Bellissima Magazine
August 2008 Issue
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Exceptional Women of San Diego – August 2008 Issue
Bellissima’s Exceptional Women of San Diego
Today’s Leaders Changing Tomorrow’s World
By Whitney Barton
Women today have complex roles, but what is always at the base of her foundation is family. Whether a wife, a career woman, or a single mother, a woman is the glue that holds the family together.
In this issue of Bellissima Magazine, we honor four exceptional San Diego women; each of them inspirational leaders, chosen for their extraordinary lives and accomplishments, and the impact they make in their diverse fields and in our community. They are today’s leaders changing tomorrow’s world.
Improving Quality of Life
Maryam Davodi-Far extends her heart and her passion to cancer patients. The Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Cancer Coping Center said, “I’m about improving quality of life. I’m a huge patient advocate.”
Her story began when her mother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer in 1998. A marathon of doctor’s visits and chemotherapy sessions ensued. “We’d wait two hours to be seen after a dozen people. We brought folding chairs rather than sit on the floor.” Fortunately for her mother-in-law, Davodi-Far was prepared. “I had a CD player, extra batteries, peanut butter cookies, mint chocolates, tea, and girlie magazines.” However, others were not so lucky. “The oppressive waiting-room mood diminished spirits,” she said. “The most horrible thing was seeing patients coming by themselves, with nobody to talk to.”
In response, the 33-year-old Carmel Valley resident took action. Three years ago she founded the Cancer Coping Center, a nonprofit organization providing creative coping strategies for cancer patients and family members. Trained volunteers, called facilitators, meet patients at waiting rooms with art supplies and activities. Patients are encouraged to draw personal symbols called “intense doodling.” Creating these visual mantras takes the stress out of waiting. “Art therapy and putting marks on paper can be relaxing, meditative,” she said.
After work, Davodi-Far dons an apron and fills the kitchen with the aroma of spiced Persian food. “Cooking is my coping mechanism. I love it. Lamb chops are one of my favorites. I’m all about impressive dishes that only take minutes.” No amateur, this woman wields a certificate in Culinary Arts from the San Diego Culinary Institute. Lightening fast with her kitchen knives, she can fillet a fish in record time.
A wife and mother of one, she attributes her love of cooking to her parents. “Mom plans gourmet dinners. Dad improvises with what’s in the fridge,” she said.
Davodi-Far’s orphaned Iranian father came to the United States in the mid-seventies. She explains her bi-cultural identity, “I went through a phase where I wanted to be completely American before I turned back to my culture, realizing I could celebrate both parts of myself.”
Celebrating other cultures, Davodi-Far worked with Native Americans and Latinos in the past, consistently representing underserved and underprovided groups. Most recently, for her heartfelt achievements, she has received the 2006 10 News Leadership Award and the San Diego Metropolitan 40 Under 40 Award.
Davodi-Far holds a doctorate in Public Administration from the University of La Verne, a master’s in Health Care Administration from National University, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California San Diego (UCSD). “As you gain formal education and life experience, you have to learn how to be an advocate,” she said. “How do you be the voice for others who don’t have as much of an opportunity? You can’t just be loud. You have to deliver a message.”
And her message packs quite a punch for San Diego cancer patients who’ve been touched by her work.
Leading a Non-Profit
At 9:30 a.m. on March 20, 2008, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Burnham Institute for Medical Research Karin Eastham stood with 27 colleagues at the NASDAQ Exchange opening in New York. The event marked the celebration of the institute’s bi-coastal expansion into Orlando, Florida, a project she was involved in executing, achieving the negotiation of more than 20 contracts, the hiring of staff, and ongoing construction of a 175,000-square-foot state-of-the-art laboratory facility.
“The NASDAQ experience was exhilarating,” she reflected. “John Reed, our CEO, actually signed for the opening of the market, but he received a great deal of enthusiastic support from our delegation as we cheered the opening. You should note that the Dow was up 261 and NASDAQ was up almost 50 – hence, a very successful opening indeed!”
Founded to combat cancer, The Burnham Institute works toward potential therapies through diverse biomedical research. “Our scientists battle disease daily, not on the front lines of the medical clinic, but in the laboratory, inventing the prototype therapies that will become the future weapons used to defeat cancer, Alzheimer's, arthritis, diabetes, and many other diseases, ” she explained.
Eastham optimized funding resources and administrative functions since being recruited to lead business developments in 2004. A valued member of the company’s board of trustees, Eastham holds a bachelor’s of Science and a master’s of Business Administration from Indiana University. “Being the business partner to scientists has always been my calling,” she said. Her career in life sciences started in 1976. She is credited with taking San Diego companies Diversa, CombiChem and Cytel to new phases of growth.
In addition to charting a stellar career, she came a long way geographically. Her parents fled communism, leaving Lithuania at night to settle in a German refugee camp, where she was born. She came to the United States “on the boat” in 1956 and eventually moved to San Diego from Indianapolis in 1992.
Eastham, a Rancho Santa Fe resident and mother of two, enjoys bicycling up the coast, cooking, baking and sewing. “I am actually quite domestic for a career woman,” she said.
Being a career woman, Eastham passionately believes in a cooperative workplace for women. She co-founded TWIST (The Women in Science and Technology) to give women in life sciences the opportunity to network with other senior professionals. Within her organization, she is an extraordinary mentor, promoting women to powerful positions. Many opportunities come from networking,” she said. “Men have known that for a long time. I’ve also enjoyed working closely with women on my team to help them realize their professional potential and have seen many women, when given the opportunity and proper guidance, to make significant strides in their careers.”
