Reese Evans was 9 years old when her doctor heard a heart murmur during her annual check-up. She was later diagnosed with HCM and in her case needed a heart transplant, for which she waited just over 300 days. She was fortunate, considering another local 7-year-old boy with HCM also needed a heart transplant was lost to SCA after nearly 800 days on the waiting list. Reese took her and Camden’s story as her mission to educate young people on the benefits of organ donations. Reese started her nonprofit, Hero Project, which works with high school students to encourage them to sign up to be organ donors when they apply for their driver’s licenses, and gives youth talking points to discuss organ donation with their parents.

Reese attends all Cody Stephens Foundation community heart screenings, where she hosts booths to educate on organ donation. She has also teamed up with LifeGift to host informational booths at their events.  At all events she attends, Reese wears a “Heart Warrior Camden” t-shirt in memory of her friend. As a result of her efforts, hundreds of high school students have signed up to become organ donors, which will hopefully prevent other youth from dying too soon while waiting for a heart transplant.

On February 18, 2022, William collapsed while playing in a soccer tournament in Howard County, Maryland. He staggered off the field 10 minutes into the second half of the game and went into sudden cardiac arrest. Waking up a day later at Johns Hopkins, he learned that his cardiac arrest was from a previously undetected congenital issue with one of his arteries, and that his life was saved on the field due to the quick actions of a parent and an athletic trainer who performed CPR and deployed an AED that was present for the event until paramedics arrived. Three days after his collapse, William underwent open-heart surgery to correct his artery. Amazingly, five months later William was back playing soccer, fully recovered with no restrictions.

Since his sudden cardiac arrest in 2022, William has worked to prevent other young athletes from experiencing SCA and ensuring that communities take action to save other youth in an emergency. He has given public speeches in high schools and in the community and has even done a TEDx talk entitled, “A Message From My Heart: SCA Prevention and Response,” which you can see on YouTube.

William advocates for early detection heart screening, which would’ve identified his heart abnormality, and has written to and met with local leaders and state elected officials to advocate for AED placements at athletic venues with cardiac emergency response plans so everyone is prepared to take immediate action in a cardiac emergency. He even inspired his team to take CPR/AED training!

Michelle formed Gray’s Army Foundation after her son, Grayson, was lost to sudden cardiac arrest in 2021. Six weeks prior to Grayson’s death, his school nurse reported he had a fast pulse, low blood pressure and was feeling dizzy. In the coming weeks he was fatigued, not sleeping well and what appeared to be a stomach bug. A referral to a pediatric cardiologist revealed an atrial flutter, but a few days following the diagnosis Grayson fainted. As he was getting a head CT scan he coded and passed away at age 16. Grayson’s grandfather died of “heart failure” at age 30, and genetic testing has since revealed Grayson had a congenital predisposition to cardiac dysrhythmia.

Since Grayson’s passing, Michelle’s Louisiana foundation has been dedicated to families who have children that have been impacted by heart conditions and sudden cardiac arrest. The foundation has instructed 2,000 people in CPR and AED use and placed 6 AEDs plua SaveStation cabinets in the community. Michelle also worked with her state Congresswoman to pass the Grayson Temple Act now requiring SCA prevention protocol in school athletics, including educating parents and students about warning signs and risk factors, coach SCA prevention training, and removing f a student athlete who faints from play until cleared by a physician. Now, Gray’s Army has started providing heart screenings for school-age children. Michelle also sits on the East Baton Rouge Parish Heart Safe Community Initiative Board.

Dr. Steven Kelley along with his wife Danielle Kelley, FNP have operated Jump Start Your Heart, a non-profit organization for 15 years, that has screened thousands of high school students in the greater Baton Rouge area. A volunteer team of cardiologists, nurses and support staff provide onsite, comprehensive physical examinations for competitive athletes. The cardiovascular exams and screenings used to detect the most common diseases responsible for sudden cardia death in young athletes are performed at no cost. The foundation also provides AEDs life saving devices to local schools and organizations. Dr. Kelley was instrumental in getting legislation passed in the State of Louisiana to put AEDs in schools with trained staff.

