Laura G. Schwanger of Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, is a United States Army veteran who has multiple sclerosis (MS). She is currently a member of United Spinal Association Board of Directors and longtime Administrator of the organization’s Philadelphia Office.

Ms. Schwanger is an accomplished Paralympic wheelchair athlete who captured a total of 11 medals among the 1988 Seoul Games, the 1992 Barcelona Games, and the 1996 Atlanta Games. Amazingly, after a 2006 breast cancer diagnosis, Ms. Schwanger battled back by taking on a new sport—rowing—and qualified at the 2007 World Rowing Championships in Munich, Germany for the upcoming Paralympic Games in Bejing, China.