88 PROFESSIONAL WOMAN'S MULTICULTURAL MAGAZINE WWW.PROFESSIONALWOMANMAG.COM
COVER STORY
You could describe Padma Lakshmi in many ways. Inspirational. Brave. Trailblazing. Advocate. It goes on. She is the host, judge and executive producer of Top Chef . She pro- duces Taste the Nation , where she takes viewers around America to en- lighten them with immigrant culture and cuisine. And she's a bestselling bvuips-!lopxo!gps!ifs!stu!dijmesfot!cppl-! Tomatoes for Neela . Cvu!Qbenb-!62-!epftou!pomz!ibwf!b!mbshf!jovfodf!jo!uif!gppe!tqbdf! - she also promotes health and wellness all over the world. At age 13, Padma began experiencing symptoms of endometriosis cvu!xbtou!ejbhoptfe!voujm!bhf!47/!Ifs!fyqfsjfodft!mfe!ifs!up!dp.gpvoe! The Endometriosis Foundation of America (EFA) with advanced gyne- cological surgeon Dr. Tamer Seckin. "I didn't want another generation of women and girls to suffer in silence like I and millions upon millions of people did," Padma told Professional WOMAN's Magazine (PWM). "I lost a week of my life every month for 23 years because of this disease. Many doctors didn't even know how to diagnose it or treat it properly." Since its creation in 2009, the foundation has made it a mission to fund research and raise awareness about the disease, and it has helped mbvodi!uif!stu!Dfoufs!pg!Hzofqbuipmphz!Sftfbsdi!bu!uif!Nbttbdivtfuut! Institute of Technology (MIT). "I am so immensely proud of all we have accomplished in awareness of the disease, international research and educational programs," she said. "I have also seen real change in the way the media covers this disease in just one decade. That's very exciting to me."
Padma Lakshmi:
Advocating for a Better World
By Samar Khoury
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