The Julie Morgan Scholarship Fund, established in honor of Julie Morgan, will be given to students whose lives have been touched by cancer, and who are pursuing careers in environmental health.

Julie Morgan, wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend has touched the lives of so many people in her community. Considered the link and connector within her family and friends, she was passionate about nature and environmental health. Julie graduated from Case Western Reserve as a nurse. She worked as a registered nurse at the Cleveland Clinic, Ohio State University, and at the University of California San Francisco for over 15 years. Julie was diagnosed with hormone-positive invasive ductal breast cancer on Oct 10, 2011. She marked her year anniversary post-mastectomy by joining the Board of Directors of the nonprofit Breast Cancer Action. Almost 5 years to the day, she was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer.  She lived every day channeling her passion and energy for life and shared this with her daughter and husband, who are at all things her center. Through travel, environmental/health activism, friendship, family, and community Julie truly lived. She passed away on November 29th, 2021 surrounded by her family.  

“I remember starting nursing school in the early 90s and thinking I would never get treatment for stage 4 cancer. The rollercoaster of emotions and constant physical issues with no cure. I “thought would never put my body and my family through that. Ha! The wisdom of youth. Turns out, there's also a lot I will put myself through (and smile while I'm doing it) to be here with all of you.” -Julie

And, she was there for all of us. Always giving 100%. Julie was that rare mix of human that brought compassion, kindness, patience, and love to everything that she touched. She built community wherever she was; whether on a trip to an adventurous destination, in the crowd of an awesome concert, or simply helping out on any number of things she did to better this world. She was always building community.

Now, we as a community would like to do something that honors her. Several friends asked Julie about what she would like to see this energy channeled towards, and her reaction was immediate. She wanted to start a scholarship like she had participated in, to memorialize her friend, Jodi. Julie’s wish was that this scholarship could benefit a person that had been touched by breast cancer, and was pursuing a career in environmental health.

Smiling through treatment (probably wearing a costume), working the room at a Breast Cancer Action fundraiser, or explaining what was happening with her last scan, Julie was able to care for others even in the midst of this heinous illness. She was never one to sugarcoat the facts. In her words: “When I last went with my BAYS (bay area young survivors) and MITC (mets in the city) in May of 2017, we were joined by Janet, Lori, Kate, and Harini. They have all died in the years since we were together in that beautiful place. Leaving behind so many that cared for them. Do not believe we are making amazing headway in the breast cancer world! Yes, there have been breakthroughs and scientists are working hard for us, but as long as less than 10% of breast cancer research dollars go to metastatic disease, stage 4, the kind that kills, we won't get anywhere that fast.”

We hope to establish an endowed scholarship for people who have had their lives touched by cancer, understand the environmental concerns at play in our health, and are dedicated to helping solve these problems. Working with Julie’s alma mater, Case Western Reserve, we will ensure this money will go directly to this fight, so that hopefully, one day soon, we can lessen the grief and heartache of others by helping to fund the next generation of health care workers addressing human-caused environmental influences of cancer.  

We hope you will join us today, channeling the grief, joy, and love you feel for Julie by supporting this fund. Using our collective community impact, we will make environmental health education in reach for more people, and perhaps, spare someone in the future a bit of the sorrow we feel today.

This community, that Julie built, will have a lasting impact on this world. And that was her most fervent wish. Hear it in her own words, a letter written to her daughter, that she was kind enough to share with us; “You have my eyes, anyone can see that. It terrifies me when I think if you have my breast cancer risk, too. I don't (I won't!) live in a constant state of active fear for you, your health, your planet, but I worry on the regular. I get reminded of the chemical soup into which you were born.  The toxins that coursed through my body into yours and now in the air you breathe, the food you eat, toys with which you play, and I think "what have I done, what have we all done". Babies' little bodies polluted before they take their first breath?! I didn't need to become a mother to make me an environmentalist, a safe chemical advocate, or an activist, but knowing I am responsible for your little body entering this world does certainly amp up my sense of urgency.”

For more information regarding the Julie Morgan Memorial Scholarship feel free to reach out to Lisa Hartmayer who is currently working with a group of Julie’s friends to establish this fund.