Our Honoree

Nemours Children’s Health is proud to announce that Margery Pabst Steinmetz will receive the 2026 John Lord Health Impact Award for her efforts to increase the health and well-being of Central Florida’s children and families.

The John Lord Health Impact Award
The John Lord Health Impact Award is presented at the Night with Nemours gala and recognizes individuals who have had a meaningful, positive, and lasting impact on the health and well-being of children and families throughout Central Florida.

The award is named in honor of John S. Lord, former Chairman of The Nemours Foundation’s Board of Directors and Trustee of the Alfred I. duPont Charitable Trust. John helped guide the growth of Nemours Children’s in Central Florida, which today treats nearly 190,000 children in the region each year. Awardees embody the qualities that defined his decades of leadership: generosity, service, and a commitment to improving children’s lives. Nearly a century ago, the visionary philanthropy of Alfred I. duPont and Jessie Ball duPont established what is today known as Nemours Children’s Health. Their mission to help children grow up healthy and achieve their full potential guides Nemours Children’s to this day. Awardees advance that mission and reflect the duPonts’ enduring legacy. The inaugural John S. Lord award was presented in 2025 to Marjorie Bekaert Thomas in recognition of her longtime leadership in health communications and her dedication to improving lives through education and storytelling.

2026 Honoree: Margery Pabst Steinmetz
Margery Pabst Steinmetz was selected for the John S. Lord Health Impact Award because of her extraordinary commitment to the arts, education, health, and the well-being of children in Orlando and the surrounding area. Through her leadership and partnership with organizations such as Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, she has expanded access to opportunities that enrich lives, inspire creativity, and strengthen community connections. Her belief in the transformative power of the arts aligns closely with a principle Nemours Children’s embraces every day: that healing and well-being extend beyond clinical care. Margery’s impact can be seen not only in the institutions she has helped strengthen, but also in the countless lives touched by her commitment to making Central Florida a healthier, more vibrant, and more connected place for future generations.

About Margery Pabst Steinmetz
Recognized as a community philanthropist and advocate for the arts, education and health, Margery’s career includes authoring three books, including the award winning “Enrich Your Caregiving Journey.” Prior to embarking on what she describes as her ‘true life’s work’, Margery was a consultant to Fortune 100 corporations, providing leadership development curricula, strategic planning, and presentation/media support. She founded MLP Enterprises in 1990. After her intensive caregiving experiences with several family members in the early 2000’s, sharing her practical expertise on caregiving became a priority, particularly for using the arts and creativity for healing, stress reduction and caregiver resiliency. The result was her award winning website, mycaregivingcoach.com. This work then became part of her philanthropic support for several arts organizations in Central Florida. Collaboration with universities is also central to Margery’s work, namely The University of Central Florida and University of Florida. The Pabst Steinmetz Foundation, co-founded with her husband Chuck Steinmetz grants annual “Creative Futures Awards” through the University of Central Florida to support collaboration among university disciplines and community partnerships. The College of Arts and Humanities coordinates the awards, creating cross discipline innovation between the sciences and arts and humanities. The Pabst Steinmetz Foundation also supports research at The University of Florida through the EpiArts Lab. Current breakthroughs in quantitative biological research are demonstrating that arts engagement is essential for human health and longevity, engagement that begins with our youth and continues across the life span. Margery’s collaboration with many organizations across our community has resulted in innovative and sustainable models for arts in health. The Pabst Steinmetz Foundation also supports social prescribing through United Arts and the Creating Healthy Communities Convening which updates both national and international arts in health best practices.

About John Lord
John S. Lord is a respected business and civic leader whose service helped shape the future of children's health in Central Florida and well beyond. As Chairman of The Nemours Foundation Board of Directors and a Trustee of the Alfred I. duPont Charitable Trust, he played a pivotal role in advancing Nemours Children's mission and establishing Nemours Children's Hospital, Florida in Orlando. Throughout his career, John has been recognized for his commitment to strengthening communities and improving lives through service and philanthropy. The John S. Lord Health Impact Award honors individuals whose actions create lasting benefits for others and whose leadership reflects a similar dedication to the well-being of children and families.