Special Guest:  Margaret Avery moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career in 1968. In 1973 her Los Angeles Drama Circle Award-winning performance in the play “Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?” caught the attention of Clint Eastwood and he quickly cast her in his film “Magnum Force”, serving as an entree for guest starring roles in numerous episodic T.V. shows and Blaxploitation films including “Scott Joplin”, “The Lathe of Heaven”, “The Return of Superfly” and “Heatwave”. She eventually got cast in her most widely recognized Academy-Award nominated role as Shug Avery in Steven Spielberg’s “The Color Purple”.

She is a new public advocate for continued Lupus research and education through the Lupus Foundation of America; a cause preempted by personally knowing individuals living with Lupus as well as playing a character who suffers from the disease on BET's Being Mary Jane. http://www.margaretaveryonline.com

Special Guest: Annette Myarick is the CEO for the Lupus Foundation of America’s (LFA) Philadelphia Tri-State Chapter. Prior to joining the LFA in 1991, she was with the Arthritis Foundation’s Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter for 14 years, most recently as the Vice President for Public Health Strategies. Annette has a Bachelor’s degree in Community Health Education from Temple University.