Lindsay Clarke is the Senior Vice President of Health Education and Advocacy at the Alliance for Aging Research. As Senior Vice President, Lindsay oversees all of the organization’s health education initiatives—from funding to dissemination—focusing on age-related health conditions, diseases, and issues. Lindsay has created and overseen the well-respected Silver Book® series on the burden of chronic disease and the value of medical innovation in reducing that burden; a series of “pocket films” on topics from atrial fibrillation to sepsis; the Celebrating a Year without a Stroke Campaign on atrial fibrillation; the National Heart Valve Disease Day campaign; patient brochures and toolkits; healthcare professional resources; expert consensus whitepapers; patient websites; and countless other educational materials. Lindsay also represents the Alliance on a number of coalitions and as a member of the Alliance team she is also involved in strategic planning and execution of the Alliance’s mission and goals. Prior to joining the Alliance more than 16 years ago, Lindsay was an attorney in Chicago and worked for Chicago-Kent College of Law as director of institutional projects. In that capacity she oversaw projects related to the institutional progress of the school, conducted extensive research and legal analysis, and produced key reports and proposals. Lindsay has also worked as a research assistant in a radiation oncology lab. She earned a Juris Doctor Degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law and a Bachelor’s of Science degree from the University of Michigan, with a concentration in biology.

Andy Barr has served as the U.S. Congressman for Kentucky’s Sixth Congressional District since January of 2013. Congressman Barr is a senior Member of the House Financial Services Committee and is Ranking Member of the Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy. In the 117th Congress, Congressman Barr also began serving on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and serves on the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia and Nonproliferation. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congressman Barr has fought to deliver resources to frontline healthcare heroes, small businesses, workers and families throughout Kentucky. Congressman Barr helped craft and supported five bipartisan COVID-19 relief packages. An early supporter of Operation Warp Speed (OWS), Congressman Barr voted for $10 billion in funding for OWS, which led to the development of multiple safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines in less than a year. Congressman Barr also voted for $48 billion for vaccine distribution in schools, small businesses and healthcare providers shortly after COVID-19 vaccines were approved for emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December of 2020. Additionally, Congressman Barr helped devise the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which delivered over $1 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses and kept paychecks flowing to thousands of workers and their families in the Sixth District. In response to the outbreak of the pandemic, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23) created the House China Task Force (CTF). CTF was established to examine the origins of the pandemic and provide policy recommendations to better position the U.S. against the emerging military, economic, political and technological threat posted by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Congressman Barr was selected by Leader McCarthy to help lead the CTF, Co-Chairing the Subgroup on Competitiveness and the Subgroup on Economics and Energy. CTF issued its final report and recommendations on September 30, 2020, which included five bills introduced by Congressman Barr ranging from protecting COVID-19 vaccine research from CCP hackers to enhancing coal mining permits to support the mining of rare-earth elements used to produce military weaponry such as the F-35 fighter aircraft. Congressman Barr’s work on the CTF was instrumental in his selection to serve on the House Foreign Affairs Committee during the 117th Congress. Throughout his time in Congress, Congressman Barr has been a staunch advocate for veterans. In the 116th Congress, Congressman Barr served on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. In 2019, he introduced and helped enact into law amendments to the Edith Nourse Rogers Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Scholarship as part of the Forever GI Bill. These amendments lowered the credit hour requirement in the scholarship that made it more accessible to student veterans across the country. Congressman Barr also worked to address the crisis of veteran suicide, successfully expanding equine assisted therapy (EAT) as an innovative treatment for veterans struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other invisible wounds of war. Barr’s efforts culminated in historic EAT provisions being included in the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act. Despite the challenges brought on by the pandemic in meeting with constituents face-to-face, Congressman Barr remains committed to his Accessibility Initiative. Congressman Barr created several constituent coalitions focused on finding solutions that will help Kentucky’s veterans, signature industries, and combat the ongoing drug epidemic. In 2020, a meeting with the Sixth District Veterans Coalition led to Congressman Barr authoring the Veterans Benefits Fairness and Transparency Act of 2020, which protects veterans applying for VA disability during the pandemic. This law, inspired by a local Kentucky veteran, was introduced, passed, and signed into law by President Donald Trump all within a calendar year. Congressman Barr is also focused on strengthening Kentucky’s signature bourbon, equine, coal, agriculture and manufacturing industries, and serves as co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Horse and Bourbon Caucus’. In 2020, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, led by Congressman Barr was signed into law by President Trump. This represented the most transformational and consequential reform of the thoroughbred horseracing industry since enactment of the Interstate Horseracing Act of 1978 and solidifies the industry for decades to come. Congressman Barr also secured the passage of legislation that made permanent the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA) in December of 2020, which was set to expire at year-end. This legislation lowers the Federal Excise Tax (FET) rates for distillers and includes Congressman Barr’s AGED Distilled Spirits Act (ADSA), which is a huge boost for the Kentucky bourbon industry. Congressman Barr graduated from Lexington's Henry Clay High School in 1992, earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and Philosophy from the University of Virginia in 1996, and received his law degree from the University of Kentucky in 2001. Additionally, Congressman Barr is a 2007 graduate of Leadership Lexington and has served on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Isaac Murphy Memorial Art Garden and President of Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky. He and his late wife, Carol, have two daughters, Eleanor and Mary Clay.