Youth Survivor Champion
Florida

Haley has been a champion for young hearts since being diagnosed with a heart condition through a heart screening required by her Florida school district and performed by Who We Play For. As a result of her diagnosis, Haley received an implantable cardiac defibrillator— which was a good thing as Haley subsequently went into cardiac arrest on a flag football field. She survived because her known condition had enabled her to take steps to protect her heart. Her doctors said that Haley’s early detection heart screening saved her life.

As a young survivor, Haley has jumped full force into volunteering at several Who We Play For screenings to help other kids have the same chance to understand their heart health. Haley has done several interviews, most recently on Good Morning America and a video by NASCAR.

Youth Advocacy Champion
New Jersesy

Diagnosed with ARVD at age 15, Kiersten traded her life-long passion for competitive figure skating for a determination to help others navigate their
heart journey. Knowing the stress and trauma brought on during hospital stays and the therapeutic relief experienced through music, Kiersten founded Heartfelt Harmonies. Through sales of baked goods and custom stickers she raised enough to donate over 1,000 music kits to more than 20 pediatric hospitals across the U.S.

But Kiersten wanted to make a bigger impact. Reflecting on her own long and complicated journey to diagnosis and how a portable AED brought her some sense of security during that time, she expanded her mission into raising awareness of the life-saving impact of AEDs. Kiersten gained 501c3 status, which led to several generous corporate donations, accelerated her fund-raising activities, and donated seven AEDs to families without means to purchase these critically needed devices. And she’s on track to donate 10 more devices. Kiersten has also become a spokesperson in her community and is currently working on hosting a CPR training event.

Adult Advocacy Champion
Washington

After the tragic and sudden loss of his friend in December 2015, Adam Lang found a way to honor Daniel Phelps’s memory. With soccer being a huge part of their upbringing, Adam launched “Soccership” in 2020 to help make soccer more affordable for local families as well as build awareness about SCA among soccer club families. In 2021, Adam launched DP Night in partnership with University of Washington Men’s Soccer, where they dedicate one game a season to Daniel and build awareness of SCA. Adam’s organization also raises money to place AEDs in parks and recreation areas around Seattle. The AED/SaveStation donated to the Starfire Sports Complex in 2021 was used to save the life of 13-year-old Nina in June 2022.

Accepted Posthumously by Parents Jill and Michael Katz
Adult Advocacy Champion
Pennsylvania

Sarah died last September at the age of 21 from sudden cardiac arrest caused by Long QT, which was diagnosed at age 4. As she grew, Sarah was passionately committed to advocating for heart health.

Since 2011, she served as Red Cap Ambassador with the American Heart Association, teaching CPR in high schools and underserved communities. In elementary and middle school she raised money to participate in the AHA’s annual Street Walk and Run and promoted Go Red for Women Day. In middle school she facilitated the certification of her entire Hebrew class and hosted a community heart health fair. In high school, Sarah worked to get every senior CPR trained before graduation, and she also taught CPR classes to disadvantaged communities.

At University of Pennsylvania, Sarah was pursuing majors in International Relations and Health & Societies and a minor in East Asian Language and Civilization, and she became a research assistant at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where she worked on Project Adam the summer after her freshman year. During that time she introduced a bill to Pennsylvania state legislators advocating that all Pennsylvania schools become certified “heart safe” spaces. She returned to campus in September eager to begin working for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a health communications intern. She was in the process of bringing CPR training to Penn students when she died, and in her memory the organizations she was involved with got two classes CPR certified during SCA Awareness Month.

Local Advocacy Champions
Texas

When Scott and Melody Stephens lost their son, Cody, in 2012, they turned his “Go Big or Go Home” motto into an initiative to protect other families
from the tragedy of losing a child. Since then, The Cody Stephens Go Big or Go Home Memorial Foundation has screened tens of thousands of youth and passed Cody’s law in 2019 after a three-year battle, which now gives parents in every school district the right to choose heart screening for their child.

Their foundation continues to provide equipment and overreading for schools across Texas to offer ECG screening to students. The Stephens continue to support Parent Heart Watch members in other states in their battle for legislation to protect young hearts and have tirelessly shared their family’s story with civic organizations, school boards, at conferences and even NASA.

Medical Advocacy Champion
Georgia

Richard has been a registered nurse for 39 years. He retired from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Project S.A.V.E. in January 2022 where he served as the Clinical Program Manager. During his tenure Project S.A.V.E. reached significant milestones, including saving more than 125 lives, bringing AED and CPR training to EVERY county in Georgia, and awarding more than 1,450 HeartSafe certificates to schools across Georgia.

