An Open Letter to Our Davis Phinney Foundation Ambassadors

Davis Phinney Foundation Ambassadors 2019

“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer
is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
- Theodore Roosevelt

The Davis Phinney Foundation recently hosted its first Leadership Conference. Our group of over 80 people included Foundation staff, board members, partners, sponsors and friends of the Foundation. But the stars of the show were the Davis Phinney Foundation Ambassadors who traveled from all over the country to learn, inspire and surprise us at every turn. After spending two full days with these amazing people, we left feeling more proud than ever to be part of this remarkable Parkinson’s community. This letter is to you, our dear Ambassadors.

Dear past, present and future Davis Phinney Foundation Ambassadors,

Being a Davis Phinney Foundation Ambassador isn’t easy. It requires your time, effort, energy and creativity. It requires you to be open, tolerant and welcoming to everyone who crosses your path. It requires you to get out and spread the message of how to live well with Parkinson’s to people who seem less than convinced. And apparently, it requires completing “Panda reports”, doing panda dances and collecting panda facts and trinkets like it’s an Olympic sport.

Davis Phinney Foundation Ambassadors

But each and every one of you has shown up for your role as an Ambassador in ways that inspire and surprise us all of the time.

You’ve…

  • Started and facilitated support groups in big cities and rural areas
  • Connected with Parkinson’s experts in your communities and brought them into your circles
  • Educated individuals, families, local organizations and health care professionals about how to live well with Parkinson’s
  • Hosted fundraisers
  • Shown up at Parkinson’s events and inspired people in attendance to take action to live well
  • Taught exercise classes and programs and helped further Parkinson’s research
  • Traveled to DC to advocate for people living with Parkinson’s
  • Assisted in the development of The Victory Summit® events in your local areas
  • Helped deliver the pilot programs for the Every Victory Counts manual curriculum and Sidekicks™
  • Inspired people by sharing your story of living well with Parkinson’s
  • Met for coffee with the newly diagnosed and those struggling to cope with their diagnosis
  • Provided support, encouragement and ideas to each other so you can have an even bigger impact in your communities
  • Changed more lives than we will probably ever know

And you’ve done it all purely out of the kindness of your heart. Because you love your community and because you know how possible it is to live well with Parkinson’s and you want everyone else to know it, too.

We could not be more proud of what you all have accomplished and what you have plans to accomplish in the future. We wouldn’t be able to reach the people we do without you and for that, we are profoundly grateful.

Today, because of you, our Ambassador program is 38 strong in 21 cities and growing. We can’t wait to see what kind of special magic you bring to your communities in 2019 and sharing those adventures with our readers.

Thank you for being an invaluable part of our Davis Phinney Foundation team.

Welcome to our newest Parkinson's Ambassadors...

Marty Acevedo, Patti Burnett, Carol Clupny, Kimerly Coshow, Julie Fitzgerald, Judy Freitag, Jan Grimes, Robin Hanson, Valerie Herrero, Kat Hill, Ken Hill, Coe London, Angee Ludwa, Brett Miller, Bart Narter, Joe O'Connor, Linda Partyka, Carolyn Rhodes, Kevin Schmid, Lorraine Wilson, Julia Wood and Larry Zarzecki.

Want to connect with a Davis Phinney Foundation Ambassador?

Meet our entire team of Ambassadors here. Each and every one of them would be happy to provide the support, encouragement and resources you to need to start living well (better) with Parkinson’s.

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