“We started this foundation because Louisa was looking for resources she couldn’t find elsewhere,” Esposito-Amery says. “This included support for survivors, resources for her family, and awareness and education about disease.” In 2011, at 45, McGregor died of the disease, leaving two young children behind. But her legacy of educating women on the importance of seeking medical help at the earliest possible symptom lives on. Their goal The goal remains simple: to provide information about ovarian cancer and to address this important women’s health issue, especially since there is currently no definitive screening test to detect ovarian cancer. Services they provide In 2015, T.E.A.L. opened an ovarian cancer community center in Brooklyn, and it’s the only one of its kind in the United States. At the community center, women can access wellness activities, including free weekly meditation sessions — currently offered via Zoom every Wednesday — art therapy, and genetic counseling. It’s also where chemo kits and birthday kits are sent to survivors around the country who sign up with the nonprofit’s free membership program. With support from the general public, grants, and sponsorships, the organization is also able to light buildings and monuments in the color teal to continue improving awareness around ovarian cancer, including lighting Luna Park’s parachute jump in Brooklyn’s Coney Island amusement park. Events In addition, the Annual Brooklyn T.E.A.L. Walk/Run, has become New York City’s largest ovarian cancer walk/run. To date, T.E.A.L. has raised over $3 million to benefit ovarian cancer research and awareness programs through the T.E.A.L. Walk/Run Program in Brooklyn and several other U.S. locations, and at other events throughout the year. Esposito-Avery and her team are dedicated to appearing as often as possible in the community, participating in health fairs, symposiums, and lectures at schools, universities, community centers, hospitals, and community meetings around the country. Core belief The organization aims to “offer women’s health and wellness services, provide support to those impacted by the disease, and raise funds for research in order to find a screen test and a cure,” according to T.E.A.L.’s website. “Louisa would be so proud of what we’ve accomplished,” Esposito-Amery says. “It’s incredible to think that we’ve grown to become a national movement. She was with us when we first started and we always had the same vision, but we kept expanding and I know we surpassed all the work she wanted to see happen. We do everything in her memory — her legacy is in the work we do every single day.”
