KCAA: Get Balanced with Dr. Marissa #819

KCAA: Get Balanced with Dr. Marissa #819 Parkinson Caretaker Month n Holiday Home Help including the Blues on Mon, 14 Nov, 2022

It’s a trifecta Monday with three very special guests That will be giving us solution around having your home ready for the holidays and helpful resources for caretakers of loved ones with Parkinson’s disease, along with yours truly helping you with some holiday blues #happy88 tips!

Chef Marcela Valladolid grew up around expert and traditional cooks in Tijuana, Mexico and jumped straight into a culinary life with her first job working at her aunt’s cooking school in Baja, Mexico. Marcela realized she, too, wanted to pursue this growing love for food full time and enrolled in the Los Angeles Culinary Institute. She then went to the Ritz Escoffier Cooking School in Paris to become trained as a classical French pastry chef. Marcela later returned home to run a catering company and teach children about the culinary arts in Tijuana, all while collecting recipes and applying her knowledge and skills of her family’s cooking traditions to map out her dreams. She successfully translated her culinary knowledge and passion to the small screen as the host of her own Food Network series, Mexican Made Easy, which premiered in 2010. Wanting to share her expertise on great Mexican food that combines freshness and flavor with kitchen ease, Marcela published Fresh Mexico: 100 Simple Recipes for True Mexican Flavor” (Clarkson Potter) in 2009, Mexican Made Easy (Clarkson Potter) in 2011 and Casa Marcela: Recipes and Food Stories of My Life in the Californias (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) in 2017. Marcela lives in San Diego with her family.
Marcela is a judge on Best Baker in America.

My second interview highlights November as Parkinson's Caregivers Month:
John L. Lehr leads the Parkinson's Foundation as president & chief executive officer. He has nearly three decades of nonprofit fundraising and management experience, with a strong focus in the voluntary healthcare and medical research sectors.

John played a key role in merging two legacy Parkinson’s organizations into the Parkinson’s Foundation in 2017. Since joining the Foundation, fundraising revenue has grown each year by double digits, allowing the Foundation to greatly expand its mission programs. John led the efforts to open 17 regional chapters to better serve local Parkinson’s communities. These developments and other initiatives have allowed the Foundation to earn a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, a Platinum Seal of Transparency from GuideStar, and to be named to the 2020 list of Best Places to Work by The Non-Profit Times.

During his time with the Foundation, he has directed more than $30 million in research and clinical grants for promising Parkinson’s disease studies.

In advocating for the PD community, John recognizes the importance of expanding community services and resources that are offered for free, notably extended hours and Spanish-language capabilities for the Helpline, which receives thousands of calls each year.

John earned his BA and MA in History from Villanova University. From 1990-1991, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sri Lanka.

Veera Rastogi is Parkinson’s care partner and serves on the Parkinson’s Foundation People with Parkinson’s Advisory Council, Veera Rastogi has spent many years balancing her career as an executive with supporting her late mother and father, who both lived with PD. Veera serves on the Parkinson’s Foundation People with Parkinson’s Advisory Council. She has always been inherently enthusiastic about diversity, equity and inclusion and helping people to be their best selves.