![[Amye L. Leong]](https://deptmedicine.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/leongteaser.jpg "Amye L. Leong")
Internationally recognized patient advocate, health motivational speaker, author and educator Amye L. Leong, MBA, will be the keynote speaker at the Annual Eva M. Holtby Conversations and Lunch, Thursday, Feb. 13, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Arizona Inn, 2200 E. Elm St., Tucson. Open to the public, the event is sponsored by the University of Arizona Arthritis Center (UAAC) Friends. Leong will discuss “Getting a Grip on Arthritis.”
Diagnosed at age 18 with rheumatoid arthritis and wheelchair-bound within eight years, Leong drew on her personal advocacy skills and determination to rebuild her body and take control of her life. After 16 surgeries and 12 joint replacements, she developed America’s largest network of 40-plus young adult arthritis education and advocacy programs, and became a respected medical education speaker, advocate and facilitator.
Today, Leong is president and CEO of Healthy Motivation, a health education, advocacy and medical motivation consulting firm in Santa Barbara, Calif., and Paris, France. Her clients include governments, industry and non-government organizations in 18 countries.
She was honored at the White House by President G.W. Bush with the 2001 President’s Service Award, the highest honor bestowed on an American for community service. The Arthritis Foundation named her one of its “America’s Fifty Heroes’ and awarded her its highest honor, the Harding Award.
The cost to attend the luncheon is $45 ($10 tax-deductible donation) for the general public, or $35 for UAAC Friends members and their guests.
Tor reserve your place, or for more information about the luncheon or becoming a member of the UAAC Friends, please call 520-626-7901.
The presentation is made possible through the generosity of the Eva M. Holtby Endowed Lectureship.
About the University of Arizona Arthritis Center Friends
The University of Arizona Arthritis Center (UAAC) Friends was founded in 1997 by Eva M. Holtby. The mission of the volunteer organization is to build community support for the UAAC through education, public awareness and community involvement.
The UAAC, established in 1985, is dedicated to eradicating arthritis as a cause of human suffering through biomedical research, teaching and patient care. For more information, please visit the UAAC website, www.arthritis.arizona.edu
Media Contact: Jean Spinelli