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By & for those affected by Parkinson’s disease
February 2022
From The Board
Steady in the Face of Uncertainty

Thank you one and all for your contributions to the Annual Appeal. We finished on time and on target! Your abiding support means that even in the face of continuing uncertainty caused by the pandemic, PD Active will deliver the classes, programs and support groups we have come to depend on.
Welcome New Board Members

We are pleased to welcome ARobin Ordin and Monique Buffler to the PD Active Board of Directors.
Monique Buffler
Monique is a public health professional with 25+ years of experience managing multi-site observational and clinical trials in the Bay Area. She is currently working at Kaiser Permanente Division of Research and was previously at University of California Berkeley School of Public Health for 20 years.

Monique has a Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins and a BS in Biology from Tufts University. Monique is committed to serving her community and is actively engaged in her neighborhood and school communities, most recently trying to increase resources and provide education around mental health and substance use in the schools.

Monique is grateful for the support she received from the PD Active community shortly after her partner was diagnosed with Young Onset in 2019. She would like to ensure that everyone with PD in the East Bay has a safe welcoming community and access to resources. Monique lives with her partner and their 4 children in Berkeley, and when not spending time with family and friends, she can be found hiking, traveling and cooking.
ARobin Orden
ARobin’s early work in student services, freelance graphic design and photography led to her position as Director of Career Counseling & Placement for Parsons School of Design in the 1970s. From Greenwich Village, she moved to Milwaukee where she managed a co-op art gallery and taught the Artists Business Course at UW-M. Since moving to Berkeley in 1983, her career path included Assistant to the Mayor of Berkeley, and senior manager with artists housing and Bay Area theatre and new music companies until 1999 when she moved to SF Zen Center’s Green Gulch Farm and Tassajara Monastery. ARobin returned to public service in 2001 as Senior Management Analyst in the City of Berkeley’s Finance and Public Works Departments, from which she retired in 2015, two years after Parkinson’s came into her life.

ARobin has served on the boards of professional design associations, cooperatives and their support organizations, several nonprofit performance arts and new music companies, and as founding president of the nonprofit that reopened Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center. In addition, she was ordained as a Zen Priest in 2008 and has been Tenzo (head cook) for Everyday Zen retreats and kitchen crew member for Tassajara work periods over many years. ARobin appreciates the excellent information, friendships and good spirits of the PD Active community.
Save the Date
February Virtual Speaker Forum
Tips for Living Well with Parkinson’s Disease

Date: Saturday, February 12
Time: 10:30am - 12:00pm PST

Speaker: Dr. Soania Mathur

Dr. Soania Mathur, diagnosed with PD at age 27, is a renowned expert on living well with PD. This Forum will be held in a “fireside chat” format discussing questions submitted by attendees.

Please view Dr. Mathur’s Unshakeable MD website and then submit any questions in advance to t.morrish@pdactive.org.

Speaker Bio:
  • Co-Chair, The Michael J. Fox Foundation For Parkinson’s Research
  • Board Member, The Davis Phinney Foundation
  • Medical Advisory Board, Parkinson’s Canada
  • Medical Advisory Board, The Brian Grant Foundation
  • Executive, Parkinson’s Movement North America
  • Board Director, Lakeridge Health Foundation
  • Chair, Developmental Committee, Lakeridge Health Foundation
  • Editorial Board Member, Journal of Parkinson’s
Dr. Soania Mathur
You should receive a confirmation e-mail after registering. Contact us at info@pdactive.org or (510) 479-6119 if you need assistance.
PD Active depends on donations to bring programs like this to our members free of charge. We remain grateful for your contributions.
Classes & Programs
January 2022 Speaker Forum Recording on YouTube
 
In January, PD Active hosted Dr. Beate Ritz, highly regarded professor of epidemiology at UCLA, who spoke to us on the dangers of and research around environmental and occupational toxins vis-à-vis neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's.
Dr. Ritz has been working in this field for several decades. In her presentation, Dr. Ritz distilled her technical findings into accessible and applicable information. The event received very positive feedback!
 

Check out the PD Active Monthly Calendar for listings of upcoming live-stream movement classes such as Tai Chi, Pilates, boxing, yoga and voice. 

For more information, contact programdirector@pdactive.org.
Community Update
Outreach and Inclusion

PD Active held a Zoom focus group on Race and Inclusion January 11. It was a lively and informative discussion attended by a group of PD Active members. Participants shared valuable insights and experiences which will inform our work as we reach out to local communities.

