Falls Church resident Tina Swallow was awarded the prestigious title of National Woman of the Year from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, for raising more than any other Woman of the Year candidate in nearly 100 communities across the country. Swallow helped bring in $467,686 for the new society.

Like many nonprofit organizations, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), a global leader in the fight against cancer, is not immune to the damaging impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

But the fact remains that every nine minutes, somebody in the U.S. dies of a blood cancer. And, in today’s times of uncertainty, cancer patients need support now, more than ever. Fifteen local leaders in the Washington, D.C. metro area remained laser-focused on their pursuit of a world without blood cancer, taking on LLS’s 10-week philanthropic competition, Man & Woman of the Year, by storm — even if it meant pivoting to the world of virtual fundraising.

Swallow, a 21-year Navy veteran and director of federal service sales at Cisco Systems in Washington, D.C., led “Team Bridge to a Cure” and ran her campaign in honor of her oldest son, Beau, who survived stage IV cancer.
“I’ve made it my mission to never stop fighting for cancer cures,” said Swallow. “Just like LLS, my mission has not changed, what has changed is the urgency for patients.”