Woman Changing the World honoree uses family history to inspire others to take their health to heart

伊丽莎白·罗姆一生中获得过很多头衔. 她是一位好莱坞女演员，出演过80多部电视和电影. 她是导演兼作家. But her roles as health advocate 和 philanthropist may be closest to her heart.

"I was raised by a woman who taught me I needed to think about others,她说. “妈妈鼓励我用自己的声音去帮助别人. 当我们经历困难的时候，我们需要成为别人的灯塔. 当裂缝发生时，光线就会进来."

罗姆了解艰难时期. She lost her mom, aunt 和 gr和mother to heart attacks when they were each in their 60s. Those losses now motivate her to share her family's story to encourage other women to prioritize their heart health.

十多年了, she has been a national volunteer for the 美国心脏协会 和 a strong advocate for 心肺复苏, which she said may have saved her family members if it had been performed on them. Rohm also shares her personal story 和 inspires others to prioritize heart health at AHA 心肺复苏 training events, 为女性加油论坛和午餐会, 以及红裙收藏音乐会.

因为她广泛的志愿者工作和对心脏健康的倡导, 罗姆是“改变世界女性奖”的获得者, which is given annually to a leader in their field or community who drives "significant change 和 outcomes that help forward the mission of the AHA." She will be honored May 2 during the AHA's online National 志愿者 Awards ceremony, 哪个节目下午6点开始.m. ，并开放予公众参观.

"By sharing her heartbreaking family history with cardiovascular disease, Elisabeth's powerful advocacy 和 unyielding work on our behalf has benefitted countless lives 和 moved our mission forward,美国心脏协会首席执行官南希·布朗说. "I am personally grateful for her dedication to the cause 和 her willingness to work with us side by side on so many fronts."

对于罗姆来说，与美国心脏协会合作在很多方面都是有益的.

"The 美国心脏协会 has been a collective family to me for the past 14 years,她说. "This award is a little bit of recognition in my relentless pursuit to not give up on the shared values I have with the AHA."

Some of those priorities include fundraising for cardiovascular disease research, 外展及教育. She also is vocal about women knowing their family health history 和 taking steps to reduce their risks. As mom to 16-year-old daughter Easton she knows how essential it is to guide the next generation.

"It's important to make heart health a family dialogue 和 use the past as a way to advocate for a better life in the future,她说. “我妈妈走了. I carry that torch now 和 know things may have been different if she changed her health habits or made different choices while she was alive."

在她的职业生涯, Rohm's acting credits include playing Assistant District Attorney Serena Southerlyn in the Emmy Award-winning television series 法律 & 订单 并出现在奥斯卡提名影片中 美国喧嚣 和 快乐. 在过去的几年里，她又做了一名电视导演.

Rohm also does philanthropy work for several organizations 和 is the co-founder 和 host of The RESPECT Project, which provides online 和 in-person cultural programming that celebrates diverse opinions 和 experiences. She's already planning to do more volunteering once Easton starts college in a couple of years. That work includes the AHA, which she values because of its strong support of women.

"I approach the 美国心脏协会 和 heart disease as a daughter,她说. "I'm just one voice in a chorus of people advocating for other women to slow down, 好好休息，照顾好自己的健康. 这可能看起来很自私, 但这正是我们需要做的, 和 it's what we need to teach our children so they can grow up learning to prioritize their health, 太."