I’m a 71-year-old mother and grandmother who likes to solve crossword puzzles, wear a lot of purple, cook, and bowl. I grew up in Florida, and I am currently working on my memoir.

Interests:
Women’s health, childbirth, menstruation

Activities:
Collecting old photographs of African-Americans, homemaking, container gardening, collecting cookbooks

Favorite books:
Their Eyes Were Watching God, The Poisonwood Bible, The Bluest Eye, The Power of Now, and anything written by Robin Cook

Favorite movies:
Tomorrow Is Forever, An Affair to Remember, Daughters of the Dust

Favorite TV shows:
60 Minutes, Sunday Morning

Favorite Quotes:
“When you’re following your energy and doing what you want all the time, the distinction between work and play dissolves.” -- Shakti Gawain

“Dissension is healthy, even when it gets loud.” -- Jennifer Lawson

“It is the ability to choose which makes us human.” -- Madeleine l. Engle

“The bravest thing you can do when you are not brave is to profess courage and act accordingly.” -- Corra Harris

“The fragrance always remains with the hand that gives the rose.” -- Heda Bejar

“It is more blessed to give than to receive, so give to yourself as much as you can and often as you can.” -- LaVerne Porter Wheatley Perry

professional background

Byllye Avery, M.Ed., is the Founder and President of the Avery Institute for Social Change and Founder of the National Black Women's Health Project (Imperative). A dreamer, visionary, and grassroots realist, Avery combines activism and social responsibility by developing a national forum for the exploration of health issues of African American women. Avery provides a supportive atmosphere for African American women by gathering and documenting their health experiences.

Prior to her entry into the health care arena, Avery taught special education to emotionally disturbed students and consulted on learning disabilities in public schools and universities throughout the southeastern United States.

Degrees:
Honorary Degrees from:
Thomas Jefferson University
State University of New York at Binghamton
Gettysburg College
Bowdoin College
Bates University

Associations:

• Clinical Professor in Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
• Founder, The Avery Institute for Social Change
• Founder, National Black Women's Health Project
• Co-Founder, Gainesville Women's Health Center
• Co-Founder, Birthplace, an alternative birthing center
• Former Member, Charter Advisory Committee, Office of Women's Health, NIH
• Visiting Fellow, Harvard School of Public Health
• The Ruth Bader Ginsburg Award for a Pioneer in Women's Rights, 2008

Awards:

• Trailblazer Award, Lifetime Television, 2002
• Business and Professional Women's New Horizons Award, 1998
• University of Florida's School of Medicine's Leadership Award, 1998
• Dorothy Height Lifetime Achievement Award, 1995
• President's Citation of the American Public Health Association, 1995
• Academy of Science Institute of Medicine's Gustav O. Leihard Award for the Advancement of Health Care, 1994
• Grassroots Realist Award, Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, 1994
• Mac Arthur Foundation Fellowship for Social Contribution,1989

Publications:

• Author, An Altar of Words: Wisdom, Comfort and Inspiration for African American Women
• Author, A Gift From a Wise Woman, CD, Featuring Byllye Avery reading from An Altar of Words
• Contributor Bearing Witness to Birth, Women's Studies Quarterly, Vol. 36 No. One & Two 2008 Feminist Press
• Contributor The New Bodies Our Selves for the New Century, The Women's Health Book Collective, Simon and Schuester