He continues to serve as the Director of the Georgia Nurses Association Resuscitation Center and sits on the National Advisory Committee for Project ADAM, where he has affectionately earned the nickname: Gold Star—because he’s always trying to make things happen through collaboration and creativity. Richard will always be an amazing advocate and mentor for the prevention of SCA/D in youth. His latest project is helping 67 Miami-Dade schools become heart safe schools.

Youth Advocacy Champion
Psychology Student, Muhlenberg College
Pennsylvania

Volunteering with Aidan’s Heart Foundation since 2014 at age 11, Teigan is instrumental in helping to lead the Heart Heroes Program, which has become one of the cornerstones of the foundation’s community outreach. A fellow student of Aidan’s, she approached Christy Silva as a sixth grader and asked to join her in the efforts to make their community a safer place by teaching CPR and AED skills to her fellow students and peers. Since then, Teigan has been instrumental in the development and leadership of a training program that encourages kids to train other kids. The program has trained over 6,100 sixth graders, hundreds of which have returned to the program as eighth grade mentors. Teigan, herself, has personally trained hundreds of family, friends and community members. After the loss of her 7-year-old brother, on whom she performed CPR, she chose to channel her grief into inspiring others to learn to use CPR and AEDs to save lives.

Local Advocacy Champion—Arizona
Founder, Anthony Bates Foundation

Sharon Bates was a single parent for most of Anthony’s life and their relationship was exceptionally close. Within one year of Anthony’s death from undiagnosed HCM, Sharon began volunteering with the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association, where she promoted heart health through events and education. In 2002 she launched the Anthony Bates Foundation in her son’s name and since then has hosted nearly 100 screening events in multiple states, providing ECG and echocardiogram testing for well over 15,000 youth ages 12 to 24. Sharon also co-founded Parent Heart Watch in 2005 as one of four mothers who came together to understand why their children were lost to something that could’ve been prevented. Having developed the ABF Community Screening Training Program, Sharon offers her consulting and training services to help assist communities nationally. Locally, she donates AEDs and CPR manikins and has trained over 32,400 high school students in the cardiac chain of survival. Sharon recently became a certified cardiac ultrasound sonographer and published her first book, Damage Control: Heart Breaks to Heart Saves.

Adult Advocacy Champion
Kyle J. Taylor Foundation
In the short time since Jen lost her son to sudden cardiac arrest in 2018, she and her foundation have honored Kyle’s memory in so many life-giving ways. Jen invited Kyle’s closest friends to become board members, which has allowed them to feel connected to Kyle with a positive and powerful way to direct their grief and love. Quite extraordinarily, she has brought this young board to Heart to Heart, thus helping to build the next generation of life savers. The foundation is already hosting a series of heart screenings, has donated a dozen AEDs, and has awarded seven sports and school scholarships in Kyle’s name. They ensure their sustainability through an annual golf tournament and efforts in both grant writing and public relations. The foundation is also working with the local school board to require CPR training for all high school students. She is an inspiration to her team and example of the impact one person can have on so many lives.

Medical Advocacy Champion
Founder, Pediatric Cardiology Associates of Greater Hudson Valley
Director, Pediatric Subspecialty Program, Orange Medical Center
New York

Dr. Fethke is a national advocate for pediatric heart screenings and for elevating the standard of care in conducting pre-participation examinations for sports. Board certified by the American Board of Pediatrics, Pediatric Cardiology, he specializes in pediatric exercise testing, pediatric echocardiography, non-invasive cardiac testing and community-based care and has worked closely with several academic pediatric tertiary care centers to provide in-patient care and student physician education. Dr. Fethke has generously volunteered his time since 2014 as a pediatric cardiologist for Heart Screen New York, which has screened more than 5,000 students. He has also created and conducted a series of Podcasts entitled “The Pursuit of Health” in an effort to elevate the manner in which health care is delivered and to address issues of inequality and inequity.

Young Survivor Champion

Julieta, a 16-year-old athlete played on the varsity team as a freshman at The Woodlands High School and for the elite team at Houston Juniors Volleyball for seven years. She has been monitored by cardiologist for arrhythmias since birth, but that never held her back from doing anything.

