Molly E. Holzschlag

Molly E. Holzschlag, known to many as “mollydotcom” or just plain “Mols” is an author, teacher and Open Web Evangelist. She has spent the majority of her 30 years in IT working with the Internet, and observed the Web emerge and evolve from its first days at CERN. She has spent the years since educating herself and others about the Web, its languages, and its core philosophies.

Once an invited expert to the W3C, Molly worked globally to connect consumers, businesses, Web designers, developers, browser implementors and tool makers; encouraging cultural diplomacy, technical interoperability and professional excellence.

Honored by multiple organizations and sites as one of the most influential women on the Web, a long-time friend and colleague once quipped “If Tim Berners-Lee is the father of the Web, than Molly is its fairy godmother.

On July 15, 2013 Molly collapsed in Los Angeles International Airport on her way home from the highly respected and notable Web industry event she and a variety of wonderful colleagues spearheaded, OpenWebCamp. Within several days of emergency evaluation and return home to Tucson, Molly was diagnosed with severe Pancytopenia, a blood condition where all three blood cells are severely compromised, resulting in aplastic anemia and bone marrow suppression.

Molly endured two types of chemotherapy treatments over the first year and a half since that time. While she has come through the worst of it and has triumphantly made it to remission and improvement of her bone marrow disorder, the damage resulting from years of subclinical problems combined with damage from chemotherapy has resulted in a chronic form of Pancytopenia. The condition is life threatening and ultimately fatal in most patients who do not respond to treatment, particularly those older than 30 and with existing health issues. Chemotherapy for Molly has given her the opportunity for life extension, reaching a normal lifespan under optimal conditions. The risks are very high, however, and currently Molly is unavailable for work. She does, however, stay active in tech, personal and general fun via social media.

Warm, colorful, and interested in everyone’s stories and successes, please feel free to say hello to Molly on one of her social media streams. She enjoys hearing from readers a great deal, particularly during this isolated time.