About

 

Nancy McFarlane was born in our nation’s capital, and grew up in nearby Arlington, Virginia. She met her husband Ron at the Medical College of Virginia while they were both pursuing degrees in pharmacy. They married in 1980, and have called Raleigh home for over 35 years. Nancy and Ron raised three children in Raleigh, all of whom attended Wake County Public Schools and UNC-system universities. Now, she a proud grandmother.

Nancy never set out to be in politics. She just realized that, when her kids started in public schools, how much impact decisions made by local government had on her kid’s – and all kids’ – future. Through her involvement in her children’s schools and her leadership as HOA president, Nancy learned the importance of civic engagement in building a community.  As a Pharmacist and a small business owner, Nancy has a firsthand understanding of what it takes to make Raleigh a citizen-focused and business-friendly city. Her business success and acumen have been important in shaping her leadership style as a competent and efficient consensus builder.

Mayoral Accomplishments

• Secured the 325 acre Dix property for a destination park in Raleigh’s city center, an asset that citizens will enjoy for generations to come.
• Broke ground on the new Union Station which will serve as a hub for expanded transit services to meet Raleigh’s growing needs.
• Proposed the Small Business Initiative, which serves as a single-point-of-contact to make the process of opening a small business in the city as accessible, simplified and hassle-free as possible.
• Companies have invested almost $800 million in new and expanding business in Raleigh, creating more than 8000 jobs (Wake County Economic Development) since Nancy’s election in 2011.
• Providing the best municipal services for the lowest cost of any major city in North Carolina.
• Maintained a AAA bond rating, the strongest rating of creditworthiness given to municipalities.
• Supported capital improvements for water and sewer systems, including construction of new operations facilities to sustain Raleigh’s growing population.
• Assuring safe and affordable housing for citizens is a priority for the city.
• Established Raleigh as a center for technology and innovation through initiatives, partnerships and relationships with local universities and business like NCSU, Citrix, Red Hat, IPREO and HQ Raleigh.
• Brought the wildly successful World of Bluegrass Festival to Raleigh, which, along with other events, helped Wake County set a record for tourism in 2014 with 14.3 million visitors, spending $2.2 billion dollars, and generating $219 million in state and local tax revenue.
• Supported the addition of new greenway including the 4.1 mile Crabtree Creek extension and the 5.6 mile Honeycutt Creek and East Fork Mine Creek Trails.
• Led the Council and City Staff in development of the City of Raleigh Strategic Plan, which will guide the city’s growth through the next 3-5 years.
• Brought together business owners, homeowners, and citizen groups to lay out a 10-year vision for downtown.
• Created sustainable initiatives including LEED Platinum standards on city facilities, designated parking spaces for plug-in vehicles, and solar-powered trash compactors.
• Successfully served as Chair of Wake County Mayors and Chair of the Metropolitan Mayors Coalition.

Community Involvement

Dedication to Improving Public Education

Wake County Schools have benefited from Nancy’s involvement during the past 20 years. Nancy has hands-on experience working with teachers in her children’s classrooms as a tutor, chaperone and available resource. She has demonstrated her commitment to all Wake County children and the school system by serving in various roles:

• North Area Vice President of the Wake County PTA Council
• PTA Vice President at Durant Middle School
• PTA board member at Lead Mine Elementary School
• Grounds Chair when Lead Mine Elementary School first opened, she coordinated the community effort behind securing plants, trees, picnic tables and playground equipment for the new school campus.
• President of Ligon Arts Boosters
• Sanderson Area Advisory Council member
• Coach and program coordinator for Odyssey of the Mind, an after-school program that promotes critical thinking and inventiveness
• As a City Councilor she serves as the official liaison to the WCPSS

Neighborhood Leadership

The entire Triangle community has been positively impacted by Nancy’s desire to help others. In her role as president of the Greystone Homeowners Association from 2003 to 2007, Nancy fought to maintain the integrity of the lakes in the Crabtree Watershed. She organized friends and neighbors to combat storm water runoff and protect the watershed from runoff contamination related to several Strickland Road area development projects.

