ALUMNI ASSOCIATION PRESENTS 2008 DISTINGUISHED ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Nancy Loving '68 was well on her way to launching her own public relations firm when she experienced an event that would steer her significant PR skills and formidable personal characteristics in a new direction.
At age 48, Nancy was struck by what Dr. Sharonne N. Hayes, director of the women’s heart clinic and associate professor in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, calls a “drive by heart attack,” and turned that “terrifying and depression-inducing experience into a national campaign to prevent, recognize, and optimally treat heart disease in women.”
The story of Nancy Loving’s professional and personal dedication to the well-being of women began immediately after graduation in 1968 as one of Professor John Lukács’s star history majors. This Baltimore native first worked with young mothers who had abused or neglected their children, then moved on to a residential facility for delinquent girls, and later managed a caseload of more than 300 welfare mothers in North Philadelphia.
Following additional education — a master’s degree in public policy and social planning at Bryn Mawr College and further post-graduate studies in public policy at The Wharton School — Nancy moved to Washington, D.C., and continued to work for women’s rights at the national policy level while forging her career in public relations.
By 1990, Nancy’s professional accomplishments were recognized in her rise to the position of vice president at Burson-Marsteller, the world’s largest public relations firm. Five years later, she formed Lomax, Loving & Lee, LLC, a Washington firm providing public relations services to major corporations and non-profit organizations, at about the time that she suffered her near-fatal heart attack.
This life-changing event of 13 years ago set Nancy Loving on a new path. She vowed that what happened to her — the social isolation, the misdiagnosis, and the medical mistreatment — would never happen to another woman. As she says, she was “called” to found WomenHeart, the nation’s only advocacy organization serving the 10 million women living with heart disease. She served as executive director and CEO of this Washington, D.C.,-based organization from 2000 to 2007, increasing its annual budget from zero to a shoestring to $2.1 million in five years, raising $8 million overall, and growing its membership to 16,000.
During her five-year tenure, Nancy created and directed a scientific advisory board composed of prominent physicians; formed a corporate advisory committee of Fortune 500 company executives; assembled and mobilized a coalition of 100+ national civic, healthcare, and women’s organizations to activate their constituents and promote quality care on Capitol Hill and in state legislatures; directed and participated in healthcare reform efforts and in coalitions that resulted in passage of the Medicare reform bill; directed the bi-annual National Conference and Advocacy Institute for patient advocates, and forged policy partnerships with a number of Fortune 500 pharmaceutical companies.
Jennifer Mieres, M.D., director of nuclear cardiology and associate professor of medicine at NYU Medical Center, notes that Nancy’s “vision, tenacity and outstanding characteristics as a leader were instrumental in bringing the topic of women and heart disease to the White House and getting the attention of the President and First Lady. As a result of her efforts and collaborations with the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute,” Dr. Mieres notes, “the first Friday in February is dedicated to heart disease in women, with First Lady Laura Bush as national spokesperson on this topic.” Her efforts with WomenHeart have been featured in Fortune and More magazines.
Kristen S. Williams, director of alliance development and stakeholder relations for AstraZeneca, recalls inviting Nancy to join a meeting of leaders in cardiovascular health and company executives to discuss heart disease and barriers to patient treatment. “Through Nancy’s efforts, WomenHeart has a ‘seat at the table’ where health decisions are made every day.” What’s more, Ms. Williams notes, Nancy “worked deliberately and tirelessly to ensure that WomenHeart represented ALL women, regardless of race, ethnicity, income, and age.” Nancy “will leave a distinguished legacy of service to this world for her efforts to improve the quality of life of women with heart disease.”
Nancy is an advisory panelist on The White House/Office of Management and Budget; the National Academy of Sciences/Institute of Medicine, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. She is a member of the adjunct faculty of Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and a consultant to the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the International Institute for Women’s Political Leadership. Nancy is now director of communications & marketing for YWCA USA.
Tenacious…an “advocate’s advocate”… an inspirational, effective, and visionary leader…passionate…dedicated…all characteristics attributed to Nancy Loving and her significant achievements. “Her work epitomizes the mission of justice and improved healthcare for women living with and at risk for heart disease,” summarizes Dr. Mieres.
The Chestnut Hill College Alumni Association is proud to present its 2008 Distinguished Achievement Award to Nancy Loving, Class of 1968, for her outstanding advocacy efforts in the public policy arena, disease awareness education, and improved access to heart health care for women.
The Distinguished Achievement Award recognizes living graduates of Chestnut Hill College who have produced a history of accomplishment in their business or profession or in civic, philanthropic, or other volunteer activities. The 2008 honoree joins 11 alumnae who have received this Alumni Association award since its introduction in 2000.
