Mary Lou Ballweg, president and executive director of the Endometriosis Association, and Jacquelyn Fredrick, president and chief executive officer of the BloodCenter of Wisconsin, have been selected as the recipients of Professional Dimensions’ 2010 Sacagawea Awards.
The Professional Dimensions award is named for Sacagawea, the only woman on the Lewis & Clark expedition. A woman of many dimensions, Sacagawea was a trailblazer who distinguished herself throughout her life by her leadership, intelligence, foresight, common sense and adaptability.
Ballweg founded the Endometriosis Association in 1980 after she was diagnosed with the disease. It is the first organization in the world created for those with endometriosis, a disease that effects an estimated 89 million girls and women today. It began as a self-help organization to provide information and support to Milwaukee women, EA has grown to support research, educate the medical community, produce books and journal articles and facilitate international conferences on the subject. Despite having no formal medical training, she is featured in the International Who’s Who in Medicine as the person most singly responsible for calling attention to endometriosis.
Fredrick is the first female and first non-physician to run the BloodCenter of Wisconsin in its more than 60-year history. Fredrick began her career at BCW six years out of college as a supervisor of the laboratories. She became a vice president at the age of 34. Later she was recruited by the American Red Cross (ARC) in Washington, D.C., and took on several roles under Elizabeth Dole’s leadership. During her time there, Fredrick was chosen to lead the development of the first national testing laboratories, and was then tapped for a new national role: vice president of quality. She then ran the ARC Biomedical Services division, a $3 billion business with 15,000 employees, prior to being recruited back to Milwaukee in 2001 to serve as the president and CEO of the BloodCenter of Wisconsin.
Since Fredrick’s return to Milwaukee, the BCW has grown from serving seven counties in southeastern Wisconsin to 54 counties covering 64 percent of the state. The Blood Research Institute, the research arm of BCW, has grown under her leadership, expanding National Institutes of Health funding by 200 percent, and has added 200 new jobs to the area, attracting talent from across the globe.
Both will be honored at the annual dinner on Wednesday, March 10, 2010, at the Midwest Airlines Center.
