Elections will be held at the Annual Meeting of the House of Delegates on June 14, 2022.

Officers and four councils are elected by the American Medical Association House of Delegates (HOD) at the Annual Meeting. The elections are by secret ballot and are conducted under the supervision of the Committee on Rules and Credentials and the chief teller, who are appointed by the speaker and vice speaker, who are responsible for overall administration of the elections.

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2022-2026

 

 

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My personal experience in building public health infrastructure to provide mental health services began shortly after I completed my Masters in Public Health, when I served as co-chair of The Trevor Project’s Next Gen. Here, I supported the organization’s lifesaving efforts to provide crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ+ youth. In addition to leading fundraising efforts and driving education and community outreach on youth suicide, I also served as a counselor in a program known as “Dear Trevor.” This program helps kids struggling with mental health, identity or thoughts of self-harm get the help they need by writing to trained counselors. As I read the heartrending letters from thousands of hurting youth and did my best to provide meaningful words and resources to help, I was struck by the magnitude of the need, emphasizing the criticality of our fundraising efforts to increase monetary and human resource capacity.

Yet, while organizations and foundations can provide vital community support to confront specific public health needs, some challenges require policy solutions and involvement of our national public health system. On June 12, 2016, I awoke at our AMA House of Delegates ready for Reference Committee hearings, only to learn the shocking news that the largest mass shooting in U.S. history had occurred at Pulse Nightclub, leaving 50 dead and another 53 wounded. Working with an unprecedented coalition across our House of Delegates as cosponsors, I crafted language that became policy without dissent, declaring gun violence to be a public health crisis requiring a comprehensive public health solution. When that very language was quoted on the Senate floor only moments after it passed the HOD, it drove home the impact of our collective action.

My commitment to improve our mental health has permeated every aspect of my life, not only in my volunteerism and policymaking efforts but now also in my professional career. In September, I took a role as Chief Medical Officer at a company whose mission is to fight the opioid crisis. Shortly after I took that role, the CDC released devastating data demonstrating that yearly overdose deaths surpassed 100,000 for the first time ever. I wake up every day determined to bend that curve and do everything I can to save the lives of those with substance use disorders.

All of my efforts at our AMA are due in large part to the tremendous support of my family, and no one provides more love and support than my beautiful son Leo. He brings so much joy, happiness and laughter to my life, and I treasure every day I am with him.

• Visit the AMA elections page for information on other candidates running for office.
• Find up to date information for the June Annual Meeting of the HOD.