Mission Speaker
We are honored to have Heidi Petersen join us this year as our Mission Speaker.
Heidi Petersen was born in Frederick, Maryland and moved to Salt Lake City, Utah at the age of thirteen.
A graduate of Highland High School, Heidi’s love for helping people steered her to a twenty-year career in public healthcare.
In 2015 Heidi’s path was forced in a new direction when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Just as she felt she was settling into her diagnosis, COVID-19 hit. After a frustrating year and a half of isolation and a loss of hope she decided it was time to lift her head and find her purpose. In deciding a way to challenge herself and have her year of “Becoming”, she made the choice to try pageantry. Why pageantry? She wanted to meet like-minded women and prove to herself that she could walk across a stage and maintain her balance. In 2022 Heidi’s challenge of trying one pageant turned into three pageants and winning a national title. In November 2022, Heidi traveled to New Orleans and competed in the Ms. USA World Universal pageant and won the title of Ms. USA Elite. She will travel to Hawaii in June 2023 and compete for the international title of Ms. World Universal.
Throughout this process Heidi found the importance of balancing her life, knowing her limitations, self-care, and speaking her truth. She is an Ambassador for the National MS Society and has an unwavering hope of MS awareness for all and an understanding of the impact it has not only on patients but also family members. She hopes for a day where people will understand and have compassion for the unpredictable life of an MS Warrior.
Heidi and her husband Mark, who is a U.S. Army combat veteran, live in Sandy, Utah and have been married for thirteen years. They have a combined family of five, Heidi has three children, Mark has two children, they have one daughter-in-law, one grandson, a second on the way, and three dogs. Heidi enjoys spending time with family, traveling, and volunteering.
Heidi is a recipient of the 2022 Gold President’s Volunteer Service Award.
Leading the Way
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is committed to helping people affected by MS live their best lives and creating a world free of MS. We serve over 556,000 people living with MS as well as their families and caregivers, and we are spearheading an international effort to end MS forever.
See How You're Making a Difference
We now have disease-modifying therapies for progressive and pediatric MS. |
We’ve launched programs like Ask an MS Expert to connect those affected by MS to the information they need.
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We have supported 52 bills that became law to advocate for the MS community.
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Want to see how MS Navigators — highly skilled, compassionate professionals — connect people affected by MS to the information, resources and support needed to move their life forward? Watch Patti’s story and see how these supportive partners help navigate the challenges of MS unique to any situation. Your support of the National MS Society continues the MS Navigators work.
The Society has funded over $1.1 billion in research since 1946. We have also provided early career support and funding to nearly every recognized MS researcher today and our Pathways to Cures is executing the biggest, most collaborative MS research effort of our time.
The National MS Society is bringing together the brightest minds across the world to cure MS for every single person, as fast as possible.