Enfoque en el cuidador

Morgan Ratcliffe: Leading with Heart, On and Off the Job

10 marzo 2026

When you ask Morgan Ratcliffe, Executive Director and Chief Communications Officer at Providence Health Plan, why heart health matters to her, she doesn’t hesitate.

“It’s personal,” she says. 

This year, Morgan is a nominee in the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women Woman of Impact campaign – a nationwide effort to raise awareness and critical funds to fight heart disease, the leading cause of death for women in the United States.

Behind her nomination is her “why” – her dad, Craig.

Morgan describes her father as her greatest champion. As his only child, she grew up with a front-row supporter at every dance competition, a dad who never missed sending flowers to her office on Valentine’s Day, and a travel partner for annual daddy-daughter trips around the world.

“When I went back to school to get my master’s, he asked me to send him my papers so he could read them, too,” she shares. “No one on this earth has ever been more proud of me or loved me so fiercely.”

In April 2020, on Easter morning, Morgan woke up to the realization that he was gone. Just weeks shy of his 72nd birthday, he lost a long and arduous battle with heart disease.

Her father had struggled with heart health for much of his life. He managed the condition carefully and had undergone several stent procedures. From the outside, he seemed to be doing everything right.

He walked 10,000 steps a day. He golfed nearly every morning. He ate clean. He didn’t smoke and had given up drinking early in Morgan’s life.

Yet heart disease – complex, persistent and often silent – still claimed his life.

“The blockage happened so quickly,” Morgan says. “I remember asking myself, ‘Did he ignore the signs?’ But he was managing his condition and doing the right things. It was a powerful reminder of how quickly heart health can change.”

“His heart failed,” she says. “But his heart – who he was as a person – was so much more than that.”

After her father’s death, Morgan faced a time marked by deep grief and isolation during the pandemic. Even the rituals of loss were different. Only a small number of people could attend his funeral, and many of the ways families typically celebrate a loved one’s life simply weren’t possible.

“I didn’t get to celebrate what an incredible man he was or the impact he had on me and the world,” she says. “I was lost in a profound grief.”

In that space, she made a decision: she would honor him by taking her own heart health seriously.

“In my early 30s, my cholesterol was already borderline high – even though I considered myself healthy,” she explains. “Now I wake up every morning and do the hard things for him. Early workouts. Training for races. Meal prepping. And I see my primary care provider every year with blood work to make sure I’m staying on top of it.”

Family history puts her at higher risk. Instead of ignoring that fact, she uses it as motivation.

Her message to other women is simple: listen to your body and advocate for your health.

“As women, we often ignore the signals our bodies are giving us. We ignore pain. We ignore symptoms. I hope the women I love, and women everywhere, are paying attention and advocating for their health.”

Morgan also encourages people to trust both their instincts and modern medicine.

“Heart disease isn’t just a men’s disease. It’s a women’s disease, too,” she says. “We have to wake up every morning and make the right choices. But lifestyle choices aren’t everything. There may come a time when you need medical intervention, and there’s no shame in that. If you need medicine to control your blood pressure, take the medicine. Taking care of yourself includes trusting your doctors and the science behind the care.”

Through the Woman of Impact campaign, Morgan has brought together a team committed to raising funds and awareness for research, education and community-based prevention. The campaign runs from early February through early spring, uniting leaders across the country who are passionate about improving women’s heart health.

For Morgan, the campaign holds an especially meaningful coincidence.

The Go Red for Women luncheon – the culmination event for the campaign – takes place on May 1, her father’s birthday.

“That felt like a beautiful extra wink,” she says. “It made the whole experience even more meaningful.”

Being nominated as a Woman of Impact, she says, is one way to honor him.

“When my dad passed away in 2020, I didn’t know how to celebrate his life the way he deserved,” she explains. “Now I’m in a healthier place emotionally and mentally where, although I’ll always grieve him, I can celebrate him too. This feels like a way to do that.”

Beyond fundraising, Morgan hopes the campaign inspires something even more important: action.

“My hope is that women and the people in my life prioritize their health, pay attention to their bodies and don’t ignore the signs,” she says. “My heart is broken. Seventy-one is not when our parents should die. I should have had a lot more years with him.”

That’s why the mission of the American Heart Association matters so deeply to her.

“I hope organizations like this continue to fight this disease so fewer families have to go through what ours did.”

By stepping forward as a Woman of Impact nominee, Morgan is honoring her father’s legacy while helping ensure that fewer families experience the same loss.

We are proud to celebrate Morgan – not only for her leadership and dedication to our mission, but for the courage she shows in turning personal loss into purpose.

“For every person whose heart has been broken by this all-too-common disease,” she says, “let’s make ours more whole by joining together to fight it.”