Martha Booz

My life has been deeply affected by my marriage to a man with Asperger's Syndrome, a kind of high-functioning autism. His disability greatly affected his earning capacity, with consequences to his family, me, our two daughters, and to our marriage, which ended in 1991. I have spent a considerable amount of life's energy helping him figure out what was wrong, and helping him improve his situation. He and I are very close friends.

Daughter Ginger, 25, is having a baby in July, 2002, our first grandchild. She and her fiancé Jamal Bisherat will marry in May, 2003, and may move to Jordan, where his father's family is from. She is working for Bloomberg as newsroom administrator for the San Francisco news bureau. There is a picture of them together on my web site, http://www.calnatives.com.

Daughter Julia, 21, is at San Francisco State, majoring in creative writing. She is at the center of the kids-her-age culture in the Bay Area. She knows all the bands, goes to a lot of shows, dances, works part time at a bead store, and is trying to figure out her goals in life. Her 'zine that she created is posted on her dad's web site, http://www.inresco.org.

I have a plant tissue culture lab in my home. I lack only a few supplies to make it come to life. It is a hobby for my retirement, which won't be till I'm 70, due to the debt load I'm ended up with. I'm very concerned about global climate change, and am educating myself on this very important issue. I'm a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists, and an active environmentalist.

My job title is Project Manager for our World Wide Web site, http://www.bio-rad.com. I've worked at Bio-Rad Laboratories for over 18 years, having started the tech service department there about 12 years ago. I've spent most of my time at Bio-Rad as a technical resource for them, and building infrastructure for the Life Science Group. My resume is also on my web site, if you're interested in the detail. I find project management work very fulfilling.