UCSD, is soon to be published as the third author in the peer reviewed journal "Oncogene".  Since obesity and inflammation are both risk factors for a variety of cancers including breast cancer in postmenopausal women, the article topic is "Omega-3 fatty acids reduce obesity-induced tumor progression independent of GPR120 in a mouse model of postmenopausal breast cancer". 

Biology major Elizabeth Kim wins the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education and Program Award for scientific research. This highly competitive national award established by Congress is regarded as the nation's most prestigious award bestowed upon undergraduate students studying the sciences.  Only 280 students nationwide were selected on the basis of academic merit. 

It is the generosity of all our donors that enables us to make awards to these and other outstanding young scientists.  We are grateful to each donor but we extend a special thank you to our full scholarship donors:

Alex and Barbara Bollinger

Carolyn and Christopher Northrup

Clay and Anne Perfall

Beatrice K. Rose, MD, MPH

Penelope Smith, MD

Soroptimist International of La Jolla

We are still very much in need of help to reach our goal of funding all our 2014 scholars so, may we suggest /urge that as you plan your year-end or holiday giving you consider honoring someone you love with a meaningful gift of a scholarship donation.  With the high cost of education so many academically qualified students are looking to us and you for help.  For information on how to fund a scholarship, please contact Betty Brayshay at 858-454-7797.

2014 Howell Scholars

"I enjoyed the balance between scientific evidence and theory coupled with tactics to tackle stress.  I also loved the focus on differentiating between women and men" 

 "Wonderful sense of humor-great emphasis on science and very practical exercises to do daily" 

"Outstanding speaker. It was a real treat to listen and learn from her! Very well done!!"

"The presentation was well done and contained useful tools and information for   everyone. The speaker's upbeat approach was very approachable and appreciated."

"The topic dealt with a matter of current and widespread concern."

In 2012, the Howell Foundation started a new Evening Series to provide research based education for women on the theme of healthy living.  Our topics focus on how to care for our mental and physical health in ways that contribute to overall well-being.  The goal of this series is to present topics and upbeat themes that focus on staying healthy and happy.

The series is designed to draw women from all over the city especially working women who cannot easily attend the Howell Luncheons.  Several programs have drawn on the research from the field of positive psychology on how to increase personal happiness, raising happy children, and improving marriages.  Other programs addressed increasing flow and mindfulness in your lives and a holistic approach to stress management.  The fifth program was held on October 14th, and the topic was Depression vs. Sadness . . . Learning to Know the Differences.  Dealing with depression has been the most frequently requested topic by participants of the series.

As of fall 2014, the Evening Series program is now free to all attendees.  To avoid the barrier of a cost that prevented many women from attending, the foundation will raise donations from its supporters to make the Evening Series Free to all from this point on.   The 2015 Evening series program promises to continue delivering relevant and trending topics on healthy living.  We thank all our sponsors that helped underwrite the cost of our series with their donations.   If you are interested in volunteering, please call Peg Neuhauser at 858-454-7797.

Dr. Emily Lucacz.

Creating awareness of pelvic floor health starts with education. The Howell Foundation hosted Dr. Emily Lukacz, co-director of the UCSD Women's Pelvic Medicine Center, in August.
 

Dr. Lukacz summarized what comprises pelvic floor disorders, the basic anatomy of incontinence and its symptoms, and the latest on treating these disorders. "It's not only women who suffer from these conditions. Families suffer as well. The reality is there are lots of fairly simple things you can do that don't require surgery", she stated. "Being here and spreading the word on pelvic floor health is the first step".  

Read all about pelvic floor disorders here. 

To end the 2014 cycle of Luncheon Seminars, the Foundation hosted a panel of specialists, patients and caregivers who provided insight into stem cell research being conducted for Parkinson's disease; the efforts currently conducted to raise funds for Parkinson's -including a trip to the Everest base camp; the benefits of exercise through "Minds in Motion";  and the experience of a supportive caregiver living with a Parkinson's disease patient.  We witnessed the exciting outcome of deep brain stimulation for one of the panelists.

From left to right: Jeanne F. Loring, Ph.D., Sherrie Gould, MSN, NP-C, James R. Paterniti, PhD. and Goldie Sinegal, caregiver.

The Howell Foundation's Community Engagement Initiative awarded its 2nd grant to support women's health research through its partnership with the SDSU Institute for Behavioral and Community Health (IBACH) to Hala Madanat, Ph. D.

According to Dr. Madanat, college women typically gain 4-15 pounds during their early college years. Her research focuses on curbing that weight gain by teaching first-year college women new information and introducing skills concerning food and body image.

The "Intuitive Eating Intervention to Curb Weight Gain in Female College Students" involves an innovative health intervention to reduce weight gain that is common among first year female college students. "This project is of great importance because the majority of that weight is gained during the first year", Madaat comments. Awareness of proper nutrition and exercise behaviors should demonstrate the relationship between self-esteem, eating styles, depression, physical activity, eating behaviors, and sleep.

