It is my pleasure to introduce our newest member, Judy Kaiser, who is doing cancer and infectious disease research at the Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center.  Judy has been nominated by Linda Cheever and Nancy Osborne and her classification is Health Care.

 

Judy was born in Maine and grew up in Sandpoint, Idaho, which is easily explained since her father was in the forest industry.  She went to nursing school in Spokane and graduated from Eastern Washington with her nursing degree.  After graduation, she took a nursing position in Juneau, Alaska, where she worked for several years, met her late husband, and their first child was born.

 

Since her family was in Idaho and her husband’s family was in San Francisco, they decided Seattle was a good half-way point to relocate to.  She took a position at the University of Washington working in medical research and spent two decades there.  Eight years ago she moved over to the Fred Hutch to begin working on a long term project to fight cancer using immunotherapy instead of chemotherapy.  It’s a nationwide effort involving cancer centers all across the country, and they have had much success, including establishing immunotherapy as the standard of care for two types of cancers.  Judy is very passionate about this work, so if you want to learn more, just ask her about it!

 

Judy’s daughter, Kate, works for the United Nations in Beruit - so imagine having a daughter that you normally meet up with in Paris, since that is a good halfway point.  Her son, Richard, is here in Seattle working for Smartsheet in Bellevue.  Fortunately, half way is only Mercer Island.

 

Outside of her work in cancer research, Judy likes to garden, ski, and do her workouts.  Judy is excited to join Rotary because of the opportunities Rotary provides to serve others, which of course she has been doing her whole career.

 

Please join me in welcoming our newest member, Judy Kaiser.