CROHN’S & COLITIS FOUNDATION HONORS
BROOKE ABBOTT, SHAWN LACY BULLEN
AND ROXY SOWLATY
AND ROXY SOWLATY
AT TENTH ANNUAL
WOMEN OF DISTINCTION LUNCHEON
WOMEN OF DISTINCTION LUNCHEON
Los Angeles, CA– The Greater Los Angeles Chapter of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation will celebrate its 10th Annual Women of Distinction Luncheon on May 17, 2017 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Each year the foundation recognizes women who are successful in their fields and celebrate their commitment to philanthropy. The 2017 Honorees include: Brooke Abbott, creator/blogger for The Crazy Creole Mommy Chronicles and owner of The Crazy Creole Mommy Life, Inc; Shawn Lacy Bullen, Owner/Managing Director, Biscuit Filmworks; and Roxy Sowlaty, Beverly Hills based interior designer.
Past honorees include Jamie Lee Curtis, Mary Hart, Wendy Goldberg, Joyce Brandman, Mindy Weiss, Amy Brenneman, Judy Felsenthal, Evelyn Heyward, Linda Howard, Bobbe Joy Dawson, Barbara Herman, Lisa Greer, Tina Finkelman Berkett, and Janice Bryant Howroyd.
We are pleased to announce that Bloomingdale's Century City, last year’s fashion show presenter, has agreed to partner with us once again and present the 2017 fashion show. In addition, Sprinkles Cupcakes of Beverly Hills has generously donated cupcakes for each guest.
“Since 1967, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation has been a leader at the forefront of research in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, committed to innovation and collaboration through uniting all patients, caregivers, providers, donors, and researchers to find cures for these diseases. As a volunteer driven organization, we rely on the generous support of local people and businesses to fuel our programs. Without the sponsorship of Mercedes-Benz of Beverly Hills and the support of Bloomingdale’s Century City, we simply couldn’t support the 90,000 patients in our community”, said Ashley Atkins, Executive Director.
The Women of Distinction Luncheon is a highly anticipated event of the Beverly Hills social season and is attended by 500 prominently influential leaders and philanthropists in the Greater Los Angeles community. For tickets and information: (310) 478-4500 or visit bit.ly/wod2017la.
About the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation
For the past 50 years, the Foundation has supported the IBD community with the goal to ultimately achieve our vision – a future free of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. One out of 200 Americans has Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis (also called Inflammatory Bowel Disease or IBD), and 5% of all those diagnosed are under the age of 18. Proceeds from the Women of Distinction Luncheon fund cutting-edge medical research, education programs for patients and healthcare professionals, and support programs such as Camp Oasis, the foundation’s summer camp for children who suffer from IBD. More than 82 cents of every dollar received goes directly to support our mission. For more information about the foundation, visit www.crohnscolitisfoundation.org.
Media Contact
Ashley Atkins
Executive Director
Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, Greater Los Angeles Chapter
(323) 369-6409 aatkins@ccfa.org
Information on the 2017 Women of Distinction Luncheon Honorees:
In 2008, Brooke Abbott was diagnosed with left-sided ulcerative colitis. Though it was a mild case at diagnosis, the disease rapidly advanced over a period of four years. In 2009, Ms. Abbott traded in her film and television production notebook for a diaper bag with the birth of her son, Jaxon Lee Coltrane. While navigating through motherhood, Abbott began to tweet about her adventures with her newborn with the hashtag, #CrazyCreoleMommy. The stories behind her tweets and Facebook statuses grew larger than the allotted 140 characters and by 2011, her new life needed its own vehicle. In January 2012, The Crazy Creole Mommy Chronicles were born. In April 2012, Abbott was given a total colectomy after spending weeks in the hospital fighting a losing battle with her diseased colon. She was given an ostomy for five months, as a transition into receiving her JPouch. She now lives with an internal J-Pouch and her health continues to change for the better. Still without insurance, arthritis, and the inability to work as much as she could before, Abbott advocates for all those with severe and mild cases of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Abbott continues to photograph, working under the name, bonzaibaby Photography, having photographed celebrities including Holly Robinson Peete, Alfonso Riberio, Valarie Pettiford & Arthel Neville. Abbott is the creator and blogger for The Crazy Creole Mommy Chronicles & The HollyRod Foundation Influencer Circle. She is an advocate often representing The Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation & The Digestive Disease National Coalition on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. Abbott is a single mother of one son, Jax Lee Coltrane, and they currently reside in Los Angeles.
Shawn Lacy Bullen is the co-founder and managing director of Biscuit Filmworks and Biscuit UK. She grew up in Washington DC to architect parents who fostered her entrepreneurial spirit and appreciation of art. Armed with a double major in French and political science from Duke University, she ignored the advice of family friend Jay Chiat to avoid advertising altogether, and immediately moved to New York to work at Young & Rubicam. Her journey in advertising, first in New York and later in Los Angeles with HKM, led her to work with then up-and-coming director Noam Murro. The two immediately hit it off and in 2000 co-founded Biscuit Filmworks, which today represents some of the top creative talent in advertising and is one of the most awarded commercial production companies in the world. As managing director, Shawn continues to expand the company’s roster, cultivate new talent relationships and oversee the production of an acclaimed portfolio of work. Her solid creative instincts have helped build Biscuit’s reputation for fostering and growing talent from within, and serving as a trusted partner for top advertising agencies around the world to deliver standout commercial projects. A consummate multi-tasker, Shawn is also the proud mother of four children, one in college, one in high school, and twin first graders. Her son Jett was diagnosed with Crohn’s in 2013, and she then became involved in the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation to help raise awareness and funding for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
Roxy Sowlaty is a Beverly Hills native that has been working in design since the age of 16, when she started a clothing line with her sister Tara called RoxTar. Upon earning her undergraduate degree from USC’s Marshall School of Business, she decided to re-focus her design interests from fashion to interiors. She enrolled at Parsons New School of Design to obtain her masters degree in interior design. During this time in New York, she freelanced on a number of residential projects in Manhattan, as well as a home in Aspen – which certainly confirmed her love for interior design! Now back in California, she has opened her own interior design firm specializing in high end residential projects and is simultaneously launching an online 'do-it-yourself' interior design website and home goods product line. She had a stint on one of E!’s top hit shows for three seasons, displaying her entrepreneurial spirit in getting her line off the ground. It is with deep gratitude that Sowlaty is involved with such a high honor, as both her father and sister are affected by Crohn’s disease. She is determined to use her voice to make a difference and shed light on this otherwise very difficult subject matter.
