Advocacy Committee

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Makes recommendations on the Society’s response to global opportunities to support or inform research, education, technologies, and policies that improve access to care and outcomes for patients with advanced heart and lung disease.

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Alan Betensley, MD

Alan Betensley, MD (2026)

Chair

Northwestern University
Stuart Sweet, MD, PhD

Stuart Sweet, MD, PhD (2026)

Past Chair

National Institutes of Health
Angela Velleca, DNP, MSHS, RN, CCTC

Angela Velleca, DNP, MSHS, RN, CCTC (2026)

Board of Directors Liaison

Cedars-Sinai Smidt Heart Inst & Comprehensive Transplant Ctr
Los Angeles, CA USA
Rayid Abdulqawi, MD, PhD

Rayid Abdulqawi, MD, PhD (2026)

Member

King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre
Nicholas Avdimiretz, MD, FRCPC

Nicholas Avdimiretz, MD, FRCPC (2026)

Member

British Columbia Children's Hosp, Univ of British Columbia
Vancouver, Canada
Alexander Bernhardt, MD

Alexander Bernhardt, MD (2026)

Member

University Heart and Vascular Center Hamburg
Hamburg, Germany
Carles Diez-Lopez, MD, PhD

Carles Diez-Lopez, MD, PhD (2026)

Member

Bellvitge University Hospital
Barcelona, Spain
Chantal Elamm, MD

Chantal Elamm, MD (2026)

Member

University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
Cleveland, OH USA
Christiana Gjelaj, DNP

Christiana Gjelaj, DNP (2026)

Member

Montefiore Medical Center
Anita Kelkar, MD, MPH

Anita Kelkar, MD, MPH (2026)

Member

Department of Veterans Affairs
Nicholas Kolaitis, MD

Nicholas Kolaitis, MD (2026)

Member

University of California, San Francisco
San Rafael, CA USA
Monique Robinson, MD PhD

Monique Robinson, MD PhD (2026)

Member

University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
Cleveland, OH USA
Leslie Seijo, MD

Leslie Seijo, MD (2026)

Member

University of California, San Francisco
Johannes Steiner, MD

Johannes Steiner, MD (2026)

Member

OHSU
Aaron Adair,

Aaron Adair,

ISHLT Staff Liaison

ISHLT

The ISHLT Advocacy Committee makes recommendations on the Society’s response to global opportunities to support or inform research, education, technologies, and policies that improve access to care and outcomes for patients with advanced heart and lung disease.

OPTN Comment Library

Policies

Committee Composition and Selection
Committee Composition and Selection

The Committee will number no fewer than 5 and no more than 9 members.

  • Chair: An ISHLT leader will be appointed by the President to serve as Chair of the Committee. The Chair is approved by the Executive Committee. The Chair term is one year. The Chair may serve up to three consecutive one-year terms.
  • Committee Members: The Chair will populate the Committee, to include ISHLT members with relevant experience who represent the Society’s four Interdisciplinary Networks. Committee members will include balanced geographic and gender representation and include at least one Early Career member. Committee members serve one-year terms that may be renewed once. The Executive Committee will approve the Chair’s proposed members.
  • Board Liaison: The President will appoint a board member to serve as Board Liaison (ex officio, non-voting).
  • Staff: A senior ISHLT staff member will serve the committee in a support role.
Committee Responsibilities
Committee Responsibilities
  • ISHLT will advocate in response to opportunities anywhere in the world that support or inform research, education, technologies, and policies that improve access to care and outcomes for patients with advanced heart and lung disease.
  • The Committee will develop and maintain general guidance about issues the Society should address, which will constitute a series of core tenets, which may be refined over time. (e.g., ISHLT supports equitable access to therapies for advanced heart and lung disease for all patients; ISHLT supports policies worldwide that ensure the rights of individuals in the organ donation process…)
  • The Advocacy Committee is responsible for providing procedural guidance and event-driven input to inform ISHLT activities as an organization or in partnership with other organizations.
  • The Committee will use the following hierarchy to prioritize response activity: 1) Issues where ISHLT has existing policy, standards or guidelines 2) Issues where controversy is unlikely and/or minimal expertise is required from members will be needed to craft a response and 3) Issues where controversy is likely and/or significant expertise is required from members will be needed to craft a response.
  • The Committee is responsible for determining the appropriate body within ISHLT to respond to an issue based on the required expertise, either by confirming the use of an existing body or creating an ad hoc group and overseeing the timeline of the response to meet the requested deadline. This includes the evaluation and approval of joint statements with other organizations.
  • The Executive Committee will provide final approval for ISHLT advocacy statements or will determine that approval of the Board of Directors is required for statements where controversy is likely.
  • The Committee will consider additional issues upon request by the Board of Directors.
  • The Committee will meet twice per year at minimum and as needed.
  • The Committee is not a corporate committee and does not have the authority to act on behalf of the society without board approval.