Fete Lifestyle Magazine May 2021 - Heroes Issue | Page 43

Nicole Fisher is the Founder and CEO at HHR Strategies, a health care and human rights focused advising firm. She is a Senior Policy Advisor for federal and state officials and an expert on health reform. Nicole runs a Health Innovation and Policy page at Forbes highlighting and advising companies, ideas and people that are changing the health care landscape. She is currently finishing her PhD at the University of North Carolina in the Health Policy and Management Department. Nicole earned her Master’s degree in Public Policy from the University of Chicago and her undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri.

Ann Jaimi Alexander is a Tamil Canadian educator and artist living in Vancouver, B.C. She is an avid traveller who has explored 39 countries in search of cultural identity and belonging. She is passionate about food, social justice, mental health and healing through the sharing of stories. Twitter - @annjaimi

Instagram -@alotuslife

Attorney Corey Minor Smith is a thought leader on housing and poverty breaking strategies. She is also a leading social justice advocate for mental health in communities across the nation. Corey produces radio roundtable conversations with youth and community members to discuss ways to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness. She is a highly sought-after speaker earning two degrees from Bowling Green State University and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Toledo College of Law.

Chrissy Gruninger is the owner of Social [media] Wellness™, offering online business management, marketing and strategy to eco, wellness and socially conscious companies, or as she likes to say, “good people doing good things”. With a graduate degree in sustainable living along with health coaching and yoga certifications, she blends a background in conscious living with her business experience and online marketing knowledge, helping her clients bring their positive messages of well-being and harmony into the world. She lives a wild hearted life in Costa Rica with her two cats, Sunshine y Lluvia.

Kimia Khalvati

Pamela Powell

Pamela Powell is a Chicago area film critic and member of the Chicago Film Critics Association. With a master’s degree from Northwestern and a healthcare background, Pamela gravitates toward films that can better our community and world. From teaching radio broadcasting to having her own radio show on an NPR affiliated station, Pamela shares her unique perspectives about films with her audiences. Currently, Pamela writes for The Daily Journal’s Reel Talk, FF2 Media, and www.reelhonestreviews.com

Kimia Khalvati was born raised in Chicago. Her Persian and Irish roots add to the eclectic influence on lifestyle and career. Throughout her professional career as fitness training professional and health coach, she delivers a vast knowledge of sustainable living techniques. Catering to a multi-dimensional clientele base she believes in many platforms of growth. Kimia is now evolving as an actress now featured in the Netflix drama, BLACK AND privileged. Every mind deserves different avenues of growth and longevity.

This unprecedented time has taken away our old normalcy and turned life upside down. At some point we are all unsung heroes. We all have been affected by this global pandemic and we all have to cope and deal with the restrictions of our daily life which the pandemic has thrown at us. The social isolation, economic insecurity, the fear of getting infected, and the world media news have been our daily companions.

The unsung heroes of this time are medical staff ... the epidemiologists, the virologists, the scientists, thousands of people who have signed up to become vaccine volunteers to speed up the vaccine rollout. They are the companies that have tried to meet demand of the ventilators desperately needed in the hospitals. The biggest unsung heroes are frontline healthcare medical workers around the globe and their families. In my view, these people have been physically and mentally exposed the most. They have been at risk daily with the deadly virus and have been challenged for a long period of time. They work long hours, many confronting situations they never experienced with many battles lost along the way. They had to make ethical decisions due to scarcity and circumstances. They exhibited commitment and flexibility despite their daily fear of getting infected by the virus and hope not to pass it on their beloved family members. This all took a huge toll on them. They have sacrificed themselves; they’ve put their own life at risk for the sake of saving lives. Their relentless, selfless and determined effort to save human lives during this unprecedented time is for me a truly heroic and remarkable deed. Their braveness is priceless!

I’m hopeful once the pandemic is over, these courageous warriors will receive much deserved compensation and the world's respect for what they sacrificed and continue to sacrifice for humanity. I hope many books and articles will be dedicated to these wonderful heroes and warriors as a tribute to the coming future. It is my wish that we could all say, "Thank you, for saving our lives!"