After spending most of her career behind the scenes, Naomi Bulochnikov-Paul took center stage at the Race to Erase MS Gala on Friday night.
Bulochnikov-Paul, who serves as executive vice president of communications for Disney Television Entertainment, was honored with the Medal of Hope at the event, in recognition of her battle with multiple sclerosis. Receiving her award from Nancy Davis, founder of the Center Without Walls and an MS advocate, the executive director admitted, “When Nancy first asked me to do this, I hesitated—not because I didn’t want to, but because I was afraid. Will people look at me differently? Is this bad for my career? Will my kids worry about me?”
But she continued, “I knew being here tonight was important, and I decided I wouldn’t let MS define me. I’ve spent my entire career in communications, and I know how to own a story, and I’m sure they will own mine.”
Bolotnikov-Paul noted how she has come to know Community Jameel since her diagnosis, and gave special mention to her colleagues at Disney for their support as she reached the top. She told the room at the Fairmont Century Plaza how Dana Walden, Disney’s president and chief creative officer, “came to my first doctor’s appointment with a notebook and a pen as if it were the most important meeting of her day. After the appointment, she asked me if I wanted to take some time off. I said no because what I needed at that moment was normalcy, and what she said next set me on the path that got me here. ‘MS doesn’t know what’s going to happen to it,'” she said.
Walden also helped Bulochnikov-Paul find her doctor, as she explained: “The things that had previously filled my days, none of that would change. I was going to continue to do my job and do it well. And Dana, thank you for never expecting anything less.” The communications doctor also gave a shoutout to Disney Entertainment Television President Debra O’Connell, “who is always in my corner all the time — especially the hours when normal people are asleep,” as well as her husband and their three sons.
“Ultimately, none of us knows what will happen tomorrow,” Bulochnikov-Paul said in conclusion. “All any of us can do is choose how we live. You can live in fear or you can live in power – every day I choose the latter.”
The event raised over $1.8 million for the Race to Erase MS and its Center Without Walls program, a collaboration of top MS research centers working together to treat and ultimately cure MS. Jesse Palmer hosted the evening, which also included performances by Ty Dolla $ign, Rachel Platten, Richie Sambora, Dancing with the stars Professionals Alan Bersten and Emma Slater, plus a fashion show from L’AGENCE.
