Career
Since the very beginning of her career Jill Bolte Taylor dedicated her life to studying the brains of individuals with severe mental illness. One of the reasons was the fact that her brother was diagnosed with the devastating disorder schizophrenia.
As a national advocate for humanity, she served for three years on the board of directors of the national NAMI organization (National Alliance on Mental Illness) between 1994-1997.
On December 10, 1996, at the age of 37 Bolte Taylor woke up to discover that she was experiencing a rare form of stroke, an arteriovenous malformation (AVM). The cause proved to be bleeding from an abnormal congenital connection between an artery and a vein in the left hemisphere of her brain. Three weeks later, on December 27, 1996, she underwent major brain surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to remove a golf ball-sized clot that was placing pressure on the language centers in the left hemisphere of her brain.
It took eight years for Dr. Taylor to successfully rebuild her brain - from the inside out. In response to the swelling and trauma of the stroke, which placed pressure on her dominant left hemisphere, the functions of her right hemisphere blossomed. Now she creates and sells unique stained glass brains.
Following her stroke, Dr. Jill experienced a heightened sense of color and visual creativity. She chose to continue her hobby of stained glass creations as a form of therapy. Combining her science with her art, she began creating anatomically correct stained glass brains which now sell as fine art. Among other places, Dr. Jill's stained glass brain masterpieces can be found hanging within the walls of the NIMH in Bethesda and at the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center in Belmont, MA.
In addition, she published a book about her recovery from the stroke and the insights she gained into the workings of her brain. The New York Times bestselling memoir is titled My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey.
In February 2008, Dr. Taylor gave a presentation at the prestigious TED Conference. A video of that presentation was posted on the TED website which was immediately viewed by millions of people around the world. Dr. Taylor has become a public speaker.
Dr. Taylor now serves as the CEO of My Stroke of Insight, Inc. and as the Chairman of the Board of the not-for-profit Jill Bolte Taylor BRAINS, Inc. She feels passionate about helping others find their way back from neurological trauma, and is excited about the upcoming feature film of her life.
Currently she is the President Emeritus of the Greater Bloomington Affiliate of NAMI in Bloomington, Indiana. Dr. Taylor also travels as the National Spokesperson for the Mentally Ill for the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center (Harvard Brain Bank) located at McLean Hospital. Dr. Taylor delivers a very popular keynote address titled "How To Get Your Brain To Do What You Want It To Do."