On May 3, 2020 Julieta collapsed in cardiac arrest while working out at home with her sister. Not knowing what was happening, Patty screamed for her mom upstairs and quickly called 911. Patty was guided by the 911 dispatcher on how to perform CPR on Julieta until EMS arrived approximately 6 minutes later. Her mother and sister watched as EMS responders worked to bring her back after approximately 23 minutes without a pulse. Her father and brother felt helpless as they received the news while in another country.

She was transported to the hospital where she became unstable again due to the trauma caused by the vigorous resuscitation procedure. Because of this, doctors made the decision to put her in a medically induced coma and performed an emergency Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) procedure. The ECMO machine pumped and oxygenated Julieta’s blood outside the body, allowing her heart and lungs to rest.

After Julieta came out of the medically induced coma and ECMO, she had surgery to place an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). After this surgery, and when she thought that she was close to going home, Julieta developed pancreatitis leaving her in unimaginable pain.

She spent a total of 3 weeks at the hospital; 2 weeks in the ICU and 1 week in medically induced coma and on ECMO. On May 27th, she got officially cleared to go home to her family.

Since her cardiac arrest and after realizing how prevalent of an issue this is, Julieta, with the support of her sister, Patty, has connected with many Parent Heart Watch members and others, who she refers to as a community of changemakers. She has gathered detailed information and photos about her event, SCA stats, put together a beautiful, informative and inspiring website for her initiative, Surviving SCA.

It is truly admirable what she has already accomplished since her own cardiac arrest and what she’s striving for. We are honored to present her with this year’s Hero for Young Hearts Young Survivor Champion Award.

Youth Advocacy Champion

Mason has a long family history of loving basketball, and his started young, culminating with a rigorous exercise program during middle school as part of a plan to play in college. During a training session something felt wrong with his heart and upon evaluation he learned he had a heart condition that put him at risk for sudden death.

This diagnosis, needless to say, led to a personal and family crisis. Mason felt his identity as a student athlete was at risk and his parents were split (with strong feelings on extreme opposite sides) about whether he should continue to play sports. As such, one medical evaluation led to multiple second opinions and Mason heard repeatedly from various pediatric cardiologist about the underlying patho-physiology of his heart condition and the problem of sudden cardiac arrest in youth.

As such, he was uniquely prepared to make SCA prevention in youth part of two academic projects at school, which led to multiple awards, which in turn led a deeper desire to truly champion prevention in his community. Rather than spend the first year with his new diagnosis retreating inward or going into denial, he decided to change the paradigm of youth lost.

He learned about Project ADAM, our national program that had been started right in his region at Whitefish Bay High School. Yet, neither Whitefish Bay High School, nor any of the other district/nearby high schools had Heart Safe designation. Working in collaboration with his school nurse, Kathleen Roebber, Mason started a deliberate march towards making his school the first Heart Safe School in the area. His efforts included drafting a cardiac response proposal, creating visual algorithms that to this day sit in every classroom, presenting to the schools safety committee, and meeting with senior school administrators to convince them that this initiative was more important than the many other competing demands on the teachers and staff’s time and attention. By March 2018, he did it and his school achieved a Heart Safe designation.

But Mason wanted to do more. He took the CPR/AED course for first responders and became certified. He volunteered in CPR training events with Project ADAM, whether they were at the State Fair, the Zoo, or the local professional sporting events. He also secured the opportunity to participate on a state committee, Heart Safe Wisconsin. He approached the Milwaukee North Shore Rotary Club, which has an affiliation with eight local high schools, for financial support to host a workshop to convert each of those schools Heart Safe, as well as half a dozen others in attendance. This was the first time Project ADAM had held a multi-school/school district training work shop and it was received with great enthusiasm by participants, as was the virtual follow-up meeting he organized so a pandemic wouldn’t hold back progress. An additional outcome is that Rotary approached Mason to start an Interact Club on campus, which he and three of his friends has since launched. The current plan is for one of the two major service events for the club to be an event in support of A4A (Athletes for ADAM).

Adult Advocacy Champion

Austin McAnena was a competitive athlete throughout his youth, culminating with becoming a 4-year starter, 3-time All-Big Ten selection, and team captain for the Ohio State division 1 soccer team. He did not receive a heart screening as a collegiate athlete given many NCAA schools had not incorporated EKGs into their sports physicals. Regardless, Austin was not concerned as he never experienced any warning signs, though he admits he likely wouldn’t have recognized them given how active he was.

