Upon joining the AAP as a legislative aide in Washington, D.C., in 1973, the late Elizabeth “Jackie” Noyes, M.A., FAAP (Hon.), began to blaze a trail as the consummate advocate for children. Now, her legacy will be cemented at the AAP thanks to her $2 million gift to the organization.
During a reception with family members Thursday night at AAP headquarters, leaders announced the creation of the board-designated Elizabeth Jackman Noyes Advocacy Endowment Fund.
“This is the largest gift from an individual to the AAP in its history,” AAP President Benjamin D. Hoffman, M.D., FAAP, said. “This means Jackie is going to be around for a long time. This means she will be able to continue to transform the lives of children and families through advocacy far into the future.”
The endowment and additional contributions to the fund will honor Ms. Noyes for her nearly four decades of service to the AAP and her legacy as one of the most influential people in pediatric health care policy. The fund will continue her commitment to building an advocacy program that transforms the lives of children and families.
In attendance during the announcement were members of the Board of Directors, staff and Ms. Noyes’ two nephews, Blanton and KC Cook.
“For me, it’s recognizing the appreciation that the Academy has for her,” Blanton Cook said. “When she passed away, you could sort of feel the true sorrow and thankfulness and appreciation for what she had done. How many millions of kids did she help over 30 years? It’s mind blowing to think about.”
Many at the Academy knew Ms. Noyes as director of the Washington, D.C., office. In the Capitol, she advocated for the Infant Formula Act of 1980, the Maternal and Child Health block grant, the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act and issues surrounding the Vaccines for Children program, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
But away from the Academy, she simply was known as “Aunt Jackie” to her nephews. Though she didn’t talk much about her work, the Cook family caught glimpses of what made her such a fierce advocate for child health.
“At her retirement night, there were stories being told about her sitting down with a senator or president and not backing down. Even though they felt they had gotten what they needed, Jackie wasn’t going to flinch and wasn’t going to move,” Blanton Cook said. “We saw that on our D.C. trips where you’re 10 years old and have already walked nine miles and Jackie asks if we had one more mile in us or one more Smithsonian museum in us, we knew we were going to one more. Things were never quiet when Jackie was around.”
KC Cook recalled spending time with Jackie during summers at the lake house her father built in North Carolina.
“We got two weeks of Jackie spoiling us with breakfast every morning, swimming across the lake with us, making us lunch and making us fettuccine alfredo or some kind of amazing dinner,” KC Cook said. “She basically spent all of her time doting on us and trying to spend as much time as she could with us. With Jackie, there was no wasted time.”
After their father Kenneth Sr. passed away in 2004, Jackie took on a different role to help the family.
“Jackie’s role shifted a lot with how much time she was devoting to making sure our mom was OK and making sure both of us were OK,” KC Cook said.
She continued to check on her nephews after their mother, Mimi, passed away in 2017.
In addition to her work at the AAP, Ms. Noyes served as chair of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines, was awarded honorary membership in the Society for Adolescent Medicine and was recognized with the U.S. Surgeon General’s Certificate of Appreciation for her “outstanding contributions to the health and welfare of America’s children and adolescents.”
As her retirement party was winding down in 2009 and she reflected on her career, Ms. Noyes talked about what else was left to accomplish.
“She said that really was a great night and she was really proud of what she got done,” KC Cook said. “But she said there was a little more she wanted to do.”
“Our jaws were on the floor,” Blanton Cook said. “It was the understatement of the century. She had just gotten inducted into the Library of Congress.”
Ms. Noyes died Oct. 21, 2023 while AAP leaders and members were in Washington, D.C., for the National Conference & Exhibition. Shortly after her death, leaders were notified of her generous gift.
“The fund says a lot about Jackie because it continues her incredible contribution to the Academy,” said AAP CEO/Executive Vice President Mark Del Monte, J.D.
Del Monte joined the Academy in 2005 as assistant director of the Washington office and calls Ms. Noyes a mentor and “giant in the history of the AAP.”
“You think of a Washington lobbyist, that doesn’t have the best connotation, but Jackie brought the most sophisticated lobbying techniques and taught all of us that children are worthy of the best lobbying in D.C. and taught generations of pediatricians how to do it,” Del Monte said. “She was a lobbyist herself and was an incredible teacher, an amazing mentor to those of us who had an opportunity to work for her. When she was hired in 1973, there weren’t a lot of women doing this work. There were no paths for her, so she just bulldozed them. She never once lost her grace or her charm and that is astonishing.”
To make a donation to the Elizabeth Jackman Noyes Advocacy Endowment Fund, visit https://aapnational.donorsupport.co/page/NoyesAdvocacyFund.
