Board Member Profile: Laura Strong

by | Mar 31, 2014 | Uncategorized

Greetings fans!

We’re excited to introduce you to another one of our fantastic new board members this week, Laura.  She is a privilege to work with, and her insight and additions to our board have already made a great impact on our organization!  Read a bit more about her below.

I grew up in New Orleans and eventually discovered running through my father. Under the oaks through Audubon Park remains one of my all time favorite runs (see picture attached). I moved to Madison to pursue a PhD in chemistry and ended up staying here to be a part of a cancer drug development company called Quintessence Biosciences. In addition to being part of moving a new drug forward to patients, my work at Quintessence has given me the chance to run in some wonderful places, including fall in Boston, Washington DC during cherry blossom season, and San Francisco during the cold WI winter. Running around a new town is a great way to see sights, especially before or after spending the day in another convention center!

I got involved with Tri 4 Schools through the MERLIN mentors program in 2011. Katie was one of the first non-profit entrepreneurs to come through the program and her drive to achieve the organization’s mission was clear. Our goal was to help Katie refine her ideas about what Tri 4 Schools could reasonably do to promote activity for children, particularly those kids without access to special equipment or even easy places to be outside. After two years of mentoring Katie, we all agreed that our role should be taken over by her board of directors. Fortunately for me, I transitioned to the Tri 4 Schools board, which has helped me become more hands on with the organization’s events and activities.
 
For 2014, I am most excited about the Exercise to Achievement after school program that is a partnership with the Madison Metropolitan School District. Recent studies, including this large Danish study, show that children who are active, for example by walking to school, do better on tests requiring concentration. Having programs in Madison that extend the benefits of an active lifestyle to education has the potential to be a powerful force of change for many kids.