Faye Armitage (born 29 May 1958 in

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

) is a health activist and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

politician, known for her advocacy efforts in support of

stem cell In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...

research.

Personal life

Armitage was raised in four different continents as a result of her father's employment with a multi-national corporation. She graduated from the University of Amsterdam with an MA in Economics before settling in the United States. She is a naturalized American citizen. Armitage has served as a professor of economics at

Valencia Community College Valencia College is a public college in Orlando, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. The college was founded in 1967 as Valencia Junior College and changed its name in 2010 because the academic scope of the school had expanded to ...

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

.Maya Bell
"Stem-cell debate's fate could fall to voters"
''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

'', March 5, 2007.Fox News - candidate biography
/ref>

Health activism

Armitage became a campaigner for embryonic

stem cell research In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...

, patient safety and universal health care after a 1996 soccer accident which left her 7-year-old son a quadriplegic. She founded the Cure Paralysis Now Foundation in partnership with the Stem Cell Action Network and other stem cell advocacy groups. Ultimately she gave up her outside employment to devote herself to caring for her son and to her advocacy efforts.

Political activities

Armitage was the winner of the Democratic primary for

Florida's 7th congressional district Florida's 7th congressional district is a congressional district in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. From 2003 to 2013, the district consisted of the suburban area between Orlando and Daytona Beach and included St. Augus ...

on August 26, 2008 and became the Democratic candidate in the 2008 Congressional race, running as a self-described "

soccer mom The term soccer mom broadly refers to an American, middle-class, suburban woman who spends a significant amount of her time transporting her school-age children to youth sporting events or other activities, whether or not they are soccer relate ...

". Her political positions included ending the war in Iraq, increasing veterans benefits, immigration reform, reconciling U.S. debt while reducing trade deficits and attending to world climate change. She was defeated by

John Mica John Luigi Mica (born January 27, 1943) is an American businessman, consultant and Republican politician who represented in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2017. He was defeated by Democrat Stephanie Murphy in the November 8, 201 ...

, the longtime

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

incumbent. Since the election she has continued her advocacy for stem cell research.Douglas Jordan
"For mom, hope for son"
, ''

St. Augustine Record ''The St. Augustine Record'' is a daily morning newspaper published in St. Augustine, Florida. The newspaper was founded in 1894 and is owned by Gannett Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean ...

'', March 13, 2009.

References

External links

Cure Paralysis Now

Stem Cell Action Network
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armitage, Faye Florida Democrats Living people American activists 1958 births