It was an honor to be nominated for the 2022 LLS Man + Woman of the Year Campaign. Our incredible class of nationwide candidates campaigned for 10 weeks to fundraise for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Team Love & Light hosted the most wonderful events and raised $164,477 for LLS- the top fundraising team out of 7 in Iowa!

In June, I was named Iowa’s Woman of the Year 2022 and won the LLS Mission Integration Award. This experience and these awards are ones I will always cherish.

My WHY for accepting this nomination for WOTY.

My dear friend, Erin Barfels, is my why. The day I accepted the WOTY nomination, I had lunch with Erin. Two hours later she called to tell me her cancer was back.

Eleven years ago, she was diagnosed with two forms of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which she successfully beat. Fast forward, biopsy results from a mass on her neck showed her cancer came back requiring a very aggressive in-patient treatment protocol and a Bone Marrow Transplant. She is a professional and has a husband and three kids who need her, and her biggest focus is on fighting this fight.

I’m honored so many people joined our team for this campaign to show love to survivors and gives light to LLS.