Karen Gaffney

Karen Gaffney is the president of the Karen Gaffney Foundation, a non-profit organization headquartered in Portland, Oregon "dedicated to championing the journey to full inclusion for people with Down Syndrome and other disabilities."[1][2]

Karen Gaffney
BornNovember 3, 1977
Mountain View, California[1]
NationalityAmerican
Known forAdvocate for people with disabilities, long distance swimming
WebsiteThe Karen Gaffney Foundation

Biography

Gaffney was born in California in 1977. She became the first person with Down syndrome to complete a relay swim of the English Channel in 2001.[3] Her 2007 swim across the nine mile span of Lake Tahoe became the subject of the documentary Crossing Tahoe: A Swimmer's Dream.[4][5] In 2009, she swam across Boston Harbor, a distance of five miles, to celebrate Down Syndrome Month in Massachusetts.[6] She has also earned two gold medals from the Special Olympics, and completed 16 swims across San Francisco Bay, including the Escape from Alcatraz triathlon.[7] In 2010, she received the Global Down Syndrome Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award.[8]

Karen Gaffney became the first living person with Down syndrome to receive an honorary doctorate degree when she received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the University of Portland on May 5, 2013, for her work in raising awareness regarding the abilities of people who have Down syndrome.[9][10]

Karen Gaffney graduated from St. Mary's Academy high school in Portland in 1997, and in 2001 she graduated from Portland Community College with an Associate of Science degree and a teacher's aide certificate.[2]

References
  1. Peterson, Julie. "Articles: Down Syndrome Spokeswoman Stays In the Swim". Yakima Herald. The Karen Gaffney Foundation. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  2. "Karen Gaffney Resume". The Karen Gaffney Foundation. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  3. "Karen Gaffney braves the elements to complete Boston Harbour swim | Down Syndrome International". Ds-int.org. March 1, 2010. Archived from the original on March 18, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  4. "Crossing Tahoe: A Swimmer's Dream: Karen Gaffney, Will Schermerhorn: Movies & TV". Amazon. March 2008. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  5. Johnston, Charlie; Bick, Krystal (May 2008). "Intrepid Swimmers". Nevada Magazine. ISSN 0199-1248. Archived from the original on August 8, 2011. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  6. "Woman makes a splash for Down Syndrome awareness". WHDH-TV. October 8, 2009. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  7. Nilprabhassorn, Jett (August 28, 2000). "Articles: The Channel Challenge". The Winged M Magazine. The Karen Gaffney Foundation. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  8. "Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award Recipients". Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  9. "Dr. Karen Gaffney: First living person with Down syndrome to receive honorary doctorate". YouTube. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  10. "Dr. Karen Gaffney, first living person with Down Syndrome receives honarary [sic] doctorate". May 8, 2013.
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