Nancy Brown (left) and Alice Walton (Photo: American Heart Association/Steven Ironside)
Time Magazine released the 2025 Time100 Health List, naming 100 people “the most influential in the health world right now,” and two North Texas women have created the list.
This list highlights the impact, innovation and achievement of leaders dedicated to creating concrete and reliable change in a healthier population.
To create the list, led by Emma Barker Bonomo and Mandy Oaklander and led by Dr. David Agus and Arianna Huffington, Time’s health correspondent and editor said, “I spent several months on sources and experts around the world.
The two North Texas Time 100 Health recipients are Dallas-based Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, and Nancy Brown, a Fort Worth-based heir to Fort Worth-based Walmart, Alice Walton, a well-known art curator and renowned art curator of the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine in Bentonville, Bentonville, Arkansas.
Another recipient, with local ties, billionaire philanthropist and businessman Melinda French Gates, is based in Seattle, but was born and raised in Dallas. She attended St. Monica’s Catholic School and Ursulin Academy in Dallas, where she was able to attend higher education at Duke University.
Details of the two local winners and why they were chosen can be found below.
Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association
Brown has been CEO of the American Heart Association since 2008. Under her leadership, she has become a global force in transforming the way heart disease and stroke are understood, treated and prevented, the number one and second cause of death worldwide. “A relentless advocate for patients, families and caregivers, Brown accelerated the association’s life-saving research, science and innovation to help people live longer and healthier lives,” the association said.
For example, it was built on the association’s Go Red on Women’s Initiative by launching a $75 million Go Red for Women’s Venture Fund in 2024 to address the historic lack of investment in women’s health, where only 2% of the funds for healthcare ventures in 2023 are dedicated to women’s health.
Brown is also the driving force behind the association’s Nation of LifeSavers initiative, aiming to double survival rates from sudden cardiac arrest until 2030.
“It is a great honor to receive this recognition and be mentioned along with innovators who work to change the health future of communities around the world,” Brown said in a statement. “This recognition is a homage to dedicated volunteers, patients, supporters and staff who advocate for the American Heart Association’s life-saving efforts. It promotes health and hope for everyone, anywhere.”
“We expect care to change in the not-too-distant future due to the funding we can provide and the real dedication of these scientists,” Brown told Time.
Alice Walton, founder of the School of Medicine
Alice Walton, the only daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton, is the wealthiest woman in the world. And she focuses on the persuasive cause that affects everyone: health.
After going through a series of hospital visits to treat bone infections from a car accident, she realized that the US healthcare system was “broken.”
In response, she established the Alice Walton School of Medicine, which will open in Bentonville, Arkansas this July. The school trains physicians with “an innovative approach to addressing the entire patient, including behavior, lifestyle, and physical symptoms.”
“Doctors are not trained in nutrition and preventive care. “The health system and medical schools are simply responding to what the system is incentivizing.”
“I wanted to create a school where doctor training can really move towards number one, how to keep patients healthy and number two, financial incentives for the system and value-based payments,” Walton added.
The school is located near the Bridges Museum’s American Museum. Walton opened in 2011 to share her famous art collection with the general public. Naturally, the curated selection of art adorned the walls of her new Holistic-Health Medical School.
To see the 2025 full-time 100 health list, click here.
Don’t miss the following. Subscribe to Dallas Innovates.
Track the Dallas-Fort Worth business and innovation landscape, using curated news in your inbox from Tuesday to Thursday.
Please read the following
UT Professor Dallas combines cutting-edge research with real-world applications to transform public health with innovations in detection technologies such as the human body’s “check engine lights.” In collaboration with Enlisense, the company she co-founded, Dr. Prasad combines chemistry, software and hardware to enable technology as a market-ready device.
The three co-founders of Eido Bio are undertaking a market where menopause, research gaps, and women’s health “starts and stops with birth control.” Biotechnology startups will raise Series A to start clinical trials for menopause treatment and help transfer science to women.
ALVA Health uses non-invasive wearables and AI/ML algorithms to develop devices that monitor the onset of stroke symptoms and initiate emergency calls immediately. Its wearable solution detects hemiplegia, a characteristic of stroke onset.
“Our mission is to help people who help others,” says Dr. Ruben Amarasingham, CEO of Technologies. With a $25 million growth fund, Dallas-based Peace is gearing up to transform hospital care with AI that streamlines clinical workflows and eases the burden on care teams.
“We’ve seen a lot of effort into making our customers more comfortable,” said Dr. Sid O’Bryant of UNT HSC, founder of CX Precision Medicine. Now, by joining the Moonshot community, CXPM has gained “invaluable access to a network of investors, collaborators and strategic partners” that will help them advance their mission.
