Howard Woolley, Sickle Cell Advocate and Philanthropist
Washington, DC — Howard Woolley, Sickle Cell Advocate and Philanthropist, was presented with a “Sickle Cell Outstanding Service Award” at the 2019 Roland B. Scott Memorial Symposium Tuesday, May 7, 2019.
One of Woolley’s most significant accomplishments in the Sickle Cell arena was to publish his late wife’s memoir – SOAR by Gail Campbell Woolley. She passed away in 2015 following her battle with SCD.
Thanks to SOAR and Howard, Gail’s story is still being told today. Woolley had the novel published posthumously in 2017. Since then he has traveled from Sickle Cell Symposiums to Sickle Cell Conferences spreading his late-wife’s story of ‘SOARING’ above a dim prognosis. Gail was told at the age of 7 that she wouldn’t live past the age of 35, but she proved doctors wrong. She lived a full life as she battled the disease and lived till the age of 58. In those years Gail had a successful career and marriage but she also fought sickle cell disease with success; she didn’t let her diagnosis stop her. In fact, she “soared” above the obstacles by graduating from Syracuse University and then going on to become a journalist at The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Times and The Washington Star.
Upon receiving today’s award, Howard Woolley, stated: “As my good friend Beverley Francis-Gibson, President of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America (SCDAA) said after reading Gail’s memoir SOAR – ‘Gail had sickle cell – but sickle cell didn’t have Gail.’ I accept this award on behalf of Gail. She battled sickle cell for 58 years and typical of her she left us with one last parting shot at the disease called SOAR which is aimed at building consciousness about the disease and increasing funding for a cure and patient care.”
The Roland B. Scott Memorial Symposium was held at Howard University. This years’ theme was “Preparing the Next Generation of Advocates for Sickle Cell Disease Healthcare.” Top advocates and medical professionals in the field gathered to learn and share information about the latest developments with treatments and possible cures.
Award recipients were selected by the Roland B. Scott Sickle Cell Symposium Planning Committee. Speakers at the symposium included – Patricia Burks RN, MA, CCRC, Director of Clinical Trials Affairs Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Beverley Francis-Gibson, MA, President and CEO, Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, and Steven Rivelis, CEO, Campaign Consultation, Inc. Panel members included Nikia Vaughn, Communications Coordinator, Community Health Worker, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, Gloria Rochester, Founder, Queens Sickle Cell Advocacy Network (QSCAN), George Carter, Sickle Cell Disease Patient and Advocate, administrator for two nonprofit organizations in Virginia – Sickle Cell Associations of Richmond-OSCAR and Sickle Cell Chapters of Virginia.
Mr. Woolley is currently the President & CEO of Howard Woolley Group LLC. He also serves as the spokesperson for Soar: A Memoir as well as being a Sickle Cell Disease Philanthropist and Advocate. Woolley is a Trustee at John Hopkins Medicine and is also the Founder of the Gail Woolley Fund Foundation for Project Echo. Howard Woolley continues his efforts to find a cure for Sickle Cell Disease. Gail’s story with Howard and her battle with SCD is documented in her memoir title: SOAR. Today, Howard works with SCD Organizations from around the world to help bring awareness and funds to those working to find better treatments and one day, a cure.
About Roland B. Scott
Roland B. Scott founded Howard University’s Center for Sickle Cell Disease. Dr. Scott was chairman of pediatrics at Howard from 1949-1973. He started the Center for Sickle Cell Disease in 1972 and remained director until his retirement in 1990. Dr. Scott passed away from congestive heart failure on December 10, 2002. He was 93-years old.
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