WOMEN OF THE WEEK 3.20.23
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Dr. Margaret Morgan Lawrence became the first African-American woman to practice psychoanalysis in the United States. While growing up in New York, she was very focused on her education and earned a full scholarship to Cornell in 1932. After graduating, she received multiple rejections from medical school and internships based on her race. She eventually attained an internship at Harlem Hospital where she realized the connection between poverty and public health. She decided to pursue child psychiatry to serve her local community. In 1953, she became Rockland County’s first child psychiatrist and remained devoted to assisting underprivileged children until she retired at the age of 90.
In 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman in the United States to be granted an MD degree. Blackwell began her pioneering journey after a deathly ill friend insisted, she would have received better care from a female doctor. Turned away by more than 10 medical schools, Blackwell refused a professor’s suggestion that she disguise herself as a male to gain admission. “It was to my mind a moral crusade,” she wrote at the time. “It must be pursued in the light of day, and with public sanction, in order to accomplish its end.” Blackwell ultimately attended Geneva Medical College in western New York: Male students there asked their opinion agreed to admit her, thinking the matter a mere prank. In the years following graduation, Blackwell struggled to find work, but in 1857, she co-founded the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children to serve the poor. The hospital, like the Woman’s Medical College of the New York Infirmary she created in 1867 and many other efforts, was also intended to support and encourage women hoping to pursue careers in medicine.
Rev. Karen Curry has worked to improve the quality of life for District of Columbia residents for over 30 years through her service at The Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church (Ward 7), and at The House DC, Inc. (Ward 8), a highly-effective after school ministry that has been transforming the lives of youths and their families since 1999. She has developed and taught creative, thought-provoking workshops and retreats focused on spiritual, social, and academic life skills, as well as leadership development for high school students and adults. She also preaches for numerous Women’s Day worship services and is regularly requested to facilitate women’s ministry retreats. In 2001, she was licensed by Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Haggray to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. She was ordained the following year in 2002. In addition to ministering to the community, Rev. Karen also provides communications services for clients ranging from small non-profits to Federal agencies, including DCTV where she has been an on-camera host for the station’s “Student Exposure” broadcast. She also previously served as chair of the Enlistment Committee of the District of Columbia Baptist Convention, and worked with the Time to Fly Foundation, a ministry which helps women and children heal from abuse. She currently serves on the DC State Athletics Commission.
Ms. April Cole, a native Washingtonian, currently serves as Front Desk Receptionist of Prestige Healthcare Resources Inc. Her dedication and care to our consumers is reflected by the trust they give her. Since joining Prestige in 2020, Ms. Cole has exemplified all of our agency core values: Customer Focus, Tenacity, Loyalty & Integrity, Team Player, and Fun. She has a long history of working with various populations of the mental health community. Her skillset in service to our population is invaluable. Ms. Cole loves to participate in community outreach events and does so regularly. The Prestige team is strengthened with her presence!
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