The first Howell Community Engagement Initiative grant is being carried out in partnership with the Women, Infant and Children program. Led by Dr. Elva Arredondo at SDSU.  This study is assessing the efficacy of a program designed to increase physical activity and healthy eating in pregnant Latino women to prevent diabetes and obesity in this highly susceptible population.

 A pilot project started in 2012, the Community Engagement Initiative was voted by the Howell Board of Directors as one of the Foundation's core 

programs. In funding these research projects, the Foundation will enable qualified researchers to create new collaborative research projects that address critical health issues specific to women. 

 Click here to read more about the research of Dr. Madanat.

UNDERWRITERS

Brad and Gigi Benter - $10,000

Peg Neuhauser - $7,500

Clay and Anne Perfall - $10,000

SCHOLARSHIP

($3,500-$4,000)

Barbara and Alex Bollinger

Beatrice K. Rose, M.D.

Ruth Lane Foundation

Penelope Smith, M.D.

Soroptimist

International of La Jolla

PATRON

($1,000-$2,999)

Estate of Betty Bader

Mary Durland

Audrey Geisel

Diana Hill*

Estelle and Hamilton Loeb

Mission Beach
Women's Club Foundation

Virginia Patch

Sally Thornton

Irving Tragen

California Trucking Association*

BENEFACTOR

($500-$999)

Janet Allison

Lois Baker

Victoria Baron

Allison and James Denman

Laury Graves

Susan Hoekenga

Doris A. Howell, M.D.

Gladys Kohn

Lois Lewis

Edith Schroeder

Sherman and Lady Smith

Vici Willis

SUSTAINER

($250-$499)

Barbara Arledge

Marla Brayshay Black 

Carole Banka, Ph.D.

Marilynn Boesky

Betty Brayshay

Barbara Brown

Stacy Carota

Jean Campbell

Cher Conner

Berit Durler

Kathleen Franklin

Alyson Goudy

Sandra Harris

Janet Hawkins

Trude Hollander

Joanne Hutchinson

Jeanne Jones

Skai Krisans, Ph.D.

Jayne Lindberg*

Lynne Martin

Susan McClellan

Gloria McCoy

Jean McGrath

Priscilla Moxley

Camille Nebeker

Carolyn Northrup

Peggy Oechsle

Linda Osborne

Rachel Perlmutter

Patricia Price

Mary Lee Roberts

Lyda Shugert

Linda Strause

Alice Thomas

Joseph and Mary

Watson

Pattie Wellborn

Dodie Williams

Cheryl Wilson, RN, MA

SUPPORTER

($125-$249)

Penny Adler

Marty Allenby

Barbara Bailey

Maxine Bloor

Pamela Boynton

Elaine Brody

Kathleen Buoymaster

Elizabeth Carson

Gigi Cramer

Melanie Dean

Janet Douglas

Elisabeth Ecke

Lynn Feinberg

Pam Foley

Jeanette Foushee

Roberta Fredericks

Sheila Fuerst*

Eileen Gaffen

James and Ruth Harris

Mary Lynn Hyde

Barbara Insel

Muriel Juster

Katherine Kaufman

Adele Kayser

Ronda Landrum*

Lainie Lesser-Mark

Margaret Marston

Susan Mazza

Candice McCarty

Joan McKasson

Jan McKinnon

Madeline Meistrich*

Pamela Mellon, Ph.D.

Bonnie Mendenhall

Loie Morris

Fern Murphy*

Irene Mylonas

Elizabeth Pascoe

Janace Pierce

Kay Pierce

Joyce Rafkin

Margie Reeves

Dr. Jeannette Rigsby

Sue Rosner

Amy Rutgard*

Thomas Ryan*

Goldie Sinegal

Penelope Smith, M.D.

Ivar Stakgold

Shirl Stoller

Kathleen Wahab

Jean Weissman

Sharon Weremiuk

Shaun Winn-Gammage*

Madeline Winters

Bev Zukor

* = New Friend of Howell for 2014

Talk from the Heart and Be Brief. 

Women's Health from a Man's Perspective. 

 "I am smart enough to know that I am NEVER going to figure women out.  But I came from a woman, an exceptional one, and am surrounded by them every day.  I love women!" Although said in a joking manner, there is some truth to it!  Read about Brad Benter here.  

I would add taking control.  That's Judy's philosophy in life. She truly represents how to take a sad

 situation and turn it into a learning experience; 

and more so, a living philosophy. Read more 

about Judy here.

A Life Long Love for Education and 

Travel.  

 She undoubtedly has a love 

for learning - still involved in education today after 50 years. She clearly relates 

to the relevance in supporting young scientists 

pursuing their degrees as a means to ensuring women's health.   Read about her here.

From Taxes to Women's Health.  

" Promoting the health and wellness of women and their families by awarding student research scholarships and hosting lectures from outstanding experts in the most current medical topics is invaluable". Linda is responsible for our overall financial health.  Read about her advice for preparing taxes here. 

The best way to promote women's health 

is to get involved!  If you would like information on becoming a volunteer 

at the Doris A. Howell Foundation, please drop us a line: 

[email protected].