Andrea R. Martin, 57; Founder, Former Head of Breast Cancer Fund
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Andrea Ravinett Martin, 57, the founder and former executive director of the Breast Cancer Fund, died Wednesday at her home in San Francisco following a two-year battle with brain cancer.
Martin founded the San Francisco-based group in 1992 after her second diagnosis of breast cancer. As executive director, she grew the organization from a fledgling funding body to a national advocacy force with more than 70,000 supporters.
Born in New York City, Martin grew up in Memphis and graduated from Tulane University. She earned her master’s degree in French from Tufts University, and moved to San Francisco in 1969 to teach language in high school.
She later decided to go to law school, and graduated from Hastings Law School in 1975. After practicing law for several years, she opened a successful, Memphis-style barbecue restaurant. She later worked on Dianne Feinstein’s successful U.S. Senate campaign.
A two-time breast cancer survivor, Martin was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in May of 2001.
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