Dr. Evans is a Program Director in the extramural Division of Cardiovascular Sciences at NHLBI/NIH. His portfolio includes grants in valvular heart disease, heart failure, congenital heart disease, and magnetic resonance imaging. Prior to joining the Division, Dr. Evans was a research fellow in the intramural Laboratory of Cardiac Energetics at NHLBI. Prior to graduate school, he spent 11 years as an engineer in the microelectronics industry. Dr. Evans has a bachelor's degree in physics from M.I.T. and a PhD in biomedical engineering from Duke University.

Joanna, Chikwe, MD, FRCS, is a recognized leader in the field of mitral valve repair and coronary revascularization, with expertise in minimally invasive cardiac surgery. Dr. Chikwe serves as Chair of the Department of Cardiac Surgery in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai. She has published over 125 contributions in peer-reviewed medical journals including the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association; serves on editorial boards of leading specialty journals including the Journal of the American College of Cardiology and Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery; and is a deputy editor of Annals of Thoracic Surgery. Her research interests focus on comparative outcomes research in cardiology and cardiac surgery. Dr. Chikwe has edited and authored three textbooks, including Cardiothoracic Surgery. A native of England, she completed her medical degree at the University of Oxford, followed by cardiothoracic surgery residency at the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals in London. https://bio.cedars-sinai.org/chikwej/index.html

Judy W. Hung, MD, FASE is the director of the echocardiography lab, Division of Cardiology, at Massachusetts General Hospital, and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. She has a special interest in valvular heart disease, coronary artery disease, and optimizing noninvasive cardiac imaging techniques to improve diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. Her research involves understanding mechanisms of valvular heart disease and development of novel therapies to treat valve disease. Dr. Hung received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and her medical degree from Tufts University. She completed her internship in medicine at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles before becoming a cardiovascular research fellow at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Medical Center, where she also completed her medical residency training. Hung moved to Massachusetts General Hospital in 1994 where she completed a two-year general cardiology fellowship and then obtained subspecialty training completing a two-year clinical and research advanced echocardiography fellowship. This fellowship included training in Adult Congenital Heart Disease at Children’s Hospital in Boston. Upon completion of her clinical and research fellowship training, Hung joined the Cardiology Division in the Department of Medicine, at Massachusetts General Hospital as an attending cardiologist. In 2020, Dr. Hung was elected president of the American Society of Echocardiography.

Rachel M Bond, MD, FACC, Women's Heart Health & Prevention Specialist is devoted to expert diagnosis and treatment for improved patient outcomes. Her expertise is in cardiovascular disease with special interest in women's heart health, prevention, lipid disorders, pregnancy-related heart disease, cardio-oncology and autoimmune-related heart disease.Dr. Bond is a board-certified attending cardiologist and the System Director of the Women's Heart Health Program at Dignity Health in Arizona. She is affiliated with Chandler Regional Medical Center & Mercy Gilbert Medical Center. She is board certificated in cardiovascular disease, internal medicine, echocardiography and nuclear cardiology and is a registered physician in vascular interpretation. Dr. Bond is a well-known spokesperson for the American Heart Association, Go Red for Women Campaign.

