At 683 Park Avenue on New York’s Upper East Side Thursday, two publishing veterans — Nancy Berger and Kim Kelleher — were honored at CEW Cancer and Careers’ 2025 Beauty of Giving Luncheon.
Hosted annually, the luncheon is a fundraiser for Cancer and Careers, a nonprofit organization founded in 2001 by longtime CEW president Carlotta Jacobson to help people with cancer navigate and thrive in the workplace. Today, the company supports more than 470,000 people each year.
Berger’s longtime friend, beauty founder Laura Geller, presented her with the award.
“Nancy doesn’t just champion Cancer and Careers, she profoundly understands the need for it to exist. She knows that work isn’t just about a job; it’s a lifeline. When people are supported by purpose, connection and opportunity, even the hardest moments become more manageable,” Geller said.
Berger, a three-time non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivor whose publishing career has included respective eras at Condé Nast — she originated the Allure Best of Beauty seal — Marie Claire and Hearst, now helms a firm of her own called Start With A Good, or SWAG, through which she helps brands across fashion, beauty and tech to scale.
“I had my last PET scan last week and everything, as my doctor says, is quiet. I would’ve had to change my speech if it wasn’t, so good thing,” Berger laughed upon accepting the award. “I made a commitment that cancer would never define me; it’s part of my story, but it’s not the headline of my life.”
Berger’s friends, family and colleagues helped her feel supported through her battles with cancer, while work, too, kept her grounded, she said.
“The Women’s Health [magazine] Long Weekend retreat, which was conceived after my famous Marie Claire Power Trip, evolved to include a big wellness component, which it still does. CosmoTrips, another big initiative, happened during this time and it was very exciting. It kept me distracted. The work reminded me who I was when everything else felt unfamiliar,” Berger said.
Friends like Norman Miller, who shaved his head in solidarity with Berger upon her beginning chemotherapy (“you can let it grow back,” she joked) and her oncologist Dr. John P. Leonard and partner Scott Spector, also in attendance, were among the many Berger also thanked for helping her through her battles.
CEW Cancer and Careers Beauty of Giving luncheon.
Stephen Lovekin
Cancer and Careers executive director Rebecca Nellis presented Kelleher — who once worked alongside Berger at Condé Nast and now serves as AMC Networks’ chief commercial officer — with her honor.
“Kim brings brilliance, strategy, insight and so much heart into everything she touches,” Nellis said. “Most importantly, Kim shows up. She doesn’t do anything halfway, and if she says ‘yes,’ she means yes.”
“Twenty years ago, when I became the publisher of Self magazine, I inherited a director’s seat on the board of CEW,” said Kelleher, who today still holds a position on the CEW Women Foundation board. “In media and branding, we often use phrases like, ‘it’s not brain surgery,’ or ‘we’re not saving lives,’ to describe our work, but my development in Cancer and Careers changed my perspective completely, and I don’t say these things anymore.”
Kelleher’s involvement became even more personal when her sister, confronted five years ago with the return of her breast cancer, turned to Cancer and Careers.
“In that moment, my world came full circle, and I felt immense gratitude to be part of this community,” Kelleher said.
