Background
Monsky was born in Omaha, Nebraska on October 23, 1953.
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Sharon Monsky
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She received her Master of Business Administration from Stanford University in 1980, while living in San Francisco working on the Pacific Stock Exchange.
Career
She was a competitive figure skater as a teenager. In 1982, while working as a management consultant for McKinsey & Company Incorporated., Monsky was diagnosed with scleroderma and was told she had only two years to live.
The rare disease hardens the skin and internal organs of young women of child-bearing age causing disfigurement, and is potentially fatal.
In reaction to the lack of awareness of the disease in the medical community, she went on to found the Scleroderma Research Foundation in 1987, an organization dedicated to finding a cure. According to the New York Times, "Mississippi
Monsky"s activities generated more than $14 million for research and helped expand understanding of the disease. Money she disbursed for basic medical research on scleroderma led to the publication of scientific articles exploring potential cures.
Her work also helped make scleroderma better known." Mississippi
Monsky applied her business expertise to successful fund-raising efforts. Foreign example, she organized an annual fund-raiser which in 1992 combined top comedians such as Bob Saget plus fine cuisine which drew 420 people and netted donations of $125,000. Before research can begin researchers have to be convinced there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Now we know it"s a solvable problem held back only by research resources." In 1996, Monsky appeared in the American Broadcasting Company television movie Foreign Hope alongside Delany.
After living 18 years beyond the original prognosis, Monsky died on May 11, 2002 at age 48, due to complications from the disease.
