You and up to three guests will enjoy a private lunch at the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel and talk to Nancy Davis about the process of starting a non-profit and making your passion for a cause into a mission that is making an impact.
Nancy Davis, one of five children, was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. In 1987 she moved to California and now resides in Los Angeles with her husband and children. Nancy is an active individual with an incredible zest for life. She skis, plays tennis, has a black belt in karate, exercises, and travels – living her life to the fullest. She is an extremely dedicated philanthropist, jewelry and clothing designer and author. Most importantly, she is a full-time mother. Nancy was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 33 in 1991. After being told by her doctors that she would be “lucky” to operate a remote control on her TV, she realized she was too young and too busy to let the disease stop her life in its tracks. She was determined to devote her time, relationships and resources to finding a cure. Nancy’s hope, courage and strength continue to inspire her to maintain a vibrant quality of life despite this chronic disease, but most of all, she remains positive, continues to live her life to the fullest, and is tireless in her efforts to finding the cure for MS.
In 1993 she founded the Race to Erase MS - an organization whose primary focus is to raise funds for the most cutting-edge, aggressive and promising research in an effort to find a cure for MS. She created the Race to Erase MS Gala event - an intimate ski getaway weekend in Aspen, Colorado and then eventually moved to Los Angeles. Since its inception, the Race to Erase MS has grown into a spectacular celebrity gala benefit held annually. Over the years she has gained the support of many key individuals in the entertainment and fashion industries. To date, the annual Race to Erase MS gala event has raised over $50 million for multiple sclerosis research. When she first started, there was no known cause, no cure, no drugs on the market, and a true lack of hope. Nancy and the foundation are proud to have funded the scientific discoveries that led to the development of a fifteenth drug to receive FDA approval in March of 2017 called Ocrevus. The studies were carried out over a period of many years at UCSF in work supported by the Race to Erase MS and their Center Without Walls program founded by Nancy Davis. For the young person being diagnosed with MS today, there is so much hope for living a productive lifestyle and eventually finding a cure for MS. There are now miraculously 20 drugs to help stop the progression of MS with more exciting therapies coming through the pipeline.
During the production of her 2002 Race to Erase Gala with Tommy Hilfiger, with major rumblings around the world, she and Tommy determined to have a theme: Peace & Love to Erase MS. States Davis: “The feeling was to take us back to a time in our world when peace and love was a simple, powerful message.” The event’s symbol became a heart with a peace sign nestled in the middle. As a thank you gift to performers Natalie Cole, Donna Summer and Sela Ward, Nancy made necklaces bearing the powerful symbol. Upon seeing the jewelry, many in attendance wanted to learn where they could find more for their family and friends. And thus, Peace & Love Jewelry by Nancy Davis was born.
Dividing her time between parenthood and philanthropy, activism and design, Nancy Davis has dedicated her life to inspiring hope in the lives of others. In this she finds peace and love – the inspiration for her jewelry collection and clothing line. After an exclusive launch at Saks Fifth Avenue, the Peace & Love collection now includes good luck icons and semi-precious stones as well as the signature 18 karat white gold icon, encrusted with diamonds. The now iconic pieces can be seen on the likes of Halle Berry, Brooke Shields, Nicole Richie, Paris and Nicky Hilton, Sharon and Kelly Osborne, and Avril Lavigne, amongst others. For men, the icon has been interpreted in cufflinks bearing peace signs, Buddhas, and elephants with raised trunks, in 18 karat gold with diamonds. The cufflinks are worn by personalities Tommy Hilfiger, Bill Maher, Don Henley and Elton John amongst others. Peace and Love Jewelry has been featured on QVC and EVINE LIVE. In 2019, Evertalk TV launched her Peace and Love talk show with special guests including Dee and Tommy Hilfiger, Stacey Bendet, Francis Fisher, Anne Heche and Thomas Jane, Allan and David Osmond and esteemed MS research scientists from her Center Without Walls program at Race to Erase MS. Watch on demand at peaceandloveshow.com.
The Peace and Love Collection is inspired by Nancy Davis’s lifelong love of hearts, peace signs and equality. The core Philosophy of the brand is that everybody in the world ultimately wants peace and love in their life. As Chief Designer of Peace and Love, Nancy Davis believes that great design and style should not be limited to the most expensive tier of the luxury market. Everybody deserves beautiful and cherished things in their life. Each Peace and Love design reflects happiness and good luck. Wherever you live in the world, we all uniquely long for Peace and Love, and aspire simply to have this universal language all over the world.
In 2018, Nancy Davis and her late son Jason Davis founded Cure Addiction Now. It is in great sadness that Jason passed away in February of 2020, but his spirit lives on in his family’s mission to fund ground-breaking research to find therapies to help stop the vicious cycle of substance use disorder and help people not only detox but stay in permanent recovery from addiction. Nancy spent 18 months carefully cultivating the most renowned scientific dream team to find the cause and ultimate cure of substance use disorder. The Scientific Advisory Board is led by Dr. Kurt Rasmussen, Director of Division of Therapeutics and Medical Consequences at the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Nancy is committed to revolutionizing the system of how substance use disorders are treated both physically and emotionally. It is a dual diagnosis of addiction and mental health. The evidence is indisputable that one cannot be treated without the other and they go hand in hand. The philosophy of CAN is simple; to assemble the most stellar group of scientists in the field to work as a team, to communicate and never duplicate research. She has proven this innovative platform to be a huge success as evidenced by the ground-breaking multiple sclerosis research accomplished at Race to Erase MS, an organization she founded 27 years ago when she was diagnosed with MS.