Rindha Kola
Meet Rindha Kola, one of our Ambassadors for VOFY! She will be starting college at Saint Louis University for the Medical Scholars Program to study psychology and she hopes to be a psychiatrist especially for the people who have Vitiligo. She has also been conducting research for the past three years about the psychological factors (using Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Ryff's Psychological Well-Being scale) people that are diagnosed with Vitiligo. She hopes to break the stigmas that are with vitiligo.
Susan George
Meet Susan George, one of our Ambassadors for VOFY! Susan is a senior at Marquette High School. She is an active individual in many organizations, many of which she also holds leadership positions. Susan has Chlorine-induced vitiligo where she obtains white patches when she’s exposed to chlorine especially in swimming pools. She believes that breaking the stigma around this disease is a social responsibility. She hopes to spread awareness about the condition and help others accept themselves. Vitiligo is beautiful!
Sarah George
Meet Sarah George! She is currently serving as your Miss Saint Louis’ Outstanding Teen. Through her platform, she has had a precedent of “Amplifying Silenced Voices through Advocacy.” In her vitiligo journey, she was told there was no cure for her rare skin disorder, but her experience is unique. She only attains vitiligo as an allergic reaction to excessive exposure to chlorine. She is so proud to be a VOFY ambassador!
Akaesha Negit
Meet akaesha! She is from Mumbai, India. She just graduated from 10th grade and is going on to study at a boarding school in the UK. She plans on pursuing medicine and has had Vitiligo for about 8 years now. Vitiligo is what inspired her to be a doctor, cause her recovery wasn’t a smooth one. She went from one doctor to another, each one not exactly knowing what was wrong. Vitiligo is something that now she is so proud of having. It’s made her a better person as it’s shown her how awful a person can feel about their looks. Doing social work is something she has always strived to do.
Danielle Wheeler
Danielle Wheeler is vitiligan, vegan, marathoner from Mississippi. She's the author of a self published children's book called, "I've Got Spots!" The book is about a young girl learning to accept and embrace her vitiligo aka spots. Danielle has also recently released the book in an e-book format as well as a song about vitiligo. She has a few GIFS coming out later this week, as well as the release of the music video to accompany "I've Got Spots!" A song about vitiligo. She recently moved to Portland, Oregon with her husband and two cats. She plans to continue creating awareness and content in various ways so that children growing up with this condition can see themselves represented in songs, characters, and stories. She thinks we should all be working to help make the world a more loving and inclusive place for people to thrive.