Fast forward to age 27, when Austin participated in genetic testing that identified a disposition for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, though he never followed up with a doctor. A few months later after a bout with the flu, he was jogging with a friend and went into sudden cardiac arrest. She called 911 while a good Samaritan jumped out of his passing car to perform CPR before EMTs arrived to shock Austin twice and bring him back to life after nearly five minutes.

A week later EP Save A Life’s medical director Dr. John Rogers implanted an ICD to protect Austin from future cardiac arrests which was a miracle when his heart stopped again while at his local gym. Now a two-time survivor, Austin still practices an active, sports-oriented lifestyle, and even enrolled in a Yale research study to evaluate exercise parameters in people with ICDs.

Two years ago he came to his first Parent Heart Watch conference in Houston. I could see the look of connection on his face, simply enthralled with the energy and passion dedicated to sudden cardiac arrest prevention. Now almost 30, he has used the pandemic as a motivator to drive the creation of The Heartshield Project and established a nonprofit foundation (not an easy thing…drafting mission, bylaws, financials, objectives to apply to the IRS for 501c3 status; assembling a board, creating a website and outreach materials, fundraising for manikins, AEDs and other training tools, etc.) that is working to provide CPR/AED training to equip all ages with the tools necessary in the case of an emergency.

He provides BLS Provider & Heartsaver CPR/AED courses through the American Heart Association, along with free CPR/AED demonstrations to ensure everyone has the knowledge and confidence to be successful in saving lives. He is also actively raising money to place AEDs in Orange County, California schools and youth centers and pursues any speaking engagement he can to raise awareness of SCA. He’s even been known to use the gym video footage of his 2nd cardiac arrest as compelling evidence of the need to prevent SCA.

He’s always asking questions, wanting to learn more about how he can be a driving force in this incredible community that is making such a difference, truly representing the next generation of life savers. He’s committed to collaborating with Parent Heart Watch and other foundations to realize our shared vision to eliminate preventable deaths and disabilities from SCA in youth.

Medical Advocacy Champion

While Shawn might be most readily known as the dad of young SCA survivor Lexi Simi, Shawn was nominated for this award because since his daughter’s life was saved, he’s never stopped working to eliminate sudden cardiac arrest in youth.

He’s been a pivotol player for Who We Play For (or as they describe it – their secret sauce), volunteering at 50+ heart screenings and working with families to ensure they have the proper follow-up care needed after being flagged with an abnormal ECG, no matter their level of insurance, geographical location and in some cases language barriers. He’s been instrumental in implementing new COVID-19 screening safety protocol and worked year-round to fundraise thousands of dollars to ensure that an ECG is available to any child who otherwise could not afford it.

Shawn led the effort to rally hundreds in the community to influence the school board to require heart screenings in Brevard county. He has also worked to make this a requirement across central Florida.

He gave over 20 notably powerful presentations to local and national groups last year and continues to donate AEDs and CPR training to hundreds. He’s been recognized nationally by the VA for his work on SCA and in the workplace as a healthcare provider. He’s appeared in a half dozen news segments advocating for SCA prevention.

He’s affected significant policy change in Florida through his work with Sen. Baxley and House Education Committee on the CPR bill, which was just introduced on December 16, 2020.

Shawn was instrumental in passing the Zach Martin Bill in Florida, and has worked on a national level with congressman Al Lawson’s office for SCA awareness, in addition to affecting a hard-hitting presentation of Who We Play For’s research to the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition.

2020 Medical Professional Advocacy Champion

Sharon is the Director of the Georgia Gwinnett College School of Nursing. In her efforts to have her campus recognized as Heart Safe, she developed tools and departmental collaborations that orient all staff to the reality of SCA, and annually train over 500 personnel in how to save a victim. She helped implement cardiac emergency response protocol for all the sporting facilities on campus—which has already made a lasting impact when the life of a construction worker was saved from SCA. Using Georgia Gwinnett College as a template, she plans on making all Georgia Public Colleges and Universities Heart Safe campuses. In support of Sharon and her initiative, the Georgia College and University Provost of Student Affairs stated: “All of our campuses are smoke free—we can make them Heart Safe.”