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work is supported by a community grant from the Parkison's Foundation.
Parkinson Voice Project
 
PD Active does not offer a voice class at the current time and so we are pleased to pass along a recommendation from one of our members for an online resource.
 
The Parkinson Voice Project in Texas has an excellent website with a lot of good information.

There are also recorded speech exercises to improve speech and swallowing:
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Thank you to our Recent Donors
Sarah Armstrong and Peter Haiman
Hal Beck
Andrea Behr and Stephen Murphy
Grant Bennett
Mary Pat Boersma
Gabriel Griego and Monique Buffler
Richard Buffler
Linda Morse and Timothy Caulfield
Marilyn Cleveland
Patrick and Ellen Coffey
Chris and Kathryn Dann
Ashwani Dhawan
Diana Dunn
Candice Eggerss
Jerry Falk
Lorraine Force
Shelly Forster
Molly & Harrison Fraker
Norm and Jan Frankel
David Goldstein
Gary Sue Goodman and Jack Appleyard
Grover Sams
Richard and Janet Hack
Amy Hawthorne
Keiko Hess
Ron and Carol Hofmann
Elsa Johnson
Sal and Betty Kadri
Joanna Kao
Kathy Kernan
Saima Kint
Deborah Lamson
Kenneth Leonard
Lauren Livingston
Kerri and Mark Lubin
Stanley and Judith Lubman
Michael and Barbara McGrath
Julie Merrill
Louise Miller and David Peterson
Mudita Nisker
Richard Page
Jodeane Pringle
Cathy Quides
Ronald Rioux and Marianne Glaspey
Howard and Ellen Rosenberg
Jackie and N. Garison Ruggles
Philip Schnayerson and Liz Sher
David Sedalnick
Annette and Irwin Shapiro
Renee Sheehan
Ralph Silber
Peter Smith
Paula Spurlock and Ben Johnson
Susan Stein-Black and John Black
Richard Stevens
Ellen Strong
Jane Summer
Gity and Robert Baxter
Charles Tart
Ruth Tavlin
Stephen and Frances Tobriner
Deborah Whittle & Benjamin Bowser
Catherine Williams
Donations in Honor Of

Lee Bevis – in honor of Suzanne Calpestri
Andrew Colvin – in honor of Judith Lubman
Geoffrey Darby – in honor of Karen Garrison
Jerry Derblich and Alexis Milea – in honor of Kevin Kwok
Marjorie and Richard Ettlinger – in honor of Judi Ettlinger
Lisa Garrison – in honor of Karen B. Garrison
Kerrie and Mark Halmi – in honor of Adam Mizock
Trish and Anthony Hawthorne – in honor of Suzanne Calpestri
Rachel Heitler – in honor of Adam Mizock
Murthy Jarugumilli & Veena Achar – in honor of Teachers and Caregivers
Martin Kershaw – in honor of Celeste Hill
Jane Lawhon – in honor of Karen B. Garrison
Greg Marell – in honor of Adam Mizok, John Guibert, Rita Davies, Stuart Pivnick
Adam and Laran Mizock – in honor of Judi Ettlinger
Amy Neuburg – in honor of Herb Heinz
Lisa Oei – in honor of Adam Mizock
Nancy Park – in honor of Lauren Livingston
Joanne Ruby & Bill Rehm – in honor of Joanne Ruby
Kathie Stein – in honor of Susan G. Stein-Black
Robert Stein and Jessica Pers – in honor of Stanley Lubman
Andrew Stoloff – in honor of Adam Mizock
Marda Stothers – in honor of Debbie Sternbach
Jan and Stanley Tymorek – in honor of Judi Ettlinger
Henry and Roz Weinstein – in honor of Stanley Lubman
Diane Woloshin – in honor of Paul Hathaway
Donations in Memory Of

Alicia Benito – in memory of Carlos Benito
Stuart Berde – in memory of Larry Sirott
Shireen Burns – in memory of Garth Burns
Neil Goldstein – in memory of Greg Wasson
Phyllis Hoffman and Charlotte McCaffrey – in memory of Ann Chandler
Carole Kennerly – in memory of Chrystal Kennerly
Susan Moon – in memory of Friedel Dilloo
Susan Setterberg – in memory of Ann Van Steenberg
Paul Staley – in memory of Declan Murphy
William and Jane Wittmann – in memory of Tim Gordon