[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 121 (Monday, September 23, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1633]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E1633]]



                 TRIBUTE TO JUDI ROGERS AND YOUNG SHIN

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 23, 2002

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I am tremendously proud to rise today to 
recognize two of my constituents, Judi Rogers and Young Shin, for 
recently winning the Nation's highest honor for community health 
leadership from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
  Rogers and Shin captured two of the ten national awards for their 
work in the Oakland and Berkeley communities. They were selected from a 
pool of over 450 nominees from across the country, and will each 
receive a grant for $120,000 to continue their important work.
  Rogers has been recognized for her work with Through the Looking 
Glass--a Berkeley organization serving families with disabilities--
where she provides childbirth and parenting education for mothers with 
disabilities. She provides home-based services to more than 35 families 
a year, most of them low income. She also leads a monthly support 
group.
  Her work touches families well beyond Berkeley. As part of Through 
the Looking Glass' National Resource Center for Parents with 
Disabilities, she offers technical assistance and training for parents 
and professionals both nationally and internationally. The Center is 
funded by the Department of Education's National Institute of 
Disability and Rehabilitation Research. She is also the author of 
``Mother to Be: A Guide to Pregnancy and Birth for Women with 
Disabilities.''
  Rogers' has drawn on her own experience as an occupational therapist 
and disabled mother of two to inspire her work. A recent battle with 
breast cancer also convinced her to initiate a community outreach 
program to provide breast cancer screening services to women with 
disabilities.
  As Roger's nominator for the award aptly put it, ``She has opened up 
a whole new world for people with disabilities.''
  Young Shin launched the Asian Immigrant Women Advocates (AIWA) in 
1983 to empower Asian immigrant women in California's factories to 
create healthier working conditions. Since 1991, her work has focused 
on addressing health and safety issues, especially for garment and 
electronics workers at risk for chronic injuries and exposure to 
hazardous chemicals. The group's Peer Health Promoter Project has 
trained over 75 women as peer educators, who have, in turn, trained an 
additional 300 women on workplace injury prevention.
  In 2000, Shin partnered with the University of California-San 
Francisco to establish the two-year Asian Immigrant Women Workers 
Clinic. The clinic, which is located near the garment factories in 
Oakland's Chinatown district, has treated more than 250 women with 
ergonomic injuries. The clinic has now expanded its services and 
operates independently with low-wage Asian and Latino workers under the 
auspices of UCSF.
  Shin also developed a project to set up sewing labs where garment 
workers can collaborate with health care professionals to design and 
test practical, low-cost workstation improvements.
  On top of all these efforts, her group also sponsors literacy 
classes, leadership training and campaigns on workplace issues.
  Mr. Speaker, it's plain to see that Judi Rogers and Young Shin are 
tremendously deserving of their recent awards and I am thrilled to call 
attention to their achievements. I urge my colleagues to join me in 
congratulating them both.

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