Name: Amy R. Harrison Turci
Age: 36
Family: Husband, Luca Turci; son, Alessandro (Alex)
Education: University of Florida (BA, JD, MBA)
Admitted to the Bar: 2000
Employed by: Ford & Harrison
Field of practice: Labor and employment law on behalf of management.
Professional organizations: Federal Bar Association, The Jacksonville Bar Association, Jacksonville Women Lawyers Association, Associated Builders and Contractors, First Coast Chapter (HR Council and Women’s Council), First Coast Manufacturers Association.
Community involvement: March of Dimes
How did you get involved?
In high school I was involved with March of Dimes through the youth leadership group Chain Reaction. On Jan. 6, 2010, our son Alex was born 8 weeks premature, weighing 4 pounds, 1 ounce, and spent his first month of life in the NICU. My appreciation for the medical advances that have allowed Alex to become the healthy 15-month-old he is now renewed my commitment to the immensely important research funded by March of Dimes.
How can someone else get involved?
The Jacksonville Bar Association is organizing a walk team for the March of Dimes March for Babies Saturday in Downtown Jacksonville. Please visit the website at www.marchforbabies.org/team/t1526481 to donate or join the JBA Team.
What have you learned through this experience?
The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. While the March of Dimes is one of the best known charities in the country, many are unaware of the breadth of the advancements made through funding from the March of Dimes. For example, if you know a baby born prematurely, who received lifesaving surfactant therapy to help with breathing, or you know a baby who has been treated in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, your life has been affected by the March of Dimes. In addition, if you knew to take folic acid prior to pregnancy in order to prevent neural tube defects (i.e. Spina Bifida), or you knew that drinking during pregnancy can cause Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, the leading cause of preventable mental retardation, or if you or a baby you know was born after 1968, the year the first newborn screen for life-threatening but treatable disorders was available to all babies, your life has been affected by the March of Dimes.
What was the last book you read or are reading?
“We, the Drowned,” by Carsten Jensen, and “Blood, Bones and Butter: The Inadvertent Education of A Reluctant Chef,” by Gabrielle Hamilton.