Leading with Heart: How Genevieve Frey-Moylan Champions Nurses
Discover how Genevieve Frey-Moylan empowers nurses at a children’s hospital through leadership, compassion, and innovative support programs.
Apr 24, 2025
While walking through a back hallway at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Genevieve Frey-Moylan overheard a group of nurses discussing a problem that was making their jobs more difficult. She didn’t hesitate to step in.
“I said, ‘This is awful. Has anyone told a leader about this?’ When they said, ‘Well, no.’ I told them, ‘We need to tell someone who can do something.’”
That moment captures the essence of who Frey-Moylan is. As executive director for the Heart Center Service Line at Lurie Children’s, she's made a habit of jumping into action — and offering unwavering support to her colleagues.
“I love being part of a solution,” she says. “I love being a fixer. And it’s important to me to support the people I admire and respect so much.”
A nurse at heart
Frey-Moylan began her career at Lurie Children’s (then known as Children’s Memorial Hospital) in 2003 as a pediatric ICU nurse, a role she held for nearly a decade. Since 2012, she has served in a variety of nurse leadership positions, and today she oversees everything from operations and systems design to philanthropy and marketing.
“We’re one of the top two programs in the nation for pediatric heart transplants,” she says. “We’re healing some of the sickest children in Illinois and beyond. Families come from across the country — and even other countries — to receive care from our team.”
Though she no longer provides hands-on care, Frey-Moylan’s clinical background shapes her leadership philosophy. She understands, firsthand, the pressure frontline caregivers face — and works tirelessly to ease their burden.
“I feel deeply honored to support the people doing the hardest work,” she says. “My role is to help remove barriers, improve care, and serve the incredible team at the Heart Center.”
Being an Amazing Mom
As a mom to 13-year-old Gabriella Grace (GG) and 11-year-old Jace, Frey-Moylan draws from her own mother's example, offering love, guidance, and steady support.
“There are plenty of things they'll have to figure out on their own,” she says. “But I’ll be there cheering them on, helping them problem-solve when they need it. We always have their backs. If I have an idea that might help, I’m going to share it.”
Asked to describe her parenting philosophy, Frey-Moylan keeps it simple: “I’m always trying to be a little bit better tomorrow than I was today — just as a human.”
That mindset extends to how she shows up for her husband, Mike, and their children, especially after a long day at work.
“When I walk through the door, I try — whenever humanly possible — to hang up the phone and say, ‘I just got home. I’m going to focus on my family now.’ I say it out loud, so they hear it. Even if I’m still working later, I want them to know they come first.”
A profession for real-life heroes
Having spent years as an inpatient nurse, Frey-Moylan understands just how emotionally and physically demanding the job can be.
“There were days I’d come home in tears after processing my day at work,” she recalls.
When asked if her experience as an inpatient nurse changed after the birth of GG and Jace, she spoke about the emotional impact of caring for patients who were often the same age as her own children. “The connection and bond is there, having the same lived experience with children the same age, and such a different lived experience with a child who has complex medical needs," she says. "I have so much empathy for these children and families, and there’s a little bit of guilt, I think, associated with having a healthy child.”
These firsthand experiences fuel her deep admiration for nurses, especially those balancing the demands of the job with family life.
“I have such respect for nurses, many of them mothers,” she says. “They sacrifice nights, weekends, holidays — precious time with their families. It’s a different level of commitment.”
Frey-Moylan acknowledges that bedside nursing in high-pressure environments isn’t sustainable for everyone. But she’s quick to point out that stepping away from direct care doesn’t mean leaving the profession.
“There are so many paths within nursing — coordinators, administrators, researchers,” she says. “When the moment comes and you think, ‘This might not be the fit for me anymore,’ it’s comforting to know there are other meaningful ways to serve.”
A supportive partner
Frey-Moylan mentioned that she has been with her husband for 20 years. “I could not do what I do without Mike. He is the most incredible partner," she says. "I could not do this job I do without an equal partner teammate who leans into the carpool and so many other responsibilities. We have a great partnership and division of labor when it comes to the tasking and then we remember that our job is to get them to safely grow up into productive, contributing members of society, and when that job is less because, I don't think that that job is ever done, that it's also still the two of us who are there together.”
They prioritize time spent together doing things that they love even when time alone together is not always readily available, they will go on a walk or have a coffee together.
A loving family to come home to
Although Frey-Moylan no longer works directly at patients’ bedsides, the emotional weight of her job still follows her home. Not long ago, she walked through the door visibly shaken. She had just learned that an adult patient, whom she had once cared for as a baby, had died.
In moments like that, it’s her children, GG and Jace, who offer the comfort she so often gives to others.
“They came over and hugged me and said, ‘It’s OK, Mommy,’” she says. “They’re so loving when they see I’m carrying grief. As a mom, you’re used to being the one who comforts. But in those moments, it’s OK to let them see your vulnerability — and to just say thank you.”
When asked what she was most proud of as a mother, Frey-Moylan gave an answer that wasn’t surprising but incredibly heartfelt. “They are really turning into such great people. I love watching them grow and develop, and I'm just so proud of who they're becoming.”
AUTHOR
Mickey Brown is senior editor, floral & gifts in the 1-800-Flowers.com Content Studio. In this role, he manages content production, strategy, and operations for the blog Petal Talk. Previously, he was associate editor in the NBC News Brand Studio, where he developed content campaigns for EY, McKinsey & Company, Salvation Army, and other global brands. Before that, he was managing producer of the website icenetwork.com, and spent years in sports marketing and communications.