Celina Gorre is the Chief Executive Officer of WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease. Before joining WomenHeart in 2019, Celina served as executive director of the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD). In that role, she led the GACD Secretariat team based in London. Previously, she was the managing director of the Foundation for the United Nations Global Compact where she headed up the private sector funding team and lead the overall development and management of the New York-based nonprofit. She also worked in the field with United Nations Populations Fund and UNICEF in Angola as a senior HIV/AIDS advisor. She consulted with the government of Angola on its HIV strategy, child survival, and nutrition programs, and local companies on their social and community investments. Gorre also has extensive experience developing health and social programs for multinational companies. She has worked for the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (now GBCHealth), guiding companies such as Nike, Volkswagen, Colgate, American Express, and Chevron, on their strategy implementation for employees, consumers, and in communities. She also led global training for Gap Inc.‘s social responsibility department. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in psychology, a Master’s in Public Health in epidemiology, both from UCLA and a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University.

Amy Friedrich-Karnik is the Vice President of Advocacy and Communications at WomenHeart where she oversees the organization’s policy, advocacy, communications and marketing efforts to advance support and access to care for women living with and at risk for heart disease. She launched the organization’s Advocacy Corps of volunteer WomenHeart Champions, collaborates with partner organizations and coalitions, and leads campaigns to raise awareness of women’s heart health. Prior to joining WomenHeart, she was the Senior Federal Policy Advisor at the Center for Reproductive Rights, where she helped lead the Center’s federal policy work. She focused on developing and implementing strategies to ensure protection for reproductive rights and access to reproductive healthcare in the U.S, regularly engaged with Congress and coalition allies, and oversaw the Act for Women campaign. Previously, Amy was an independent consultant, providing guidance to non-profit clients on policy and advocacy, development strategies, and project management on women’s health and caregiving issues. Before going out on her own, Amy worked at Family Caregiver Alliance and for U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky. Amy received a Master of Public Policy degree from UCLA. She is chair of the Board of Directors for NARAL Prochoice Virginia Foundation and lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and two children.

Peggy received her BSN from Grand Canyon University and has been a nurse for almost 30 years. She spent over 22 years as an Intensive Care Nurse both in the SICU and MICU. Six years ago, she established one of the first Structural Heart Coordinator positions at Chandler Regional Medical Hospital and has played a lead role in establishing the TAVR, LAAO, and the new TEER program. She is a member of P.E.O International that helps women advance their education with scholarships and motivates women to achieve their goals. An Arizona native, married and proud of my 3 adult children.

Laurel received my BSN from The University of Arizona in 1984. Her 38 year nursing career includes working Telemetry, Trauma/ICU, CVICU, Cardiac Rehab and Structural Heart Coordinator. She is currently employed as a Co-Structural Heart Coordinator at Chandler Regional Medical Center. Her interest has always been in cardiovascular nursing, maintaining our "organ of life". Laurel is married with three grown children. Her outside interests include traveling, bike riding, skiing and playing cards with friends. She cannot express how important it is to take care of your engine...your heart!!

Julia has been a nurse for nearly 19 years, exclusively in cardiac medicine. She is an electrophysiology and cardiac catheterization laboratory nurse for Dignity Health in Chandler, Arizona. She has a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, and holds a national certification in Progressive Care Nursing. Julia has a passion for education, not only for herself, but for fellow nurses, patients, and families, and uses those talents to educate and advocate for women's heart health. She assisted in developing the WomenHeart Program for Dignity Health and serves as the Program Coordinator. She grew up living all over the United States, but has lived in Arizona for 17 years with her husband and two sons. In her free time, Julia enjoys cheering on her sons on the soccer field.

