The Sonoma Valley Hospital Foundation has announced that Nancy Cline and Yong Liu, MD have been selected to receive the organization’s Pulse Award, given each year to recognize outstanding Sonoma Valley women who have made significant contributions to the community through their volunteerism, community involvement and philanthropy.

Cline and Liu will be honored at the Foundation’s 15th annual Celebration of Women luncheon on Thursday, May 14, 2020, beginning at 11:00 a.m. at Hanna Boys Center in Sonoma.  Proceeds from the event benefit women’s health and wellness programs at Sonoma Valley Hospital, including Project Pink which funds mammograms for uninsured women each October. 

“Our two honorees this year exemplify the generous and strong community spirit that makes the Sonoma Valley such a special place,” said Dave Pier, Executive Director of the Hospital Foundation. “Both Nancy and Yong are being honored in recognition of the tremendous impact they have had on the community; Nancy through her long-term volunteer engagement and philanthropy, and Dr. Liu through her commitment to her patients, the hospital and the healthcare community.  We are delighted to be able to recognize them for their many achievements.”

Tickets for the luncheon are available at the Foundation’s website, www.svhfoundation.com, as is more information on the event. Tickets cost $125. To make a donation in honor of any of the honorees or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Julia Cervone at 707.935.5331 or jcervone@sonomavalleyhospital.org.

“The Hospital Foundation is grateful to the community for supporting its programs and this event,” notes Pier. “We are fortunate this year to have Nancy Lilly and Mia Pucci providing leadership as co-chairs for Celebration of Women 2020.” 

About This Year’s Honorees

Nancy Cline and her husband Fred moved to Sonoma in 1989. They raised their seven children on the family ranch in southern Sonoma which now is best known as Cline Cellars Winery, Jacuzzi Family Vineyards and The Olive Press. Nancy is President of The John Christopher Bunting Foundation and has been active in supporting numerous nonprofits in Sonoma Valley as well as Sonoma County, including Sonoma Valley Hospital, Vintage House, Mentoring Alliance, Sonoma Sister Cities, Vintners & Growers Alliance, Boys & Girls Club, YWCA, Northbay Learning Foundation, Sonoma Community Center, The Fund for American Studies, and Historical Society.

Nancy’s passion is history, and she actively renovates and brings back to life historic structures and artifacts.  Some of her projects include The Mizpah Hotel, The Belvada Hotel, The Mission Museum in Sonoma, as well as most recently The Bergstrom OPUS66 organ. This artifact spent 121 years in Sonoma’s First Congregational Church, and is currently renovated and on display at The Jacuzzi Family Winery. Nancy enjoys riding her quarter horses competitively, and takes great pride in contributing positively to the community of Sonoma.

Yong Liu, MD immigrated to US in 1984 after graduating from medical school in Shanghai, China. She then earned a doctorate in pharmacy from the University of California, San Francisco. She practiced as a clinical pharmacist for several years at SF General Hospital, but felt she could better serve her patients as a physician. She then completed internal medicine residency at St. Mary’s Medical Center and has practiced as a board-certified internist in Sonoma since 2001.

As a longstanding, caring physician who is loved by her patients, she finds the connections she has built supporting her patients immensely meaningful.

She is well respected by her physician peers, and often goes above and beyond to serve her patients. She currently serves on the Sonoma County Medical Association’s board of directors and has served as a volunteer physician for Broadway Under the Stars.

She also enjoys cooking, hiking, kayaking, and traveling. She is grateful to have raised two wonderful sons in this community. One is at UCSF medical school and the other works as a computer engineer.