Noreen C. Thompson, RN, MSN, APRN-BC: Advanced Practice Nurse, Researcher

Noreen C. Thompson is Clinical Nurse Specialist at The University of Kansas Hospital in Kansas City. Preceding this, she was Assistant Professor of Nursing at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.  

Noreen has authored and co-authored numerous published journal articles, participated in clinical research studies, and is a member of the Hospital Ethics Committee and Critical Incident Response Team.

Of many awards received, two were the Expert Alumni Award for Clinical Excellence by The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing Science) in 2012, and the 2013 March of Dimes Future of Nursing Award.

Noreen also wrote and played the principal role in the short video, "Let's Be Honest", and a consultant for the video biography, "From the Bottom."

Photograph © 2014 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Jennifer Holliday - The Original Dreamgirl

#WomenYouShouldKnow

Jennifer Holliday earned a Drama Desk nomination for her role in the Broadway show Your Arms Too Short to Box With God, a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical in the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, and a Grammy Award for her version of, "And I Am Telling You I Am Not Going."

You also saw her in television shows Touched By An Angel, Hangtime, and she was a recurring guest star on Ally McBeal.

Behind the scenes, Jennifer's life was very different. She would sing to packed theaters on Broadway, then go home depressed. Her weight soared to nearly 400 pounds, and on her 30th birthday, she hit the lowest point of her life. 

Additionally, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which caused temporary loss of sight, paralysis and more depression.

I admire people who come back from adversity, and Jennifer certainly has. As you can see in this photograph, she is strong and happy. Her multiple sclerosis is in remission, and her voice magnificent.

In the time separating our two appointments, she visited a retail store to see how her new CD was being displayed. A shopper recognized Jennifer and gushed that her mother loved Jennifer's music. The young lady telephoned her mother, and Jennifer sang to her over the telephone. That is a class-act.

After living in New York City for three decades, Jennifer resides in Atlanta.

Photograph © 2014 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Holly Starr - Television Personality

Viewers in Las Vegas and Kansas City love fashionably-elegant television personality, spokesperson, model and actress Holly Starr. 

She is a classy lady who made me laugh.

Photograph © 2014 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.

Jeffrey Owen Hanson: Painter, Philanthropist -- Includes Updates

Artist Jeffrey Owen Hanson is legally blind. 

On his 19th birthday, he set a goal to reach a million dollars in charitable donations of his artwork by the time he was twenty years old, and he made it with two months to spare.

Jeffrey's paintings are in the homes of Sir Elton John, Warren Buffet, Susan Sarandon, Billy Joel, Bill Gates, the late Harold Ramis, Olivia Wilde, and many others.

When I photographed Jeffrey, he showed me his 30" x 30" acrylic painting on heavily-textured canvas titled, "One Night in Nice."

His loss of sight is attributed to an optic tumor, neurofibromatosis, which was diagnosed when he was 12 years old.

* Update 2015: CBS Sunday Morning included a segment about Jeffrey in late March, 2015. 

* Update 2021: Jeff was diagnosed with a newly-found brain tumor in October, 2020. He passed on December 20, 2020. He raised millions of dollars for charity by donating his award-winning artwork. You will be missed, Jeffrey.

Photograph © 2014 Larry F. Levenson. All rights reserved.