About Us                                                                                                                  

Our Story

Janet and Laura Greenwald are one of the only mother/daughter writing teams in the entertainment industry. After being introduced to the industry by Michael Landon, they began their careers in production on sitcoms at studios including MGM, Warner Bros. and Universal. Soon they found themselves going in a more creative direction, segueing into a mother and daughter writing team. 

After a stint writing and producing corporate and industrial films for Emmy winning Sunbreak Digital Multimedia, and freelance assignments for publications including Screen Magazine, the duo began writing original television and motion picture projects. Bringing a unique two-generational voice to their work, Janet and Laura have created original one-hour series and features including "Capitol Hill", "Without Consent", "Unresolved Acts", "Reach for the Stars", "Hidden Agenda" and "The System". 

The day a jumbo jet crashed right across the street from their home, taught Janet and Laura more than they wanted to know about the importance of being prepared for unexpected disasters.  So did living in tornado country and then moving to earthquake and wildfire country in California.  But it was actually a medical emergency that put the mother/daughter screenwriting team on the path to creating the revolutionary disaster readiness system, “Ready In 10”.  It all began when a fall at home in Chicago, rendered Jan’s mother Elaine, unable to speak.  Two thousand miles away in LA, her daughter and granddaughter had no idea she’d been injured or hospitalized.  Although the hospital had no medical history and no idea what prescription drugs she’d been taking, they waited 6 ½ days to notify Jan and Laura of her hospitalization.  Before her daughter and granddaughter could get to her bedside, Elaine died from complications of a completely avoidable drug interaction, unnecessarily and alone.

Besides discovering that it had been caused by massive medical negligence, Jan and Laura found out how long the hospital had waited to tell them Elaine had been hospitalized.  They were positive that the hospital must have broken a law by not calling them sooner, but they discovered that there were no laws regulating next of kin notification in Illinois or California, even if the patient is unconscious or is unable to communicate. 

Laura and Jan teamed with legislators to write and enact three Next of Kin Laws in Illinois and California, then created “Notify In 7,” the first system in the nation to provide hospitals with the tools and techniques they need, to notify and reunite unconscious emergency room patients with their loved ones, their medical history and in some cases, their identity.   

While watching the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina – especially the horror of families not being able to locate loved ones, and unidentified victims, being treated without vital medical history – Laura and Jan decided to combine everything they had learned about disaster readiness with the tools they had designed for “Notify in 7,” to give families across America an innovative and effective new way to prepare for disasters.   “Ready In 10” goes beyond stockpiling water and emergency supplies.  It’s designed to help families get the vital information and items they need, keepsakes they treasure and people they love, through nearly any disaster in one piece, and back to living their normal lives, as quickly and painlessly as possible.

As writers they have now come full circle, writing and producing a video for NOKEP featuring Leeza Gibbons, Stefanie Powers and Josh Taylor to help get the word out about the Next of Kin Law, and by turning their experiences into a screenplay called "Without Consent" which they hope will help keep other families from going through the same thing.   Jan and Laura are also looking forward to producing their original movies and television series and getting settled in a new studio home. 

The Ready In 10 Network Blog

President's Volunteer Service Award

This month Laura Greenwald received President Obama's Volunteer Service Award.  Congratulations on this amazing honor!  

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A handshake with the Governor after signing the Next of Kin Law

Our Feature Film "Without Consent"

As the bio says, one of the most important things to us, is to share our story, not only to tell people what can happen to the people they love when a medical emergency strikes, but to help other people keep the same thing from happening in their own lives. 

Since we're screen and television writers, we knew the best way for us to do this, was to turn our experiences into a movie.  The result is "Without Consent" a screenplay for a feature film, that is already attracting attention from producers and actors.  People have called it "The Pelican Brief" meets "A Civil Action".  Keep checking back for updates.

What Others are Saying About NOKEP & Stuf

Recommendations

“Laura & Janet's passion and service dedicated to the public & their personal well being has been a massive inspiration for us since we began our relationship with them and the Next of Kin Education Project in 2005. They have taken on an invaluable task here that impacts all of us.  We give Laura, Janet and their life's work our highest recommendation.”  

Brian Ouellette, CEO  Shoewallet

“Laura is a friend, colleague, problem solver and visionary that has taken tragedy in her own life and turned it into purpose and meaning. She has taken ideas outside the box to provide a solution. To know Laura is an honor and a privilege. I could go on and on about her accomplishments and accolades. In this country we only have a handful of problem solvers that can truly get it done when tasked, “That’s Laura”.”

Mark Cerney, Founder  The Next of Kin Registry

Celebrities Speaking Out For NOKEP & Safety Issues

Leeza Gibbons did us the honor of  speaking on behalf of the Next of Kin Bill, which protects hospital patient's right to have their emergency contacts called within 24 hours.  The bill was made into law in California and Illinois and is now under consideration in Congress.