A recipient of the 2007 UCSD Athena Pinnacle Award for outstanding mentorship and leadership, the sky’s the limit for Karin Eastham
Extending a Helping Hand
Among hundreds of Hurricane Katrina hospital evacuees in the Louis Armstrong Airport, Therese Rymer saw a 90-year-old woman collapse in her wheelchair. She rushed to help the woman sit up and drink a sip of water. “That one tiny act, that little bit of water in her mouth, made all the difference,” said Rymer.
A nurse practitioner and the deputy commander of the San Diego Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT CA-4), a local volunteer federal response team deployed to disaster areas, Rymer served in New Orleans in 2005. That same year, the team was sent to Meridian Naval AIR Station in Mississippi in the event that Hurricane Dennis impacted medical care. She and other disaster responders participated in four Ukraine exercises between 2000 and 2006 and clocked 12-hour shifts at Ground Zero after the 2001 World Trade Center attacks in New York.
Volunteering with International Relief Teams (IRT), Rymer treated earthquake victims in Indonesia in 2004 and 2006. Her positive attitude shines through as she reflects on these diverse experiences. “They are awesome opportunities for tremendous growth and we are able to benefit individuals who need a helping hand.”
Planning for a medical response and helping others is all in a day’s work. When she is not volunteering, the Del Cerro resident dons a business suit for her day job as Director of the UCSD Medical Center's Emergency Preparedness & Response Program, where she analyzes complex crisis-related situations such as medication dispensing for large scale exposures.
Stressing the importance of teamwork, Rymer said, “Everything in emergency care is a team effort. This is about engaging members and allowing them to use their expertise to come up with solutions.”
Rymer has more than 30 years of experience at the UCSD Medical Center. She is a 1975-76 graduate of San Diego’s first Primary Care Nurse Practitioner Program, a joint program with the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). In 2007, she received the UCSD Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action and Diversity Award for her personal compassion and outstanding professional achievement s.
I’m diverse in the things I do, the life I live, and in my interests,” said Rymer. “I’m open to change. If I’m on a road trip, I’m not one to take the same way there and back.”
San Diego residents and patients, like the 90-year-old woman in New Orleans, are fortunate to be on Rymer’s route.
Leading the Way
Brig. Gen. Angela (Angie) Salinas loves being a Marine. For her, nothing is more rewarding than witnessing a young American civilian’s completed transformation during graduation, when recruits complete 12 weeks of intense training in boot camp. "Thursday, Family Day, is my favorite event," she says. "Mothers see their sons for the first time since training began. They see a new person, a Marine, and they are so proud."
As Commanding General of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) San Diego and the Western Recruiting Region, Salinas oversees 1,600 Marine recruiters west of the Mississippi, and 21,000 to 22,000 recruits a year. She is also the Base Commander, supervising the operations of MCRD SD, located northwest of downtown. "It’s like being mayor of a little town," she says.
Outgoing and passionate, the petite general stepped into big shoes, breaking barriers for women many times in her illustrious career. She became the first female in the Marine Corps to command a recruiting station in 1989, to be a combat service support ground monitor in 1992, to serve as a recruiting district commanding officer in 2001, and to command MCRD SD in 2006. That same year, she became the first female Hispanic promoted to Brigadier General in the Marine Corps.
Salinas challenged stereotypes as a female military leader. When she enlisted in 1974, law prohibited females from being promoted past the rank of 0-6 and limited recruits to administration and supply jobs. "At times I had to work harder to overcome preconceived notions formed because of someone's experience with another female. When I was the first female to go on recruiting duty, I feared if I didn't to that job well, all of womankind could fail because of me. Being placed into a job as the first woman to do something, I put pressure on myself." Salinas adds wryly, "Fortunately, I'd like to think we’re running out of firsts for women."
Salinas began her military career while mailing a letter in a San Rafael, California post office. As it turned out, the office adjoined a Marine recruiting station. A tall, confident recruiter approached her and said, "Why aren't you in the Marine Corps?"
Salinas took the challenge and joined recruit training. "I liked the values, which went hand-in-hand with my Hispanic values -- selfless duty and patriotism,” she said. “I had my family, but I also became part of another family."
Returning to school, she graduated at the top of her class, becoming the first in her family to receive a bachelor’s degree from Dominican College and a master’s degree from Naval War College. A graduate of the Amphibious Warfare School, the Naval War College's Command and Staff College and the Army War College, she was also first in her family to join the military.
While Salinas privately observed her Hispanic values, she said, "The Marine Corps never made a big deal about the fact that I was Hispanic. Neither did I. As a Marine officer, I wanted to be recognized for being a really good Marine. I didn't want to be a Hispanic Marine."
The highest-ranking Latina in the Marine Corps and the first to reach the rank of Brigadier General, Salinas is a Hispanic community role model. She embraces her identity and seeks to inspire others. "If I get one kid to stay in school, to make a better home, it's all worth it," she said.
Salinas is a 2005 Marine Corps Latina Style plaque recipient, recognized for her outstanding leadership to women and minorities. She concluded, "I'm a better Marine because I'm Hispanic, and I'm a better Hispanic because I'm a Marine."