Advocate Spotlight: Charles Lomax

A call to serve that made all the difference to Knoxville

Heart Powered advocate Charles Lomax turned a personal connection into a voice for healthier communities.

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Charles Lomax understands how quickly a heartbeat can change a life.

For him, heart health isn’t abstract – it’s deeply personal. Before they met, his girlfriend survived a heart attack. Meeting her, hearing of her survival, it shifted the way he saw his role in the community. He realized cardiovascular disease can happen to anyone, but not everyone in the community can access the same resources.

More and more often, his work brought him into neighborhoods where access to healthy food, pharmacies and preventive care often depends on a ZIP code. Those experiences sharpened a growing sense of purpose: To help close the gaps he saw every day.

That purpose found a home with the American Heart Association.

Charles first connected with the organization through the Heart Walk while serving as director of community empowerment for the City of Knoxville. What started as supporting a single event quickly grew into something more. He joined the planning committee, then the local board, stepping into leadership with a belief that service should reach people who are too often left out.

In his roles with the Knoxville Area Urban League and YMCA, Charles saw clear opportunities to turn concern into action. He championed efforts to expand blood pressure monitoring stations, CPR training, improving access to AEDs and developing cardiac emergency response plans, and supported healthier food options for families who rely on local pantries. Each step was grounded in a simple idea: Everyone should have access to what they need to live a healthy life.

“Find your tribe,” he says.

For Charles, that tribe includes neighbors, volunteers, community leaders and health advocates – people who believe in showing up for one another. Together they are working to build stronger, healthier communities across Knoxville.

But for Charles, the work isn’t just about programs or policies. It’s about dignity. It’s about making sure people feel seen, valued and supported in the places they call home.

When the American Heart Association supported smoke-free policy efforts in Knoxville, Charles raised his voice. Smoke-free policies protect workers, families and customers from secondhand smoke, reducing the risk of heart disease and helping ensure that indoor spaces are safer for everyone. He wrote letters to city council members. He attended public hearings. And ultimately, he stepped forward to testify, sharing why cleaner indoor air matters for workers, families and the entire community.

Then he watched the smoke-free ordinance pass.

“The moment felt both satisfying and surreal,” Charles said. Having once worked inside city government, he now stood before it as an advocate. “It showed me that when you speak up for your community, leaders will listen. Change is possible.”

For Charles, advocacy isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room. It’s about speaking for those who may never stand at a microphone. It’s about recognizing that disparities in health aren’t just statistics. They’re real barriers that real people face every day.

That’s why he keeps showing up.

What began as a personal connection to heart health has grown into a lasting commitment to serve others. Through the American Heart Association and its national grassroots network, Heart Powered, Charles found not only a platform, but a community. One that helped him turn purpose into action.

One voice helped carry Knoxville toward cleaner indoor air. One advocate helped turn concern into change. And one decision to serve became a reminder that progress often begins with someone willing to stand up for the hearts of people they may never meet.

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Join the movement
To learn more and join advocates who are turning personal experience into action, text HEART to 46839 or visit HeartPowered.org.