This year’s class of winners includes HSCRB assistant professor, Kara McKinley, PhD whose lab studies how the uterus regenerates after menstruation. If you have the means to give, even just a little bit, please do, and if that’s just not a possibility right now, please share this fundraiser on your social media pages.The NIH Director’s New Innovator Award recognizes career excellence among early career scientists working on high-risk, high-reward research with an emphasis on innovation and potential impact.

Donating to this cause is a way that you can help someone else see some light at the end of the tunnel.

With the pandemic, and the restrictions, many of us are just plain burnt out, and numb. We all know that 2020 has been a tough year for everyone. When she clears her tracheostomy tube (regularly) we (lovingly) refer to the sound as her “broken kazoo”. She is currently communicating only via text message and with a small whiteboard and dry erase markers. She was instrumental in getting me through my own tough times, and I know I’m not the only person who can say that. Spending time with Amy on her farm gave me a better appreciation for nature and hard work. I’ve seen her strive to instill those values not only into her daughter, but to Dan’s children and the next generation. She cares about animals and the environment, our community, our neighbors. She’s the kind of friend who goes out of her way to help others, and she is a friend to all. Maybe you know Amy, and maybe you don’t, but I do. Just this August she got married to Dan McKinley, surrounded by friends and family in a beautiful ceremony on the Cheboygan River. Later she became the Vineyard Manager at the Mackinaw Trail Winery & Brewery. When Peaceful Produce wasn’t enough, she started working for Ziibimijwang Farm, an Anishinaabek organization that grows community knowledge on farming and gardening practices, and provides a reliable sustainable food source for the Native and larger community. Bends and bumps in the road led to changes that Amy has taken in stride. She even hosted hikers and campers on the property, building an outdoor solar shower and outhouse to accommodate them.

She sold her produce at farmers markets in Bliss and Pellston, hosted classes, held community dinners, sweat lodges, musical performances, and women’s retreats. Her farm was an integral part of the community. She has made her home in Cheboygan and later, Carp Lake for over ten years where she raised her daughter and ran an organic farm, Peaceful Produce. Though she lived in Grand Rapids for a short time after graduating from Cheboygan Area High School, she was eventually drawn back to the beauty and wonder of Northern Michigan.

Amy (Ball) Mckinley is native to northern Michigan.

Taken by Amy McKinley