Meet Ellen Skala: Super Advocate
![Image](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3H_2d4WJcYM85QEuPhyphenhyphenSTbxOSvOoLooLZiLGhed-9HGZ3mVfCknn7sNOUggaP2XAUmwXnLrmSuVWkr0WpUpQCty7MnwVFzqxxuI3XtFTtPdJn5heF6sPFjXvL38fLUTUVLX3VQBk5Nsl3/s320/Elle-Shaving-Head-head+shot.png)
I was in Washington, D.C. recently on Capitol Hill meeting with my representatives in Congress to advocate for federal funding for biomedical research. As I’ve written many times, I believe government agencies like National Institutes of Health (NIH) , National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Department of Defense (DoD) play a critical role in advancing science and making discoveries that impact millions of lives. As a lung cancer survivor, I’ve advocated for cancer research for many years. This time I was on the hill on behalf of the organization I work for, FRAXA Research Foundation , advocating for Fragile X research on Advocacy Day, an event organized by the National Fragile X Foundation. And I met an advocate that inspired me and reinforced my long-held belief that one person can make a difference. Meet Ellen Skala. Ellen Skala, also referred to as Elle, was on Capitol Hill to advocate that day too. I had spoken with her several times, but I had never met her in per...