There are moments in a professional journey that don't feel like milestones so much as moments of clarity — when everything you've been building toward suddenly feels more connected, more grounded, and more meaningful.

The 2026 American College of Cardiology (ACC) Annual Meeting was one of those moments for me.

It was a week filled with learning, leadership, and connection — but more than anything, it was a reminder of something simple and powerful: we belong to each other in this work.

That message was beautifully captured by Dr. Roxana Mehran: "You belong."

It's a phrase that stayed with me throughout the meeting — not as sentiment, but as a challenge to how we show up for one another in cardiovascular care.

Becoming an FACC: A Commitment to Something Larger Than Ourselves

One of the most meaningful parts of ACC 2026 was celebrating my election as a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC).

It is an honor I don't take lightly. But more than a credential, Fellowship is a commitment — a public reaffirmation of how we choose to practice, lead, and serve.

The FACC Oath reflects that responsibility:

"In accepting Fellowship in the American College of Cardiology, I reaffirm my commitment to transform cardiovascular care and improve heart health, with patients at the center of all that I do."

"I will embody professionalism and the ideal of our Fellowship to work with my cardiovascular team members, to teach, to learn, and to share in order to create a world where innovation and knowledge optimize cardiovascular care and patient outcomes."

"I will search diligently for what is yet unknown, push back the barrier in those places where more light may be had; I will give freely of what I find and of what I know."

In a healthcare environment that often feels stretched and fragmented, these words matter.

They remind us that excellence is not individual — it is collective. It is built through shared learning, shared accountability, and shared purpose.

I could not be prouder to belong to this organization and this community.

ACC 2026: Turning Conversation Into Action

This year's ACC meeting was energizing not because of any single session, but because of the consistency of the themes across every room: urgency, alignment, and execution.

I had the privilege of participating in three sessions:

  • From Protocols to Partnership: Operational Strategies Transforming Care (Moderator)
  • Power in Partnership: Aligning Teams & Data (Co-chair of the James Dove Keynote)
  • Advancing in Cardiovascular Leadership (Panelist)

Across these discussions, one question kept surfacing: how do we move from ideas to impact faster, without losing alignment or trust along the way?

A few key takeaways I'm carrying forward:

  • We must move ideas into action faster — because patients cannot wait for slow translation of knowledge into practice
  • We have to keep pushing physician and administrative alignment beyond structure and into true shared ownership
  • We need to ensure we are using data to drive decisions, not just debate

None of these are new ideas. But ACC is one of the few places where they are sharpened by real-world urgency and shared across disciplines that don't often get enough time in the same room.

That is where progress accelerates.

Why Administrators Belong at ACC

One of the most important reflections I had this year was a simple question:

Why would an administrator belong at the American College of Cardiology?

The answer, for me, has become increasingly clear.

  • Because it's where my doctors are.
  • Because it's how I show up to support them.
  • Because it's where I learn what matters most to them — and to the patients we all serve.

I've always struggled with the phrase "non-clinical" when used to describe healthcare administrators. Not because it is inaccurate in skill set, but because it can unintentionally imply distance from care.

My role is not to interpret an EKG, place a stent, or manage a cath lab procedure.

But it is to understand cardiovascular care deeply enough to build the systems, structures, and teams that allow that work to happen well — and consistently.

That requires proximity. Not abstraction.

The ACC has been my professional home for over a decade. I am grateful to leaders like Michael Valentine, who first introduced me to this community years ago. It has shaped how I lead, how I think, and how I show up in healthcare.

If I could offer one reflection to healthcare administrators, it would be this:

Don't stay adjacent to the medical community you serve. Get closer to it.

Because when you understand what matters most to clinicians, you design better systems for patients.

Belonging as a Leadership Practice

This year's theme — felt across sessions, conversations, and informal moments — was belonging.

Not as comfort. But as responsibility.

Dr. Roxana Mehran's message, "You belong," carried a deeper implication for me this year: belonging is not passive. It is something we build, reinforce, and extend to others.

In cardiovascular care, where the pace is intense and the stakes are high, belonging becomes a stabilizing force. It allows teams to stay connected even when the work is hard. It creates space for curiosity, disagreement, and growth without fragmentation.

Belonging is not just culture. It is infrastructure for better care.

What I'm Taking Forward from ACC 2026

As I leave this year's ACC Annual Meeting, I am carrying forward three core reminders:

  • First, belonging is not an outcome — it is a leadership behavior. It shows up in how we include, listen, and engage across disciplines.
  • Second, alignment is built through proximity, not process. Real partnership happens in shared rooms, shared language, and shared understanding of the work.
  • Third, the future of cardiovascular care depends on shared ownership between clinicians and administrators. Not parallel tracks — but integrated leadership.

ACC 2026 was not just a professional meeting. It was a reminder of why this work matters and how it is meant to be done.

I left the conference energized, focused, and deeply grateful — but also recommitted.

To the work. To the people. And to the idea that in cardiovascular medicine, we don't just collaborate.

We belong.

And when we lead from that place, we change what's possible.