Gretchen Carlson to Speak at 19th Annual NACDS Foundation Dinner

Gretchen Carlson, an advocate for children’s health and for women in the workplace, will join an evening dedicated to public health.

Arlington, Va. – The 19th Annual National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Foundation Dinner will feature remarks by Gretchen Carlson, one of the nation’s most successful and recognized news anchors, a best-selling author, and a tireless advocate for women in the workplace and for children’s health. The event will be held November 29, 2017, in New York City.

Named one of TIME’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” for 2017, Carlson most recently hosted “The Real Story” on Fox News for three years. Prior to that, she co-hosted the top-rated cable morning news show “Fox and Friends” for more than seven years. A no-holds-barred political reporter and commentator, Carlson is known for her witty and astute insights on the political climate, news of the day, and the stories making headlines across the globe.

“We are thrilled to present to NACDS Foundation supporters a true professional who is on the leading edge of journalism,” said NACDS Foundation President Kathleen Jaeger. “While Gretchen Carlson is widely recognized and respected for her remarkable journalism career, her leadership in children’s health issues also will be of particular interest and appreciation for the NACDS Foundation family. She serves as a national Trustee for the March of Dimes, with which the NACDS Foundation has worked closely on issues including Zika awareness and prevention. Also, this year she created the Gift of Courage Fund to empower young girls by helping them build self-esteem and confidence. Gretchen Carlson will contribute tremendous energy, passion and insights to our evening and we look forward to welcoming her.”

Carlson began her career as a political reporter, and later served as an anchor and reporter in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Dallas. She moved onto the national scene as the co-host of “The Saturday Early Show” on CBS in 2000, where she also served as a CBS News correspondent covering the G-8 Summit in Genoa, Italy; the Timothy McVeigh execution; the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks; the Bush-Gore election; and many other national and international stories. She also reported and produced a 30-part series on domestic violence that won several national awards.

An accomplished author, Carlson’s first book, Getting Real, became a national best-seller in 2015. Her hot-off-the-presses latest book – published October 24, 2017 – is Be Fierce: Stop Harassment and Take Your Power Back. In January 2017, Carlson was tapped as a columnist for TIME’s online “Motto” newsletter, where her writing focuses on issues largely relating to women in the workforce as well as women’s empowerment issues. Carlson was also a 2017 New York Women in Communications Matrix Award Winner.

An honors graduate of Stanford University, Carlson was valedictorian of her high school class and studied at Oxford University in England. She grew up as a child prodigy on the violin, performed as a soloist with the Minnesota Symphony Orchestra at age 13, and, in 1989, became the first classical violinist ever to win the Miss America crown.

In addition to her roles with the March of Dimes and her Gift of Courage Fund, Carlson is a member of the Board of Directors for the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary in Newtown, Connecticut, and a Trustee of Greenwich Academy, an all-girls preparatory day school in Greenwich, Connecticut. She is an active volunteer and teacher at her church and, in 2016, hosted the “Miss You Can Do It” pageant in Illinois to celebrate the achievements of courageous girls and young women with disabilities.

Also during the NACDS Foundation Dinner, the NACDS Foundation will bestow its highest honor to a public health champion who also has been instrumental in Houston’s Hurricane Harvey response and recovery efforts: Umair A. Shah, M.D., M.P.H., executive director and local health authority for Harris County (Texas) Public Health (HCPH), and president of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO).

As announced previously on October 26, Dr. Shah will accept the NACDS Foundation’s 2017 Excellence in Patient Care Award for his extraordinary public health service, and that of his team, on behalf of the 4.5 million people in Harris County, the third largest county in the nation. In addition to the hurricane response, under Dr. Shah’s leadership, HCPH has also initiated innovative public-private partnerships aimed at preventing diseases—including Zika virus and tuberculosis—through emerging technologies. This fall, his department launched a fleet of large, recreational vehicles, including a mobile medical unit, a mobile dental unit, a mobile mosquito museum, a nutritional assistance unit, an environmental health unit, a mobile pet adoption unit, and a mobile command center, all in an effort to take the services of the health department into the community. HCPH also initiated a Public Health Innovations Lab (PHI Lab), a novel concept in emerging public health practice that provides a unique space to grow, develop, expand or sustain an innovative idea in a 12-week long accelerator program. In 2016, HCPH was the recipient of NACCHO’s Local Health Department of the Year Award.

The NACDS Foundation funds evidence-based research, educational programs and philanthropic initiatives designed to improve patient outcomes and advance public health. In one of its most recent projects with the University of New Mexico, the Foundation is evaluating the impact of expanding access to community testing for latent tuberculosis infections. Through the NACDS Foundation Scholarship Program, the Foundation provides grants to schools and colleges of pharmacy for innovative educational programs.

More information about the NACDS Foundation Dinner is available online.

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Editor’s Note: Gretchen Carlson replaces the previously announced speaker, whose appearance would not be possible due to unforeseen circumstances.