If you are at all familiar with healthcare quality assurance, you likely know Nicholas “Nick” Serafy, Jr. as the visionary CEO of Proficiency Testing Service. To the CAP Foundation, however, Nick isn’t just a corporate leader or a past Secretary-Treasurer—he is family. For Nick, clinical laboratory quality management has never been about percentages or data points; it is a deeply personal mission to ensure that every patient, regardless of their background, receives answers they can trust. Through the CAP Foundation, his professional life and heartfelt community advocacy merge into a singular, profound legacy of love.

For Nick, connection starts close to home. He has spent his life in Brownsville, Texas, walking the same streets where his grandparents settled after immigrating from Greece. He and his wife, Viveca, have been married for 45 years, building a beautiful life anchored by four sons, ten grandchildren, and two dogs. These deep roots and tight family bonds shape everything Nick touches. His dedication to healthcare equity isn’t an abstract corporate goal; it is a direct reflection of a man who fiercely values protecting families and uplifting his neighbors.

Most people don’t know that Nick chairs the Cameron County Spaceport Development Corporation, helping bring SpaceX to Brownsville. But whether he is looking at the stars or looking at a lab slide, his focus remains on human potential. He views launching aerospace technology and launching humanitarian initiatives through the same lens: creating transformative opportunities for people.

Nick’s formal connection to the CAP began as a vendor in 1988, but it evolved into a lifelong calling. When asked to support the Foundation, he notes, “It was an easy decision.” He realized that professional success is empty without a heartbeat. By pouring his corporate expertise and personal resources into the Foundation, he found a way to turn laboratory excellence into direct, hands-on healing.

For years, Nick has championed See, Test & Treat®, a program that provides free, single-day cervical and breast cancer screenings to women facing severe financial barriers. For Nick, this program is the ultimate expression of human-centric care. It breaks down systemic walls, allowing pathologists to step out from behind the microscope and connect directly with vulnerable patients, offering them life-saving results, dignity, and immediate peace of mind.

Nick weaves people together. During the Empowering Our Future campaign, he used his business network to bring corporate partners into the fold, proving that one compassionate heart can inspire an entire industry. He even sponsored a challenge grant for automatic payroll contributions, inviting CAP staff to join him in this shared mission of care.

Lately, Nick has felt a quiet, powerful draw toward the future, sponsoring five medical students and five residents to attend CAP26. He knows that tomorrow’s medical breakthroughs depend on the hearts we nurture today.

“The field of pathology cannot prosper without pathologists working together to move it forward,” Nick shares. His life is a beautiful reminder that business, advocacy, and profound generosity are all part of the same fabric, woven tightly together to shield the vulnerable. And his choice for the campaign playlist? “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John—a perfect anthem for an unwavering heart that remains a constant beacon of hope.

 Now Playing: Connected: The Foundation Playlist
As part of this campaign, we’re building a CAP Foundation playlist featuring songs chosen by our staff, board, awardees and donors. As the campaign unfolds, so will the playlist, with new songs added along the way. Listen along and hear the soundtrack behind the threads that hold us together.