Engagement 365: Member Spotlight
Clyde W. Yancy, MD, MSc, FAHA
Vice-Dean, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Magerstadt Professor
Professor, Medical Social Sciences
Chief, Division of Cardiology
Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine
& Associate Director Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute
Northwestern Medicine, Chicago, IL
AHA President, 2009 -2010
After 35 years of a life invested in the heart and torch, three lessons learned –
- The American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association do good work. Aristotle established the goal of living: ”… to serve and to do good”. We save lives, prevent disease and improve life. We answer the higher calling
- We volunteer. “Volunteer” is of Latin origin, “voluntaries”, meaning of one’s free will. By definition, this is passion work. We work not for our own gain but for the gain of others. Our reward is in the altruistic gifts we offer and our ethic is that of servant leaders
- The work, the mission, the thrust are relentless; how else could we have reduced the risk of death by 50% in recent decade?. No other entity, federal or otherwise, for any other condition is even close. And given my deep South origins, here is your lagniappe- we have fun; we meet the most interesting people, build the most dynamic connections and relish in the joy of hard work. We are now and will always be relevant.
The AHA, deeply embedded in my own DNA.