Noreen spent 15+ years working with families dealing with aging family members who were diagnosed with dementia or other life challenging diagnoses. She was also trained in end of life discussions through Respecting Choices. Her practice goal was always to provide a person to maintain their dignity and live on their terms as much as possible, within safe perimeters. In July, 2019, Noreen had chest discomfort while attending a family party in Illinois. Her cardiac history, including stress tests and echoes had always been negative. She had consistently normal cholesterol and perfect blood pressure. There was a family history of cardiac disease. Noreen's mother had silent heart attacks throughout her life that weren’t discovered until within a year of her death, when she was already in heart failure. Two brothers already had stent placements for dramatic "widow makers." Both were treated within minutes of admission to the ER. When she was in the ER, her EKG was normal. Her heart rate was increasing, as it had been since she left the party (per fitbit) and her blood pressure was 180/110. The nurse said it was probably anxiety since the EKG was normal. Noreen was adamant. After 55 minutes, she was admitted to an ER room, and told my cardiac enzymes were elevated. She had an angiogram 19 hours later that revealed a 99% blockage of the LAD, the widower maker.

Brian Bethea, MD is the Chief of Cardiac Surgery at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital and the regional chief of outreach for the Baltimore region. He is board certified in thoracic surgery. Dr. Bethea’s clinical interests involve minimally invasive approaches to valvular and structural heart disease. This includes procedures such as TAVR, transcatheter mitral valve repair and replacement, transcatheter tricuspid valve repair and replacement, and multi-arterial coronary revascularization. Dr. Bethea is a member of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. After earning his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma, Dr. Bethea completed his residency in general surgery, followed by a fellowship in cardiac surgery, at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Bethea has participated in nearly all major U.S. clinical trials for TAVR and has been involved in early feasibility trials for transcatheter mitral valve repair and replacement. Due to his reputation, excellent outcomes, and high surgical volumes, he was selected to participate in past trials for the mitral and tricuspid valves, including Tendyne™, MitraClip™, ENCIRCLE, and TRILUMINATE. He is the only surgeon in Maryland to offer patient the latter two options. He is a physician educator and proctor, traveling throughout the world to teach valve repair and replacement techniques to other surgeons. He serves as selection chair for the Tendyne trial, overseeing all patient selection for the entire trial. Dr. Bethea has presented his work internationally and is widely published in all the major cardiothoracic medical journals. He was among the first authors to be published on the topic of transcatheter mitral valve replacement–a rapidly evolving and expanding field. Philosophy of Care “I aim to provide personalized, tailored care to each of my patients. Whether it’s a minimally invasive procedure, an open procedure, or a hybrid approach, I find the method that will best fit the person, rather than the other way around. Since I have been involved in the development of so many new technologies, I can provide patients with all their options, so we can make an informed decision together. I wholeheartedly believe in a team approach to providing care, and view patients, their families, and their referring physicians as integral members of the care team.”

Jeffrey E. Cohen, MD, is a cardiovascular surgeon at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and the surgical director of the Structural Heart program for Washington region. He also serves as assistant professor of surgery at Georgetown University School of Medicine Dr. Cohen treats the complete range of adult cardiac diseases, including aortic stenosis and regurgitation, mitral regurgitation, mitral stenosis, tricuspid valve disease, endocarditis, coronary artery disease, and aortic aneurysm and dissection. He specializes in complex aortic surgery and structural heart therapies, implementing open, endovascular, and transcatheter techniques including transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR), and transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR). He is a member of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons and serves as associate editor for the international, peer-reviewed journal Cardiovascular Revascularization Medicine (CRM). Dr. Cohen earned his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He then completed a residency in general surgery at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, followed by a fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at Stanford University Medical Center. Dr. Cohen’s research has focused on developing novel therapies to correct the lack of blood flow to the heart to prevent tragic events such as a myocardial infarction, or a heart attack. His groundbreaking research investigating photosynthetic therapy for ischemic disease was published in Science Advances. His upcoming work will include studying gene therapy to address coronary artery disease. He has presented his research at a variety of national and international symposia and was a faculty speaker at the recent CRT meeting­–one of the world’s leading interventional cardiology conferences. Philosophy of Care “I consider it a privilege to be granted the trust to operate on my patients. I believe in spending as much time with them as needed in order to inform them about their treatment, including pre-operative preparation, surgery, and post-operative care. I strive to offer patients the newest and most up-to-date therapies that will give them the best long-term results, most successful surgical outcomes, and shortest hospital stays. I offer them my recommendations for the best plan of care, recognizing that all key decisions must be made between myself, the patient, and the patient’s loved ones.”

