Hello, my name is Miriam Shepher and I am honored to be chosen as one of NAPW’s “Women in the Spotlight”. I am the co-founder and president of Life Alert Emergency Response, the industry leader in personal emergency response, and whose ads spawned one of the most memorable television lines in history, “Help! I've fallen and I can't get up!” This slogan was ranked #1 on USA Today’s, List of Most Memorable Ad Campaigns, and voted one of the top 20 catch phrases of all time by TV Land. But more importantly, Life Alert saves a life from catastrophe every 11 minutes and is the only company ever endorsed by former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, M.D.

In the 1970’s, my husband, Isaac, and I came from Israel with little money, but we knew that our marketing savvy and good product ideas would somehow pay off. While raising three children, I worked with my husband in various business fields. However, it wasn’t until surviving a frightening home invasion by men with guns, that we began formulating ideas related to personal protection. Coming across a security system with two-way voice communication, we saw its potential as a home protection service that could send help fast at a touch of a button, and thus, an industry of personal protection was born. Life Alert not only saves lives but has allowed me to become involved with many charities and causes, such as, The National Association of GLBT, known as The Aguda, which supports the rights, issues, and social services of the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender community in Israel. In addition, Isaac and I are dedicated to educating the public on personal safety and protection.