Eye & Ear Foundation Board Member Nancy Washington, PhD, passed away unexpectedly on October 12, 2026, at the age of 87.
Nancy served on our Board for nearly a decade and was a tireless advocate for all that our Departments of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology are working on. She was a driving force behind our Board’s creation of a Community Outreach Committee in 2020 and chaired that Committee since its inception, helping to see incredible growth in our Foundation’s efforts to address access to care here in our Pittsburgh region and beyond. She was never bashful about making an introduction to someone she thought could help our cause, helping us host an event, being an insightful, steady voice when discussing complicated issues, or quite literally rolling up her sleeves and volunteering her own time at events such as Mission of Mercy and Community Vision Days.
She was the embodiment of walking the walk and talking the talk when it came to making an impact in her community. Her intangible impact on our Foundation was so great that it would be easy, though unfair, to overlook her financial support as well, having personally helped fund projects and personnel for our community outreach efforts, along with glaucoma research in the Department of Ophthalmology.
I still cannot imagine a world without Nancy, her engagement during our community vision days, our outreach meetings, our art discussions, her laughter, her kindness, her constant enthusiasm, like a permanent teenager… she will remain an irreplaceable inspiration. We now have a legacy to perpetuate. -José-Alain Sahel, MD, EEF Board Member and Department of Ophthalmology Chair
Outside of our organization, Nancy’s impact around Pittsburgh was immense and far reaching. A bio from her tenure on the Pittsburgh Foundation gives you but a brief insight into Nancy’s lifelong dedication to making a difference in other people’s lives.
Nancy Washington, director emerita of the Pittsburgh Foundation, was an educator and academic administrator with a strong commitment to our community. She was an associate professor of psychology and assistant to the chancellor of the University of Pittsburgh. During her career, she served on various boards including the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, the Pittsburgh Symphony, Wilson College, and the national board of Girls, Inc. and the Association of Theological Schools. Nancy was also a co-founder of the August Wilson Center for African American Culture. In addition to having served on the Board of Directors for The Pittsburgh Foundation, Nancy was a Board Member emerita of Point Park University and The Frick Pittsburgh. She was also an honorary board member of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, an advisor to the Episcopal Church Foundation and a member of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the International Women’s Forum.
She served on the Boards of the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, the Eye & Ear Foundation and Partner4Work. Nancy received many awards for her work. She was given the YWCA’s “Tribute to the Women of the Year” Voluntary Community Service Leadership Award; the Delta Sigma Theta Mosaic Award for Contributions to the Arts; the Center for Minority Health of the Graduate School of Public Health of the University of Pittsburgh, 10th Anniversary Celebration Award; Duquesne Light/WQED African American Leadership Award for Culture, Arts, and Recreation; the Humanitarian Award from Three Rivers Youth; the CCAC Legends in Leadership Award for Outstanding Community Leaders by the Community College of Allegheny County; and the History Makers Award in the field of community service given by the Senator John Heinz History Center for contributions to the history of Western Pennsylvania. Nancy was named a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania in 2001, received the Carlow University Women of Spirit Award in 2020, and in 2022 she received The Catholic Youth Association of Pittsburgh Patricia R. Rooney Award and the Robert M. Frankel Award from City Theatre.
To support Nancy Washington’s legacy, donate online below to support Access to Care at the Eye & Ear Foundation, an organization close to her heart and one that benefited greatly from her philanthropy.
Checks can be made payable to the Eye & Ear Foundation and mailed to 203 Lothrop Street, Suite 251 EEI, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.
For ACH or stock transfers, please email elaine@eyeandear.org.