Meet Our Arthritis Ambassadors
Announcing the 2009-2010 Kansas City Ambassadors: Jenn Shafer (left) and Hannah Pugh (right). Look for Jenn and Hannah over the next year in newspapers, TV spots and on Arthritis Foundation materials as they share their stories about how arthritis has impacted their lives.
Hannah Pugh, 11, is serving as the Junior Ambassador for the Kansas City area for 2009-2010. Diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA) at age six, Hannah and her family (including aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, etc.) have been active with the Arthritis Foundation for three years. Their primary involvement has been through the Arthritis Walk, where Hannah is the inspiration for the Mighty Mustangs team. The Mighty Mustangs have been the top fundraising team for the past three years and have collectively raised over $25,000 for the Arthritis Foundation. Hannah has also been involved with the Jingle Bell Run, JA Camp, Art for Arthritis, volunteering at the office, among many other things. Hannah will serve as the Junior Ambassador for all Kansas City events through the 2010 Kansas City Arthritis Walk.
Jennifer Shafer, one of the 2009-2010 Arthritis Foundation Heartland Region’s Kansas City Ambassadors, was diagnosed three years ago with rheumatoid arthritis. Since her diagnosis, she has become increasingly active in efforts to raise awareness and public education about the disease.
Jenn’s battle with arthritis began when she was just 27. A commercial litigation attorney with Kansas City-based firm, Warden Grier, she had just returned home from a business trip to Chicago when she began experiencing excruciating pain in her feet, ankles, and knees. She blamed it on walking around the city in uncomfortable shoes and assumed it would get better. But in fact, her condition worsened, and quickly deteriorated to the point where her knees and hips locked up, leaving her barely able to move. After weeks of pain and debilitation and even a fall down her garage stairs, Jenn saw an orthopedist, who referred her to a rheumatologist where she was diagnosed.
Following her diagnosis, Jenn battled the anger and sense of loss of a young person whose life is forever altered by the onset of a disease without a known cure. But she quickly turned her energies toward learning as much as she could about the disease and determining treatment options. Seeing the tremendous need for more general public education, she began putting her considerable personal and professional talents to work raising funds and awareness in the search for a cure for arthritis. All of her efforts have helped her feel a sense of purpose and of control in a situation that has changed her life. Jenn’s condition is currently successfully managed through a regimen of exercise and moderate medication.
As one of two Kansas City area ambassadors, Jenn will represent the Arthritis Foundation and its mission through a variety of appearances and public engagements, including the Kansas City Jingle Bell Run (November 22, 2009) and the Arthritis Walk (May 8, 2010). She has also volunteered to be part of the Foundation’s Speaker’s Bureau, giving talks to various groups about the Foundation and arthritis.
Jenn received her undergraduate degree from Kansas State University and her law degree from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. She is an experienced litigator who was part of the Warden Grier team which recently received a favorable ruling in one of Kansas City’s most highly publicized construction disputes. In addition to her success in practice, Jennifer also teaches the Advanced Advocacy program at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy.
