No stopping this retired member’s work to help birthmarked children, many others


By SHERRY HALBROOK For retired PEF member Linda Rozell-


Shannon one thing doesn’t just lead to another. Every challenge she tackles becomes a powerful springboard to take on more ways to help people. And she doesn’t waste a bit of the bounce. As a PEF member, she worked as a


senior highway safety analyst at the state Department of Motor Vehicles, reviewing and commenting on legislation, especially bills aimed at making driving safer. She’s still channeling the bounce of


knowledge, skills, insights and legislative contacts she gained in that job into a wide variety of ambitious projects involving justice, medical issues and suicide prevention. “I spent many years at the DMV


analyzing major legislative initiatives, such as drinking-driver programs, graduated license, unlicensed driving programs,” Rozell-Shannon said. “With those skills of analyzing legislation and problem solving, I have recently worked on two key pieces of legislation that have received a lot of press and air time.”


Charlotte’s Law “I wrote Charlotte's Law in honor of my


mother-in-law who was killed while crossing a street in the pedestrian crosswalk. The driver who killed her was given a one-year license revocation and fined for failure to yield the right of way. I reviewed his driving history and found he had been involved in 25 dangerous driving infractions. “I could not allow my former mother-in-


law's death to go in vain. I researched the law for one full year and prayed for the solution. “I realized this could not be a


revocation. A license may be revoked for many reasons, but then the driver can get it back. It’s likely a driver with a history like the man who killed my mother-in-law will hurt someone again. I wanted new terminology and I came up with “Termination of Privileges.” Gov. Andrew Cuomo is not waiting for


Charlotte’s Law to pass in the Legislature. On September 25, he directed the state Department of Motor Vehicles to adopt new regulations that call for “truly permanent license revocation for persistently drunk and dangerous drivers.” Cuomo said it gives New York “among


the toughest protections in the nation against drivers who persistently drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs.”


www.pef.org


related, or just bad behavior.” Jerry’s Law has been introduced in the


Legislature. Meanwhile, Rozell-Shannon has begun


helping other friends write a bill to curb animal abuse.


Birthmark Foundation As ambitious as her legislative efforts


BEFORE AFTER


A 2-1/2 year-old child with an extensive hemangioma of her upper lip before and after surgical resection. —Photo courtesy MiltonWaner, M.D.


are, they are dwarfed by a project Rozell- Shannon undertook after her daughter, Christine, was born with a vascular birthmark. Rozell-Shannon established the


Vascular Birthmark Foundation (VBF) in 1994, while she was still working for the DMV and obtaining her PhD in education. The VBF has become the leading not-


for-profit in the world for children and adults with birthmarks. In 1996, Rozell-Shannon began writing


a book, “Birthmarks, A Guide to Hemangiomas and Vascular Malformations.” Published in 1997, it is still the only publication available on the subject that is written for parents. Now the world’s leading lay expert in the


field of vascular birthmarks, Rozell- Shannon took the foundation’s first medical team to Russia in June to train doctors there on how to diagnose and treat these lesions. More than 100 children and adults were treated for free on that trip. “We have begun training doctors


PROUDAUTHOR—Linda Rozell- Shannon displays the book she wrote to help parents understand and deal with their children’s birthmarks —Photo by Sherry Halbrook


“I was so excited when Cuomo announced it,” Rozell-Shannon said.


Jerry’s Law When a friend lost his teenaged son to


suicide in 2010, Rozell-Shannon joined a committee to write “Jerry’s Law.” The boy had an emerging mental health condition, but administrators at his high school kept suspending him and excluding him from sports. The parents asked for home tutoring, and special help until medication could work, but the school refused. Sadly, just as a bi-polar diagnosis was


forthcoming, their son was overwhelmed and took his life. To head off more such tragedies, Rozell-


Shannon said, “We created Jerry's Law to give parents the option of having a committee on special education evaluate their child to determine if his or her problems are medical or mental-health


throughout the world to treat these birthmarks, which are sometimes life- threatening, and we also conduct annual conferences to train physicians and educate the public here in the U.S.,” she said. “In 18 years we have networked 60,000 children and adults into treatment. Our foundation now has nine chapters around the globe.” For more information visit


www.birthmark.org. Rozell-Shannon said she retired to give


more time to the foundation, her many legislative efforts, and teaching at Capital District colleges, but she sees it all as connected. “My education benefits as a PEF


member allowed me to earn my PhD,” she said, “and I will never underestimate the value of my career at the DMV. It taught me how to be a good analyst. With those skills I established my foundation and drafted laws. “I never live in the box. I love picking


problems apart and finding solutions. I’m a born advocate.”


The Communicator November 2012—Page 11


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