Lowell Satler, MD, is Medical Director of the Cardiovascular Training and Educational Center and Director of Coronary Interventions at MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC. Dr. Satler was one of the key physicians in the launch of the Structural Heart Disease Program, which advocates the use of percutaneous techniques to treat valvular disorders when standard surgery is not recommended. In collaboration with Children's National Medical Center, he developed the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program -- the only program in the region designed to follow patients with congenital heart defects from birth to adulthood. This program is fully staffed by congenital heart cardiologists to meet stringent requirements for multidisciplinary care. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Satler is an active investigator and serves as principal investigator for 21 interventional cardiology research protocols to improve patient outcomes in the treatment of coronary artery disease, congenital heart disease, carotid artery diseases, and other conditions. In collaboration with AT&T, Dr. Satler developed CodeHeart, a wireless application that allows physicians to view ECGs and participate in real-time videoconferencing over a secure network. This technology was designed to improve heart attack diagnoses in the field, but can be used in all aspects of medical care to facilitate communication between experts and remote locations, thus enhancing treatment provided by first responders and shortening patient waiting time for treatment. Dr. Satler writes and publishes extensively on the topic of invasive cardiology. His repertoire includes more than 300 scholarly publications in peer-reviewed journals and nearly 400 abstracts. In addition, he serves on the editorial boards of several cardiology journals, including the Journal of the American College of Cardiology,Catheterization and Cardiovascular Intervention, and the Journal of Invasive Cardiology. He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Cardiovascular Diseases and Interventional Cardiology. He is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the American College of Cardiology, the American Medical Association, the American Heart Association, and the American College of Physicians. Dr. Satler earned his medical degree from Albany Medical College in New York. He completed a residency in Medicine at Albany Medical Center and a Cardiology Fellowship at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, AL.

Ron Waksman, MD, specializes in Interventional Cardiology. Dr. Waksman is the associate director of the Division of Cardiology at MedStar Heart Institute. He is also the director of Cardiovascular Research and Advanced Education at the Heart Institute. In addition, Dr. Waksman serves as clinical professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at Georgetown University. He is editor-in-chief of Cardiovascular Revascularization Medicine and on the editorial boards of a number of other publications, including European Heart Journal and Journal of Interventional Cardiology. Dr. Waksman publishes extensively and has authored or co-authored more than 600 articles. He has been the principal investigator for more than 100 research trials. Dr. Waksman serves on the Cardiac Cath Laboratory Peer Review Committee at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and is a MedStar Heart Institute board member.

John C. Wang, MD, is chief of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at MedStar Union Memorial and scientific director for Baltimore Cardiovascular Research. Dr. Wang is board certified in Interventional Cardiology, Cardiovascular Disease and Internal Medicine. He specializes in minimally invasive procedures that increase blood flow to the heart, diminish chest pain and decrease the risk of heart attack. Dr. Wang and his team perform more than 5,000 procedures a year. He finds great satisfaction in how quickly a patient's quality of life improves with the latest techniques in angioplasty, stenting and catheterization. Using an advanced procedure known as transradial cardiac catheterization, performed through the patient's wrist, Dr. Wang is able to offer patients a less-invasive, safer option than traditional catheterization, as well as a quicker recovery time and shorter hospital stay. Dr. Wang also performs transcatheter aortic valve replacements (also known as TAVR). He replaces a patient's aortic valve via a small catheter placed through the femoral artery without traditional open-heart surgery. MedStar Union Memorial is one of the few hospitals in the region to offer these procedures. Dr. Wang's passion for clinical research helps improve the lives of patients. Widely published, Dr. Wang has been the principal investigator or sub-investigator on more than 40 studies relating to the safety and efficacy of new devices and technology in interventional cardiology. Currently, he is the national principal investigator of the OMEGA trial studying the latest generation of bare metal stents. Before his medical training, Dr. Wang received his undergraduate degree from the University of Chicago. He also earned a Master's of Science in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. John Wang, MD, named 2020 "Top Docs" by Baltimore magazine for interventional cardiology.

