American Heart Association announces new advisory board members

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The American Heart Association (AHA) announced that the following six local leaders joined its Syracuse advisory board at the beginning of July.

Mara Charlamb — VP and owner of United Radio, Inc. Charlamb has served on the boards of several community organizations, as well as volunteered for the AHA’s Go Red for Women movement in Syracuse for the past six years. Charlamb spent two years as the chairwoman of the Go Red for Women Circle of Red.

Dr. Joshua Harrison — cardiologist with Crouse Medical Practice Cardiology. Harrison is a Central New York native who received his medical degree and completed his residency at Upstate Medical University. He completed his fellowship in cardiology at University of Connecticut, Hartford Hospital.

Jerry Jean-Louis — Microbiological Control Laboratory supervisor at Bristol-Myers Squibb in DeWitt. Jean-Louis also serves as the Syracuse Chapter resource group lead of the Black Organization for Leadership and Development (BOLD). Through this role, he has built strong relationships with nonprofit organizations throughout the Syracuse area.

Lynne Shopiro — chief nursing officer at Crouse Health. Shopiro oversees all nursing activities, including recruitment, retention, expanding shared governance, and advancement of evidence-based nursing practices. She has been with Crouse Health for 36 years and also has been instrumental in Crouse Health’s achievement of consistent recognition in the American Heart Association’s Get with the Guidelines program.

Deborah Welch — VP for mission integration at St. Joseph’s Health. Welch provides leadership in the design, development, and implementation of programs and activities related to mission, core values, leadership formation, ethics, and spiritual care. She has also played a pivotal role in the Growing Health Hearts program, a collaboration between the American Heart Association, St. Joseph’s Health, the Syracuse City School District, and other organizations.

Larry Williams — CEO of Syracuse Community Connections (Southwest Community Center). Williams and his staff have worked with the AHA on several programs, including a week of health and wellness education for the 2019 summer camp, and the “Check. Change. Control” program focused on managing high blood pressure.