Nancy and our city council then worked to build fences for these dogs and replace the chains by teaming up with the Coalition to Unchain Dogs, a non-profit volunteer organization with the mission of improving the welfare of dogs that are continuously chained outdoors,  The coalition is made possible by citizens like you who have donated time and money to establish and maintain the program.

• Click here for a description of the Coalition to Unchain Dogs
• Click here to view a film that explains the process for establishing the dog tethering ordinance

Environmental Stewardship

Nancy also established the Water Utility Transition Advisory Commission (WUTAC) to help Raleigh create a long-range water resource plan by analyzing our current consumption-based utility system, conservation efforts, current and future usage as well as cost analysis.

“Long before Nancy McFarlane was a city council member, she was a champion for her community in North Raleigh…. I was inspired by her work on sediment pollution, which according to EPA is the single largest source of impairment to our nation’s waters. As a result, I created the Muddy Water Watch Project (a spin-off of the Get the Dirt Out) in NC—a citizen training program to monitor construction activity– which was praised by EPA in their July 2008 national news letter.”
– Dean Naujoks, current Yadkin Riverkeeper and former Neuse River Keeper for 7 years.

As a member of the North Carolina Conservation Council and the Sierra Club, Nancy maintains her commitment to protecting to the environment and Raleigh’s quality of life. Click here for more information on Nancy’s environmental accomplishments during her time as mayor.

Business Experience

Being named one of the Top Women in Business in 2009 and 2010 by Triangle Business Journal.Nancy has firsthand understanding of what it takes to make Raleigh a business-friendly city. Her business success and acumen have been important in shaping her leadership style as a competent and efficient consensus builder. Her honors include:

• Becoming a 2008 recipient of Women Extraordinaire, an award that recognizes women business leaders who are innovators, problem-solvers and inspirations to other women,
• Being named a 2008 Impact Women Business Owner
• Being named one of the Triangle’s top entrepreneurs in 2013 by Business Leader Magazine

In 2002, Nancy launched MedPro Rx, Inc., an accredited specialty infusion pharmacy that provides medications and services to provide support for clients with chronic illness. From 2002 – 2014 Nancy successfully led and managed the healthcare team made up of pharmacists, nurses, reimbursement specialists, community advocates, inventory managers, financial analysts, delivery personnel and sales representatives.

During her tenure, MedPro Rx grew tremendously, with a relentless focus on taking care of its clients, doing what’s right and letting the results speak for themselves. MedPro Rx has been recognized for these accomplishments by many different publications. These include:

• Recognition as the Triangle Business Journal’s No. 1 fastest growing privately held company in the Triangle in 2008. MedPro ranked No. 5 in 2009 and No. 16 in 2010.
• Recognition by Triangle Business Journal as a Top-Women Owned Business in 2009 and 2010.
• The same publication honored MedPro on its Best Places to Work list in 2010.
• Recognition by Business Leader magazine as the No. 1 Small Business in the Trianglein both 2009 and 2011. In 2009, this same publication also named MedPro Rx as the No. 3 Small Business in North Carolina out of the Top 100. In 2011, MedPro Rx was also named the Number 2 Small Business in the South out of the Top 300 award winners.
• INC 5000 award MedPro Rx was ranked #502 in 2009, #1540 in 2010, #2654 in 2011.

These accolades are a reflection of Nancy’s vision to create a pharmacy that would focus on the patient first. Merging medication therapy management with existing community resources, has allowed MedPro Rx to serve as an advocate for the bleeding disorders community and other communities affected by chronic illness.  Nancy started several company sponsored  community outreach programs, including a substantial “Education is Power” national scholarship program for students with bleeding disorders. Since its inception in 2006, 429 recipients have received a total of $421,000 in scholarship money from MedPro Rx.