Susan Niebur was one of those amazing people who was perfectly at ease in more than one community. Mom, scientist, cancer fighter, advocate. The outpouring of support and love that has come from so many people, from so many walks of life, is testament to her grace, her strength, her leadership.
It was through a number of conversations with Susan that the idea for the #scimom meme emerged. I remember one of those conversations vividly. Just a few hours before she gave the "voices" speech at BlogHer that everyone talks about, we were talking about science communication - how we could be encouraging more young people to pursue careers, and how to support women who were just beginning or in the middle of their careers. Then, after a short rest, she stood up in front of hundreds of people, read a blog post, and blew us all away.
So many people from the momosphere, so many scientists, so many health advocates and cancer fighters have spoken so lovingly about Susan, and it is all well deserved. What I remember most about her is her amazing ability to step in and out of each community seamlessly - and more importantly, how she could bring those communities together.
3 comments:
Beautiful David. You always seem to know just what to say.
I knew you would write something lovely and perfect in Susan's honor. Thank you for this, and for championing her so well while she was with us.
Very interesting post. I think this advice can be very helpful for many people.
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