Engagement 365: Member Spotlight

My journey with the American Heart Association (AHA) started when I was invited by one of my mentors, Dr. Linda Gillam to be a member of the Clinical Cardiology Council Women in Cardiology (WIC) Committee in 2017. During this time I got to be a part of a group of many WIC leaders in the field. I was also given an opportunity to contribute to many of the initiatives of the committee and during this time I was able to ascend into the leadership of this committee as the Vice Chair of the committee in 2019 and ultimately to the Chair of the committee in 2021. During my leadership of this committee I had expanded the committee to include many early career WICs and also FITs as well as WIC from underrepresented groups. We also launched an active series of webinars on various topics that were pertinent to WICs, we also expanded the scope of WIC presence at the national AHA to include not only our annual WIC luncheon at the AHA but also several sessions in the women in science lounge. Through the support of Drs. Annabelle Volgman and Monika Sanghavi, we have also continued our networking WIC dinner program at Scientific Sessions.

My other involvement of the AHA includes being a Member at Large in the CVRI Leadership Committee of the Council on Cardiovascular Radiology and Intervention since 2023 and also a member of the editorial board as section editor of the Circulation Imaging journal of the AHA since 2021. I have also been an abstract reviewer for the annual scientific meeting of the AHA since 2023 and a member of the program planning committee of the annual scientific meeting of the AHA since 2024. I have also been the AHA representative in the writing group of the ACC/AHA 2021 Chest Pain Guidelines as well as the soon-to-be released ACC/AHA/ASE/ASNC/SCCT/SCMR Advanced Training Statement on Cardiovascular Imaging (CVI ATS).

Locally I have been a member of the board of Southern New Jersey (NJ) AHA since 2019 and have served as President of this board from 2022–2024. During this time, we have spearheaded many initiatives throughout the state to improve the overall health of the NJ population. I have also led and been involved in the executive leadership of the Southern NJ Go Red luncheon as well as the Heart Walk to increase the awareness of heart disease in women and the wider community.

Being appointed as Fellow of the American Heart Association in 2019 has been a true honor as volunteering with the AHA has been a very rewarding experience. It has been very fulfilling giving back to the community at large in raising awareness and improving the health of the population. It has also been rewarding contributing to the career development of other women in cardiology and promoting them as well. This has been one of the most rewarding aspects of volunteering for the AHA.

One of my pet missions has been advancing the career of WICs and promoting the careers of many from underrepresented groups in cardiology. My favorite experience with the AHA has been our WIC webinars focused on leadership and career development of WICs which have been well received by the participants and opened the door to many other similar initiatives of the committee.

There are many ways to become involved with the AHA. This may be done locally in your state with the local AHA board. There are also opportunities for microvolunteering such as becoming a blogger for the AHA through their bloggers program and also being a social media ambassador for the AHA meetings. For early career members and FITs I would encourage them to attend Scientific Sessions and attend their council events to learn of ways in which they can become more involved. The AHA has been an amazing organization that has focused on bridging healthcare disparities in cardiovascular health and also has sought to promote a diverse group of leaders in the field.