By Marie Manning
Most women who run a small business, are raising a family and seeking balance in their lives don’t constantly scan the horizon for more causes to take on, but that’s what Karen Masterson owner of Nourish restaurant in Lexington is doing all the time. Karen pursues purpose in her life and the lives of others with an almost evangelical zeal.
Especially as she gets older Losing her mom last year has sharpened Karen’s focus even further—mortality has made her appreciate the great gift of a long life that we in developed countries enjoy. Karen thinks about women in other situations in other lands who do not have time to worry about aging, weight, wrinkles and grey hair because many die so young.
Karen’s non-profit organization This is My Face focuses on the creating positive messages for women about healthy aging and the great value of women in society. Attempting to create conversation around breaking free of the beauty and youth ideal promoted by advertising, Karen hopes that This is My Face will continue to grow and to provide support for women.
“Aging is not a disease,” Karen says. “For some reason we’ve been allowed to believe that wrinkles are some symptom of a disease called aging instead of embracing the fact that compared to other women in developing nations we get decades more time on earth.” It’s that time that Karen wants to harness. Coming from a great family of can-do women, Masterson always believed that she could do anything that she set her mind to. “If it needs doing, you do it,” she says with a laugh. I looked at my mom and my aunts and thought it looked like fun—being older! They had so much power and such a sense of adventure!”
Her mother was active in Edmonton, Canada doing everything from creating programs for youth in emergency shelters to running political campaigns. You could say that activism is in Karen’s blood. That Canadian can-do attitude guides her path. “The women in my family never saw getting older as a ‘problem,’ ” she says. Now she is struck by the amount of panic that women feel as they age. “I was thinking the other day that we need wise leadership, not unlined leadership,” she says. “What are we doing with the time and the resources that we are blessed to have? Masterson believes in the leadership potential of women and argues that they could be using their energy and their economic strength to serve others and not to serve undermining stereotypes perpetrated by a profit-driven business.
Karen understands however, that women come from all kinds of situations; that we each have to choose what works for us. For some, covering gray or even more extreme cosmetic procedures may help maintain positive self esteem and be necessary in the job market. However, she questions the constant drumbeat of societal messages that motivate women to believe that their worth is linked primarily to their appearance and therefore declines with age. And, she worries about the message that it sends to young girls.
“Recently I was listening to a show on National Public Radio and they were describing the obstetric fistula crisis for women in Africa and other underdeveloped nations,” she explains. Obstetric fistulas oc
cur in women who are often very young, malnourished or both. Their pelvises cannot accommodate normal delivery. These obstructed labors do not progress and there is no medical intervention available to assist them. It is not until the infant dies that its body will pass, and the woman is left with extensive tissue damage that makes control of bodily fluids impossible. Obstetric fistula has a devastating impact on the woman’s social and family life and most often leads to being abandoned and ostracized.
Because of that story, Masterson did some research and This is My Face held a fundraiser to support this cause. “I felt it was a good fit for This is My Face when you think that a procedure to heal a woman with this condition costs roughly the same as one shot of Botox ($450)!”
Masterson has also become interested in supporting local women in crisis who reside in shelters due to domestic abuse. She is working with a shelter in Framingham to explore partnering opportunities for This is My Face. Karen hopes that with advocacy and education, women from all walks of life can be helped and nourished.
Nourishment is what Karen intuitively provides. Her restaurant is dedicated to locally sourced products that nourish the health of the customer and the livelihood of the grower. Her non-profit work nourishes the self-esteem of those who volunteer as well as those who benefit from their fundraising. Karen even hopes to nourish a little creativity and merry making at her restaurant which has had a successful year presenting open-mic nights and local entertainment.
Mostly, Karen nourishes community. As a small business person Masterson has struggled along with everyone in this tough economy. Still she has continued her alliances with arts groups in town and recently displayed Soup Bowls for Hunger for the Lexington Arts and Crafts Society at the restaurant. Karen has also been known to sit in on meetings for the Lexington 300th Celebration often held at her restaurant!
Karen echoes what we hear from all our local business owners: how important it is for the community to support them. “When you walk in a merchants door it is like voting ‘Yes’; when you walk by it is ‘No.’ ” She is grateful that her business has seen growth in the past year despite the down economy, but she has worked hard at it. “I have a great life,” she says. “I wake up every day thinking about community and global issues and how I can help. So many problems are solvable when we work together.”
