What is your background?
I have a B.S. in Biology from Fairleigh Dickinson University, Teaneck, NJ. I worked in Special Chemistry/Toxicology for Metpath Labs (now Quest) in Teterboro, NJ for 5 years. I worked in pre-clinical research, mostly ADME studies, for Hoffmann-La Roche, Nutley, NJ for 5 years. Then 9 years in Clinical Research for a diagnostic company, a biotech company, and Pharma (Syntex, Novartis, Pfizer). When I went to work for Pfizer (Groton, CT) I was miserable. I couldn’t figure out how they ever got a product approved. I became very disillusioned. At the time I was flying for fun as a private pilot working on my instrument rating. I decided to get all of my ratings as quickly as I could. I became a flight instructor, left Pfizer and that began my career in aviation. I am now a Captain at Jet Blue Airways. I have never looked back, but I am very happy to have the opportunity to use my research experience.
Was that your motivation for volunteering?
What happened during Covid opened my eyes to the fact that “it can happen here.” I am an avid reader of the Holocaust. Many of my family members were in Concentration Camps during WWII. I never understood how so many people didn’t fight back. We can’t allow history to repeat itself, yet that is exactly what is happening. This is my turn to show that I will fight back.
Do you have a personal Covid Story?
I refused to be “vaccinated.” I was threatened with losing my job. I couldn’t eat in many of the places I traveled to for work because I didn’t have a vaccine passport (San Francisco, New York City, Los Angeles). I also refused to wear a mask. I was asked to leave grocery stores, restaurants, and was refused a mammogram because I wouldn’t wear a mask. I was called by the Chief Pilot’s office more than once. I held my ground, found others at work like me, and we didn’t give in. Luckily my employer threatened but never fired us or made us stay home without pay, like some other airlines did to their employees.
What are you working on here at C19Files?
I am curating/reviewing medical articles using research experience I already had, but hadn’t been able to use much until I began volunteering on this project.
What thoughts/hopes do you have for the future of the C19Files project, our country, world?
I hope this project can be a repository of information to help the current situation, whether to help with law suits, religious exemptions, medical exemptions, as well as provide information for the future on how poorly this was handled. Covid was Orwellian. From the changing of our language, to the massive control. I hope our country/world wakes up to the fact that we have G*D given rights that government(s) can not take away. We need to fight to keep those rights and never give in. After 9-11 we gave away some of our rights. We have never gotten them back. The government takes, but doesn’t re-instate. It’s time we stand up and fight to keep what is ours. We can change things if we all stick together. Start at the local level and keep standing up.