After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2012, Kristine Werner Ozug "felt an overwhelming call to help the MS community." She went home that day and searched for ways to get involved, finding a fundraising walk taking place just two weeks later.
She signed up, finishing the event among the top fundraisers, then returned to her senior management role at Hewlett-Packard, where she led global teams and drove large-scale organizational change. She earned recognition as part of the company's top talent pool before the disease forced her into medical retirement in 2015. She drew on those professional skills, along with the critical thinking, writing and analytical prowess she had honed at Berry, to become a passionate advocate for research, public policy, education and MS-related fundraising. Jon Strum, founder and host of the RealTalk MS podcast, the most listened-to MS podcast in the world, also noted Kristine's commitment to providing one-on-one support to people newly diagnosed.
A Berry English graduate and former NAIA All-Conference tennis player for the Vikings, Kristine captained MS Walk teams for a decade while taking on increasing responsibility as a volunteer with the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. She provided patient-centered feedback on MS research proposals as a member of the national organization's community review panel. She also has served as secretary of its Georgia Board of Trustees and chair of its Government Relations Advisory Committee, testified before Georgia House and Senate committees on healthcare legislation, and met with lawmakers in Washington to discuss the importance of access to MS medications and research funding.
Her executive-level volunteer service also has extended to the Multiple Sclerosis Association of America (MSAA), the Atlanta Neuroscience Institute (ANI), and the Andrew C. Carlos MS Institute at Shepherd Center. She has engaged in clinical trial planning, patient-centered research review with the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), and contributions to published research.
Shepherd Center MS Institute medical director Dr. Ben Thrower described working with Kristine as "a professional peer and as her neurologist since 2012," praising the commitment behind her service: "Through her efforts, people living with MS have better access to healthcare and the latest therapies. Most of this work is done with no recognition and no pay. Kristine gives of herself tirelessly because she cares and she knows that she can make a difference."
Kristine served on the National MS Society Walk MS committee for years, helped plan Rome's Walk MS events at Berry, and enjoys conversations with prospective Berry students, student-athletes and their families, including helping English majors explore career possibilities through a liberal arts education.
