Colorado Springs resident tapped for national Parkinson's disease advisory council

By: Stephanie Earls
June 28, 2016

Leslie Peters 

A Colorado Springs health worker, caregiver and advocate for those living with Parkinson's disease has been selected to serve on a national advisory council of the Parkinson's Disease Foundation.

Leslie Peters is a veteran health care coordinator who studied early childhood education at Penn State University and works with South Denver Cardiology. 

She serves as care partner to her husband, who is living with young-onset Parkinson's, and previously helped care for her late mother-in-law, who also was diagnosed with the disease.

"Our family has been touched by Parkinson's twice, so I know that the diagnosis can be scary for the entire family," Peters said in a news release. "I am excited to work with PDF to inform the community of the wonderful educational resources available to help them cope."

Though research is ongoing, there's no cure for Parkinson's, a progressive neurological disorder affecting nearly 1 million Americans. The average age of diagnosis is 62; when the disease manifests before age 50, it's considered "young-onset."

As a member of PDF's People with Parkinson's Advisory Council, Peters joins other care partners and those living with the disease in nationwide efforts to find a cure and improve lives.

"As a pioneer in patient engagement, PDF has long understood that an informed and empowered patient community is instrumental to ending this disease," advisory council chair Daniel Novak said in a prepared statement. "As the People with Parkinson's Advisory Council marks a new decade, we renew our commitment to representing the community's urgency for better treatments and a cure, and to guiding PDF toward the programs that best meet community needs."

Council members work to identify and solve unmet needs, help guide program development and serve as community liaisons. Their contributions have led to important national initiatives and patient-advocacy programs including the Community Choice Research Awards, the Parkinson's Disease Resource List and the recently launched Women and PD Initiative, which seeks to improve the health and well-being of women living with the disease.

For more information, visit pdf.org.

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