American Heart Association logoAmerican Heart Association

Indiana

Help us ensure everyone in Indiana has the opportunity to live longer, healthier lives.
Indiana

Leading with Survivors

Ava was born with half a heart. Despite three open-heart surgeries to repair it, she needed a transplant at age 8. She waited in the hospital nearly two years before receiving a new heart.

Addressing Nutrition Insecurity

Fruit and vegetable market

Half of Central Indiana residents have low or no access to healthy foods, leading to chronic diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and diabetes. We’re collaborating with local organizations to increase access to healthy foods.

Inspiring Teens to Avoid Vaping

Inspiring Teens

The use of e-cigarettes (vaping) has increased dramatically over the past few years, especially among teens. We’re working to educate teens and parents about the dangers of vaping, including the fact that many vape “pods” have as much nicotine as an entire pack of cigarettes.

Share Your Survivor Story

Share Your Survivor Story  

Are you a survivor? Help us raise awareness for cardiovascular disease and stroke through your story.

Give Thanks Today with 2x Impact!

Thanks to medical breakthroughs funded by the American Heart Association – and donors like you – many families have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season.

Many more families still need your help – heart disease is our nation’s leading cause of death. Give today and your donation will be DOUBLED to support pioneering research, education and prevention programs and more.

Events in Your Area

Indianapolis Go Red for Women Luncheon

Location: The Westin Indianapolis

Date: Friday, February 28, 2025 - 10:00 AM

Learn More

Indianapolis Heart & Stroke Ball

Location: The Westin Indianapolis

Date: Friday, April 25, 2025 - 06:00 PM

Learn More

In Your Community

The American Heart Association is committed to driving equitable health impact in Indiana through five key priority areas: women, readiness, tobacco and vaping, patients, and healthy living. Equity is always at the center of our work, and it will continue to guide all that we do.

Through our focus on these key impact areas, and with collaboration among local organizations, sponsors, businesses, and others that serve the community, we are working to improve the health and well-being of Indiana citizens while saving and improving countless lives.

Throughout the state of Indiana, we’ve seen our community impact work grow, including efforts around creating avenues for greater access to care, expanding healthy food access and education, building a network of first responders through CPR kits in schools, supporting blood pressure screenings and education, and educating on the dangers of tobacco and vaping.

People are counting on us as never before. We at the American Heart Association, along with our supporters, will drive change, and we will be relentless. Thank you for your continued support.
Community
For more than 40 years, Advocacy has had a mission-critical role in the American Heart Association's work. Our legislative and regulatory priorities help to mitigate risk factors and protect survivors in communities across the country. We support the enactment of evidence-based public policies that lead to longer, healthier lives.

Public policy advocacy is an essential strategy used by the Association to affect necessary and sustainable policy, system and environmental changes that help Indiana citizens build healthier lives free of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

Our efforts in Indiana and its communities are focused on the following policy areas: Tobacco and Vaping, Access to Care, Medicaid Expansion, Systems of Care, Nutrition Security, Active Living and Hypertension Prevention and Control.
Advocacy

The American Heart Association's work in Indiana is focused on five primary areas: CPR, Nutrition Security, Ending Tobacco & Vaping, Women's Health, and managing Blood Pressure. Our 'Bold Hearts' TV series goes into more detail about how we're working in each of these areas to help Hoosiers live longer, healthier lives.

Go Red for Women

Blood Pressure

CPR

Nutrition Security / Food as Medicine

Reducing the Burden of Tobacco and Vaping

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Chair
Mark C. Jacob
Vice President, Capital Programs & Engineering / Quality
Citizens Energy Group

President
William J. Gill, MD
Medical Director Cardiovascular Services
IU Health West Hospital
IU Health Physicians

Chair-Elect
Kevin Speer
Senior Vice President
Ascension Indiana
Chief Executive Officer
Ascension St.Vincent Indiana

President-Elect
Larry Markham, MD
Chief, Division of Pediatric Cardiology
Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health

Leadership Development Chair
Terri Ruff
Chief Operating Officer
Franciscan Health Indianapolis

Society Ambassador
Elizabeth Cooke
Community Leader

MEMBERS

Joel Benson
Associate
Barnes & Thornburg

Rachel Doba
President
DB Engineering

Sandeep Dube, MD
Physician Executive
Community Heart and
Vascular Hospital and Cardiovascular Product Line

Saura Fortin-Erazo, MD, MBA
Chief Medical Officer
Eskenazi Health Center

Rachel Hoffmeyer
Associate Director of Communications, Immunology
Eli Lilly & Company

Henry Hummel
CEO
TRIMEDX

Philip G. Kenney
President
F.A. Wilhelm Construction

Buu Le Lien
Vice President, HR
Lilly Research Laboratories
Eli Lilly and Company

Fred Pervine
Fire Chief
Indianapolis Airport Authority

Shephanie Shelley
VP of Marketing, Core Lab
Roche Diagnostics Corporation

Jerry Smartt Jr, MD
Smartt Neurology

Justin Toussing
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department

Erica Woebse
Associate Director
Valinhos Foundation


Event Leadership - Indianapolis

2024 Heart Walk Chair
Parveen Chand, MHA, FACHE
Ascension St. Vincent

2024 Hard Hats with Heart Chairs
Kelly Abel

Weddle Bros. Construction

Rod Foley
North Mechanical Contracting & Service

2025 Go Red for Women Chairs
Aly Bove

QuidelOrtho

Chrissy Ryan
Ryan Fireprotection, Inc.

