Trish Vradenburg (born 1946) is an American playwright, author, television writer, and Alzheimer’s Disease advocate.
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Vradenburg was born in Newark, New Jersey, the daughter of Beatrice and Judge Joseph Lerner. She graduated from Boston University in 1968, and became a speech writer for Senator Harrison A. Williams (D-NJ).[1]
She was a writer on three television shows.[2] In addition, she wrote the novel “Liberated Lady” (1986) as well as the plays “The Apple Doesn’t Fall…” and “Surviving Grace.”[3][4][5] Both of those plays are accounts of Vradenburg’s time as an Alzheimer’s caregiver for her mother, who died of the disease in 1991. Vradenburg is married to former AOL executive and philanthropist George Vradenburg. In 2008, Vradenburg and her husband founded US Against Alzheimer’s, a national advocacy network dedicated to stopping Alzheimer's.[6] She also sits on the board of Theater J[7] and DC Vote[8]
In 1986 Macmillan Publishers published Vradenburg's novel, Liberated Lady, which was described as a “comedic romance with a dash of politics.”[9] The book was chosen as Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selections. Further, Vradenburg was published in the anthology Chicken Soup for the Romantic Soul in 2000.[10]
In 1986, Vradenburg became a writer for the show Designing Women.[11] In addition, she also wrote for the shows Kate and Allie and Family Ties.[12] Her shows dealt with topics including abortion, homosexuality, race relations and high school reunions.[13] Vradenburg also wrote a pilot about life at a home shopping network, The Shopping Maul, for Merv Griffin Productions. Additionally she was the on-air host of Book This Show with Trish, a book show for Q2.[14]
Vradenburg wrote the play The Apple Doesn’t Fall... which was produced at the Tiffany Theater in Los Angeles and on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre in New York City[15], and Surviving Grace which was produced at the Kennedy Center in Washington and off-Broadway at the Union Square Theatre in New York. Surviving Grace was translated into Portuguese and produced in Brazil.[16]
Since 2000, Trish and George Vradenburg have served as co-publishers of Tikkun, a bi-monthly English-language magazine. Tikkun analyzes American and Israeli culture, politics, religion and history from a leftist-progressive viewpoint, and provides commentary about Israeli politics and Jewish life in North America. Vradenburg has also had opinion pieces published in several newspapers, including The Washington Post.[17]
For the past ten years Vradenburg has worked to stop Alzheimer’s Disease. Since 2003 she and her husband, George, have chaired the National Alzheimer’s Gala in Washington, D.C. which has raised over $9 million for the Alzheimer’s Association.[18] In 2006 the Vradenburgs launched USAgainstAlzheimer’s (USA2), an independent organization whose mission is to stop Alzheimer’s Disease by the year 2020. Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Nobel Laureate Stanley Prusiner and Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) joined the Vradenburgs for the launch of USAgainstAlzheimers.[19] USA2 fielded teams during the 2010 elections in key states to make Alzheimer’s a political issue. The organization generated support from over 50 senators and over 100 members of congress to pass the Alzheimer’s Breakthrough Act and the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA). NAPA, which charges the Secretary of Health and Human Services to map out a national strategic plan to address Alzheimer’s, was passed by Congress and, in January 2011, was signed into law by President Barack Obama.[20]