Dr. Thourani is board certified in surgery and cardiothoracic surgery. He earned his medical degree from Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Thourani completed a general surgery internship at Emory University, followed by a residency and fellowship at Emory University. He also completed visiting fellowships for minimally invasive and transcatheter valve surgery at Fuwai Hospital in Beijing, China, and a fellowship with Prof Fred Mohr in Leipzig, Germany. Dr. Thourani is a member of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, American Board of Thoracic Surgery, American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, the Heart Valve Society, the International Society of Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery, the South Atlantic Cardiovascular Society, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. He serves as the President of the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association (2019-2020) and the President-elect for the Heart Valve Society (2019-2020). Dr. Thourani specializes in valve surgery, specifically in minimally invasive and transcatheter aortic and mitral valve surgery. He is passionate about working with a multi-disciplinary team in providing the patient with options for traditional, minimally invasive, and transcatheter surgical options. In his spare time, Dr. Thourani enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, tennis, and going to sporting events and concerts.

John Whyte, MD, MPH, is a popular physician and writer who has been communicating to the public about health issues for nearly two decades. Whyte is the Chief Medical Officer, WebMD. In this role, Whyte leads efforts to develop and expand strategic partnerships that create meaningful change around important and timely public health issues. Prior to WebMD, Whyte served as the director of professional affairs and stakeholder engagement at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Whyte worked with health care professionals, patients, and patient advocates, providing them with a focal point for advocacy, enhanced two-way communication, and collaboration, assisting them in navigating the FDA on issues concerning drug development, review, and drug safety. He also developed numerous initiatives to address diversity in clinical trials. Prior to this, Whyte worked for nearly a decade as the chief medical expert and vice president, health and medical education, at Discovery Channel, the leading nonfiction television network. In this role, Whyte developed, designed, and delivered educational programming that appealed to both a medical and lay audience. This included television shows as well as online content that won over 50 awards including numerous Tellys, CINE Golden Eagle, and Freddies. Whyte is a board-certified internist. He completed an internal medicine residency at Duke University Medical Center as well as earned a Master of Public Health in health policy and management at Harvard University School of Public Health. Prior to arriving in Washington, Whyte was a health services research fellow at Stanford and attending physician in the department of medicine. He has written extensively in the medical and lay press. He continues to see patients in Washington, DC, and Maryland.

Ms. Michaels has been with the ACC for over twelve years. She is the Director of the STS/ACC TVT Registry. Ms. Michaels is a registered nurse with extensive experience working in the cardiovascular area. She held several cardiac management positions at the Inova Heart and Vascular Institute at Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va. Prior to coming to ACC she was the Director of the NIH Cath Lab at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. Ms. Michaels received her BSN from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and her MSN from The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC.

Dr. Yadav is board certified in interventional cardiology, cardiovascular disease and internal medicine. He earned his medical degree from the Government Medical College in India. He completed his residency and cardiovascular fellowship at Penn State University, followed by an interventional cardiology fellowship at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Lastly, he completely a fellowship in structural heart disease interventions at Henry Ford Hospital. Dr. Yadav is a member of American College of Cardiology and Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions. He has published numerous scientific articles in peer-reviewed medical journals. Dr. Yadav specializes in transcatheter treatment of variety of heart valves conditions including valve repairs and replacements. Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR) with special interest in patients who don’t have routine femoral access, Percutaneous Mitral Valve Repair (MitraClip), Transcatheter Mitral Valve Replacement (TMVR), Left Atrial Appendage Closure, Alcohol Septal Ablation, Paravalvular Leak Closure. He is passionate about cutting edge new therapies and moving the field forward. In his spare time, Dr. Yadav enjoys spending time with his wife, their families, traveling and the outdoors.

Peter Flueckiger, M.D., earned his undergraduate degree, medical degree, and completed internal medicine residency training at Emory University and Emory University School of Medicine. He continued his training in Cardiovascular Medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC where he served as Chief Cardiology Fellow. Dr. Flueckiger also completed an advanced cardiovascular imaging fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, CT with a focus on echocardiography, cardiac computed tomography, and Cardiac MRI. Dr. Flueckiger is board certified in internal medicine, cardiology, and nuclear medicine. Dr. Flueckiger treats patients with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease, heart failure, and other cardiovascular conditions. He has a special interest in cardiac imaging and preventive cardiology. In his spare time, Dr. Flueckiger enjoys hiking, biking, traveling, following local sports teams, and spending time with family and friends.

