Nancy Mehan   

Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business

“I am a mother and a physician. I am ambitious and excited to change the world.”

Age: 40

Hometown: Great Falls, VA

Fun fact about yourself: I’m working on my black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Almost there!

Undergraduate School and Degree:

Pennsylvania State University, Bachelor of Science

Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Doctorate of Medicine

Where are you currently working? Inova Fairfax Medical Center, Department of Emergency Medicine

As an emergency room physician at the largest level one trauma center in the area, I see a tremendous number of critically ill patients every day. My work is highly intense and highly rewarding.

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles:

2012 – 2018, Emergency Medicine Director of Trauma, Inova Fairfax Medical Center

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? Beta Gamma Sigma – Academic success has always been very important to me.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I am lucky to practice in a hospital system that provides exceptional care. I still think of medicine as a calling. And I am committed to being better every day at that calling.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? All of our professors at McDonough have been excellent. I have learned a tremendous amount from them.

What was your favorite MBA course and what was the biggest insight you gained about business from it? Global Operations was my favorite course because it was so unlike I had practiced in my career before this. It was enlightening to learn how incredibly connected our world is.

Why did you choose this executive MBA program? Georgetown University, with its Jesuit values and its commitment to civic engagement, made it an exceptionally unique choice for me.

What did you enjoy most about business school in general? My classmates at McDonough are some of the most interesting and diverse people I have ever met. They are all already successful in their own fields and I am excited to see how much more they achieve after graduation.

What is the biggest lesson you gained during your MBA and how did you apply it at work? With such an exceptional class, I often found myself humbled to work with classmates who were significantly more knowledgeable or more experienced than me. That humility and respect for others is something I have tried to emulate every day at work.

Give us a story during your time as an executive MBA on how you were able to juggle work, family, and education? McDonough’s international connections allowed us to study companies abroad. The value of leaving both work and family behind to travel with my classmates taught me the value of education outside of the classroom.

What is the biggest myth about going back to school? The idea that you must know what you want to do with your degree before you start is not true. You will find new networks and countless opportunities during your time at school.

“I knew I wanted to go to business school when…I first moved to Washington DC. It just took me ten years to take the plunge.”

What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? Georgetown has opened so many doors for me already. Instead of setting my sights on a particular goal, I am excited to see where this new path takes me. Combining medicine and business in the changing healthcare world is exciting.

In one sentence, how would you like your peers to remember you? I look forward to addressing my class at commencement. I hope they will always remember my authenticity, my compassion, and my heart.

What are the top two items on your bucket list?

Change the world.

Have fun doing it.

What made Nancy such an invaluable addition to the class of 2019?

“Nancy Mehan is the Director of a Trauma unit at Inova Fairfax Hospital. As one can appreciate, managing a Trauma Unit is like walking into a war zone where deaths can be imminent with every single patient who is brought in. It takes a unique and confident individual to operate in such a chaotic environment where every decision can literally save lives.

Yet, Nancy enjoyed being on move and despite her daily, hectic challenges, she decided to add one more, obtaining an EMBA from Georgetown. Her 15 years of practicing medicine and managing doctors enabled Nancy to bring a unique perspective of health care and the challenges it poses as a business. Nancy cares about people and was a great leader in her EMBA class. She was selected by her classmates to give a speech at graduation. Anytime she is put on the spotlight, Nancy delivers flawlessly.”

Bardia Kamrad

DON’T MISS: THE ENTIRE LIST OF THE BEST & BRIGHTEST EXECUTIVE MBAs OF 2019 or RANKING THE BEST EMBA PROGRAMS IN THE U.S.