2025 Heart & Stroke Ball Chair
Jeffrey Harrison

Citizens Energy Group

Past Event Leadership

Go Red For Women
Elizabeth Cooke

2024 Co-Chair

Katie Lucas
Lucas Oil Producents
2024 Co-Chair

Kim Speer
2023 Chair

Jessica Nickloy
The Etica Group
2022 Chair

Sunny Lu Williams
TechServ
2021 Chair

Shelley Meador
Allegion
2020 Chair

Jennifer Zinn
2019 Chair

Nancy Martin
2018 Chair

Cindy Adams
Allison Barber
2017 Co-Chairs

Dr. Virginia Caine
Marion County Public Health Dept.
2016 Chair

Heart & Stroke Ball
Bill Browne

RATIO Architects
2024 Co-Chair

Tiffany Benedict Browne
Historic Indianapolis
2024 Co-Chair

Jim Mladucky
Indiana University Health
2023 Chair

Phil Kenney
F.A. Wilhelm Construction
2022 Chair

Doug Bowen
Bowen Engineering
2021 Chair

Mark C. Jacob
Citizens Energy Group
2020 Chair

Ersal Ozdemir
Indy Eleven | Keystone Group
2019 Chair

Al Gatmaitan
2018 Chair

Heart Walk
Atul R. Chugh, MD, FACC, RPVI

Franciscan Physician Network
2023 Chair

Jim Wright
Byrider
2022 Chair

Mark Isenberg
Zotec Partners
2020 Chair

Parveen Chand
Indiana University Health
2019 Chair

Ram Yeleti
Community Health Network
2018 Chair

Carl Ellison
Indiana Minority Health Coalition
2017 Chair

Mark Owens
Barnes & Thornburg
2016 Chair

Hard Hats with Heart
Carl Dennin

Messer Construction
2023 Co-Chair

Kyle Hardie
Indiana University Health
2023 Co-Chair

Mark Bowell
Tesco
2022 Co-Chair

Rachel Doba
DB Engineering
2022 Co-Chair

Kurt Stahl
Wurster Construction
2021 Chair

Steve Bestard
Messer Construction
2019-20 Co-Chair

Greg Gossett
ERMCO, Inc.
2019-20 Co-Chair

Julia Saltsgaver
Quality Connection of Central Indiana
2018 Chair

Dan Peddicord
Pepper Construction
2017 Chair

TJ Morgan
HIS Constructors
2016 Chair


Board President
Dr. Marsha King

Board Chair
David Wilkinson
Indiana Grocery Group

President-Elect
Dr. Kamran Aslam
Methodist Hospital - South Lake

Chair-Elect
John Mengel
Cleveland Cliffs

Leadership Development Chair
Janice Ryba
Community Healthcare System

Members

Sohail Azeem
LifePoint Health

Marv Crook
Beacon Hills Partners, LLC

Matt Doyle
Methodist Hospitals - North Lake


Board President
Clint Kaho 
Baptist Health La Grange

Board Chair
John Walsh
UofL Health - Jewish Hospital

Leadership Development Chair
Joe Fuller
LifePoint Health

Members

Nathan Bellinger
SeniorBridge

Thomas Carver
BKD, LLP

Ruth Devore
Delta Dental of Kentucky

Dr. Toni Ganzel
University of Louisville

Dr. Sandra Guerra
WellCare

Krista Hensel
UnitedHealth Group

Anne Marie Holas-Dryps
Norton Heart and Vascular Institute

Rob Jay
Scion Health

Dr. Swannie Jett
Park DuValle Community Health Center Inc.

Tonya Johnson,
Fifth Third Bank

Dr. Bradley Keller
Cincinnati Children's Heart Institute

Dan Oliver
Dan-O’s Seasoning

Dr. Chirag Patel
WellCare, Centene of Kentucky

Jason Radford
Oldham County Schools

Tonii Rizzo
Retired

Tom Stephens
Kentucky Association of Health Plans

Jaamil Wade
Johnson & Johnson

Dr. Derek Weyhrauch
Cincinnati Children’s Heart Institute – Kentucky


Contact Us

Indianapolis, Indiana

By Appointment Only:
8720 Castle Creek Parkway East Drive, Ste 100
Indianapolis, IN 46250

Phone: 317-732-4700

Heart and Stroke News

Find science-based stories about heart and brain health and inspiring survivor profiles from American Heart Association News.