Ben Holland, MD, received his undergraduate degree from The University of Georgia. He earned his medical degree from Mercer University in 2005. He completed his Internal Medicine residency at the University of Virginia in 2008. He went on to complete cardiology fellowship at Wake Forest University. After an additional year of training in interventional cardiology, Dr. Holland moved back to his home town of Athens, GA in 2012. Dr. Holland welcomes new patients and accepts most insurance plans.

Amy Simone is a Physician Assistant who received her training in Boston, MA at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. She is entering her sixteenth year of practice as a PA, and has spent over a decade in the Structural Heart arena. She was the Structural Heart and Valve Coordinator at Emory University Midtown Hospital for over 6 years before transitioning to the Piedmont Heart Institute as the Director of the Marcus Heart Valve Center in 2017. She is a Past President of the Academy of Physician Associates in Cardiology (APAC) and in 2022 was appointed the APAC Structural Heart Disease Committee Chair. She is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC) and serves on the ACC Cardiovascular Team Section Leadership Council, the ACC Physician Assistant Committee and the ACC Georgia Chapter Program Committee. In 2019 she co-published a textbook entitled Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Program Development – A Guide for the Heart Team. She is passionate about patient advocacy and experience, program optimization, and addressing disparities in care. She lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband Michael and daughter Ivy.

Andrea is the Executive Director of The Mended Hearts, Inc. She has a Master of Science in Nonprofit Management and Leadership and is a Board-Certified Patient Advocate. Andrea has been a part of the Mended Hearts® organization for 12 years when she founded Mended Little Hearts of Southwestern, PA shortly after her son was born with a congenital heart defect in 2009. She has held a variety of roles including Director of Patient Advocacy and Vice President of Mended Little Hearts. Andrea has been deeply involved in advocacy efforts; working to assure that the patient voice is at the table and to empower patients to become better healthcare consumers and improve their quality of life through support, education, and advocacy. Andrea lives in Pittsburgh, PA with her husband and four children.

Susan Strong is the founding President and current Director of Patient Engagement for Heart Valve Voice US, the only patient-lead organization in the country that exclusively focuses on improving the diagnosis, treatment and management of heart valve disease. A champion of patient advocacy and engagement, Susan serves as an AHA Heart Valve Ambassador, a member of the NQF Cardiology Standing Committee, and as a PCORI Ambassador. She has presented the patient perspective on panels at numerous professional conferences including ACC, TCT, TVT, SMDM, and NIH. With a keen focus on meaningful inclusion of patient stakeholders, Susan is passionate about improving patient experience and outcomes through collaborative partnerships in research, healthcare systems and industry. With an extensive network of patient advocates and non-profit organizations, she collaborates with a wide range of stakeholders to help improve processes and policies that impact patient care.

Shannon Goldrick is a registered nurse and clinical educator. Her experience includes working in neurosurgical/COVID-19 intensive care units at North Shore University Hospital, a level I trauma center. With a passion for global and preventative health initiatives, Shannon works on behalf of CardioVisual, a digital heart-health app, to bring greater awareness to cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Shannon received her baccalaureate degree in nursing from the University of Connecticut @ Storrs and her MSN with a specialization in nursing education at Sacred Heart University.

Dr. Alli is an interventional cardiologist at Novant Health. Learn more about Dr. Alli at https://www.novanthealth.org/pf/providers/1053524967/oluseun-alli/about-me.

Dr. Matthew Sherwood is an interventional cardiology physician board certified in cardiovascular medicine and interventional cardiology. He joined Inova Medical Group with several years of clinical experience. He has a special interest in the management of valvular and structural heart disease. Most recently Dr. Sherwood served as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Duke University and the Durham VA Medical Center. Dr. Sherwood became interested in interventional cardiology because of the opportunity to treat complex coronary and structural heart disease with the latest technology available to improve patients’ lives. His goal is to help patients with structural heart disease live their lives to the fullest, without limitations. A native of Honolulu, HI, Dr. Sherwood currently resides in Arlington, VA, with his wife and children. In his spare time he enjoys running and playing golf.