Professional Position: Chief Advocacy & Engagement Officer/Executive Vice President, Community State and National Affairs
Company: AARP
Location: Bethesda, MD
As AARP's chief advocacy and engagement officer, Nancy LeaMond has responsibility for driving the organization’s social mission on behalf of Americans 50-plus and their families. Nancy leads government affairs and legislative campaigns for AARP, widely seen as one of the most powerful advocacy organizations in the country. She also manages public education programs, community engagement, and AARP’s network of more than 18,000 volunteers. Nancy’s team includes 700 staff members across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Nancy brings to the Association’s Board of Trustees extensive experience leading AARP’s health care initiatives and advocating for America’s 48 million family caregivers. Under her leadership, AARP has focused on helping caregivers find the support they need through advocacy, education, employer outreach, and innovative programs that connect them to local services and resources.
Since 2014, she has led efforts resulting in the passage of more 1,000 bipartisan caregiving bills across 53 states and territories, easing the burden for caregivers and enhancing their well-being. In 2023, Nancy championed President Biden’s Executive Order to strengthen the care economy by better integrating family caregivers into programs like Medicare and improving coordination across federal agencies. This important work is grounded in her personal experience as a caregiver. Nancy and her two millennial sons cared for her husband Stephen, who battled ALS for six years and passed away in 2019.
Nancy has managed many landmark advocacy campaigns for AARP, her leadership pivotal in maintaining consumer protections under the Affordable Care Act, fighting for Social Security and Medicare, and reducing health care costs for older Americans. Notably, AARP’s 2022 Fair Prices Now campaign resulted in historic prescription drug reforms, including a $35/month insulin cap and Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices.
Nancy also knows firsthand the importance of ensuring authentic voices are heard by elected officials, especially when it comes to the struggles faced by everyday Americans. She recently launched AARP’s In My Shoes initiative, which highlights the real-life challenges older Americans face and ensures elected officials hear their voices.
Nancy has been named by The Hill as a “Top Lobbyist” every year since 2011 and as one Washington, D.C.’s Most Influential People Shaping Policy in the health care category by Washingtonian Magazine four years in a row. In 2020, she received the first-ever Lifetime Achievement award from the Women in Government Relations. The National Institute for Lobbying & Ethics also named Nancy one of its 2020 and 2022 Top Lobbyists.
