RE announces 2023 Commencement speaker: Tara Narula ’93 

“It is my honor to introduce Tara Narula as the 2023 Commencement speaker,” Interim Head of School Rachel Rodriguez said. “She has demonstrated the power of persistence, creativity and dreaming big. Approaching life with an insatiable intellectual curiosity and passion for serving others, Dr. Narula has made the world a better place. She will be both an inspiration and encouragement to our senior class.”

Narula, an Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Zucker School of Medicine, is also the Associate Director of the Women’s Heart Program at Lenox Hill Hospital and Director of Communications for the Katz Institute of Women’s Health. She also is a nationally recognized medical journalist, having served as Senior Medical Correspondent at CBS News and Medical Correspondent at CNN. She also has been a contributor to O, The Oprah Magazine.

After graduating from RE, Narula earned degrees in economics and biology from Stanford University, then founded Sun Juice Inc., before earning her medical degree at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. She joined Lenox Hill Heart and Vascular Institute of New York in 2010, providing outpatient consultative care.

“It is an incredible honor to have been chosen as the commencement speaker for the class of 2023,” Narula said. “I hope to inspire [RE seniors] to make the most of each part of their journey and to know that anything is possible with hard work, dreams and resilience … I am so thrilled to be there as they embark on the next part of their journey and to help honor the wonderful school that gave me – and will give them – the wings to fly.”

A fellow of the American College of Cardiology, Narula serves as a national spokesperson for the American Heart Association and the AHA’s Go Red for Women Initiative. She is co-director of a mentoring program for women in medicine called Face of Cardiology which helps guide women pursuing possible careers in cardiology. She won a 2022 Emmy Award for Outstanding Live News Program; the 2019 WomenHeart Nanette Wenger Award for Media; and the Super Doctors Award for NYC 2014-23.

She resides in New York City and is married to David Cangello, a plastic surgeon. The couple have two daughters, Siena and Layla, and they enjoy visiting their weekend home in Washington, Conn.

“Having blended smoothies, listened to hearts and reported on the amazing life stories of others,” Narula said, “I can wholeheartedly say there is not one path to happiness and success. The road can be full of turns and new adventures at every stage, and the most important aspect is staying true to your gut and inner compass.”