Nancy Davenport-Ennis, cancer survivor, is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of two organizations she founded in 1996, National Patient Advocate Foundation (NPAF), a policy organization, headquartered in Washington, DC that seeks to improve access to care through regulatory and policy initiatives at the state and federal levels and Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF), a 501(c)3 direct patient services non-profit organization, headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, that provides professional case management services to insured, under-insured and un-insured patients diagnosed with chronic, debilitating and life-threatening conditions. PAF also has an office in Mission Valley, California and home office case management support in Iowa, Tennessee, Nevada and New York.

Davenport-Ennis was recently appointed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to serve on the Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERTs) Committee. She was also appointed by the National Institutes of Health to serve on its Open Ended Working Group (OEWG). In the past, she has been appointed to, or has served on, several national committees including an appointment by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services as a Commissioner on the American Health Information Community (AHIC) with Health and Human Services (HHS) serving as Co-Chair of the Consumer Empowerment Working Group for AHIC, Directors Consumer Liaison Group (DCLG) with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a voting seat on the Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee (MCAC) at Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Access to Quality Cancer Care Team, a committee of C-Change, One Voice Against Cancer, Virginia Governor’s Government & Regulatory Reform Task Force, Virginia Attorney General’s Regulatory and Government Reform Task Force-Healthcare Working Group, Health Information Technology Council for Virginia and the Mayor’s Committee on Medicaid and Physician Recruitment in Newport News, VA.

Davenport-Ennis also serves on the Board of Directors for Friends of Cancer Research, the Advisory Board for the Intercultural Cancer Council, external Board of Review for the Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis, MO, the PRR Advisory Board for Oncology Times, In-Touch, Coping and Managed Care and Cancer magazines. She has testified as a Congressional witness before the Senate and House committees addressing access issues confronting patients. In 2009, Davenport-Ennis testified before the Senate HELP Committee to address health care reform proposals for coverage and reimbursement, and also testified before the Federal Coordinating Council to address comparative effectiveness reform. In 2008, she testified before the Senate Finance Committee to address charity care practices in non-profit hospitals, and testified before Administrator Astrue of the Social Security Administration (SSA) to address Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) reform recommendations for compassionate allowances.

Throughout her career in patient advocacy, Davenport-Ennis’ expertise has been sought by national and local media outlets for news articles addressing access issues confronting patients and reflecting the value of case management and/or legal interventions. She has served as a source for articles appearing in The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, US News and World Report, USA Today, Washington Post, The Boston Globe; Houston Chronicle, The Daily Press, The Virginian Pilot, Inside CMS, Family Circle Magazine; Parade Magazine, Readers Digest; Prevention Magazine, Self Magazine, All You, AARP Bulletin, Real Simple Magazine, Glamour Magazine, Nursing Spectrum, Business Week, Hematology Oncology Times, Physicians Practice Magazine, Coping Magazine, Women and Cancer, American Family Physician Monograph on Cancer, CNN, NBC Nightly News, Good Morning America, CBS affiliate stations, and the Lifetime Network.

In 2008, Ms. Davenport – Ennis was selected by Yoplait and Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure as a Yoplait Champion for her tireless efforts in fighting breast cancer. She also joined the Stand Up 2 Cancer (SU2C) Advisory Council, a national movement to end cancer. In 2007, PAF was named one of the “Top 25 Places to Work” in Hampton Roads by Inside Business. PAF was also awarded the Distinguished Merit Citation by the Peninsula Chapter of the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities in February 2008.

Ms. Davenport-Ennis is the recipient of the 2005 Women in Business Achievement Award presented by Anthem and Business Week. Davenport-Ennis was honored with the 1989 Outstanding Young Woman of America Award, the Association of Community Cancer Centers Advocate of the Year Award and the U.S. Oncology Medal of Honor Award. Ms. Davenport-Ennis was also appointed to the Governor’s Commission on the Uninsured in Virginia. Davenport-Ennis was also named as a Paul Harris Fellow by the National Rotary Foundation. Davenport-Ennis holds a B.A. degree in English from Campbell University. She resides in Yorktown, Virginia with her husband, John H. Ennis, Jr. and has two daughters and four grandchildren.