2020 Adult Advocacy Champion

“Making the Difference” is John’s social media hashtag, and he is making a huge difference along the Gulf Coast. As the owner of Coastal Emergency Medical Skills, John has been known to teach people more about CPR/AED use in a five-minute demonstration than most learn at certification classes. Always on the road, he remains available to support Heart for Athletes. As a board member, he adds tremendous value to their screening initiatives through hands-on instruction. He truly has a gift to make people feel empowered to save a life, which PHW members have benefitted from at the last two conferences. His love, passion and gift for training resonates in his commitment to ensure that communities are Rescue Ready.

2020 Youth Advocacy Champion

A stand-out Ribault High School football player, Nigeire was diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening heart condition three years ago and had surgery to correct WPW. Since then, he has volunteered to help screen thousands of other athletes, been a spokesperson for preventative heart screenings on local news stories and has led a Duval County-wide heart screening event, recruiting dozens of volunteers and helping to educate participants about the critical need for primary prevention practices. He is an inspiration and wants to help protect his peers, using his superpowers of charisma, public speaking and determination for good.

2020 Young Survivor Champion

Blair, 16, suffered sudden cardiac arrest while running on her high school track with the cross country team. A nurse who was watching a nearby field hockey game saw Blair collapse and ran over to see if she was ok. She immediately realized Blair was having a SCA and started to administer CPR, then told a bystander to retrieve an AED. When the AED arrived Blair was shocked twice. The underlying cause of Blair’s SCA remains unknown. Now living with an ICD, Blair never asked “Why me?” but instead used this catastrophic event to help raise awareness of SCA in youth. Christy Silva met Blair when the young survivor was speaking at a high school about SCA, CPR, AEDs, and how the school’s investment in six saved her life. Blair began working with Aidan’s Heart Foundation, participating in the annual training of over 1,100 6th grade students and speaking on behalf of Pennsylvania’s Act 35 to ensure schools have access to AEDs.

2020 Local Advocacy Champion

Evan co-founded Who We Play For (WWPF) after the loss of his friend and soccer teammate, Rafe Maccarone. Under Evan’s leadership WWPF screened 12,727 youth in the past year, of which 477 were flagged for follow-up—10 having heart surgery in the last six months. Evan led the effort of ECG screening policy for student athletes that has been adopted by Brevard, Osceola and Calhoun County public schools with more on the horizon. WWPF also placed six AEDs and provides ongoing support to college chapters that engage students in SCA prevention. All this was accomplished while working on his Masters of Science in Nonprofit Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania, which he attained in May 2019.

2019 Medical Professional Advocacy Champion

Dr. Thomas DeBauche started heart screening in his local Houston-area school district on a voluntary basis in 2007. He donated $50,000 in portable ECG machines to nine high schools so athletic trainers could perform ECGs on student athletes. Dr. DeBauche read the ECGs, and at no cost did echos on youth

with abnormal results through his practice. This success led to the founding of a nonprofit organization called Cypress ECG Project, which has since joined forces with the Cody Stephens Go Big or Go Home Memorial Foundation. Over the last decade, Dr. DeBauche has overseen more than 125,000 screenings,

interpreting the majority of the ECGs personally. What started in a single school district grew to touch more than 275 schools across Texas and beyond. Dr. DeBauche has testified on behalf of screening before the Texas University Interscholastic League and the Texas legislature. He has been featured on numerous local news programs and published his findings in various journals.

2019 Adult Advocacy Champion

Amy Walker inspired a movement in her small rural community to protect the hearts of student athletes. Concerned about their risk for SCA but knowing resources were limited in a one-high-school, one-hospital town, Amy rallied her community and created Heart of a Husky—a program that provides free ECGs and sports physicals for local high school athletes. Amy convinced dozens of doctors (some adamantly against preventative ECGs), volunteers and local sponsors to dedicate their Saturday to providing free ECGs. The local school board was so pleased with this community-wide initiative it made Heart of a Husky an annual requirement to participate in school sports. Neighboring rural counties are following Amy’s lead with thousands more students now being served. Amy helps organize, recruit and rally dozens of healthcare providers, coaches, parents and students to create their own “Heart of” programs, which both raise awareness and engage their communities in SCA prevention.

2020 Youth Advocacy Champion

Since his diagnosis of WPW at a Who We Play For screening at Southeastern University in Florida, Xavier, a pre-med student, has championed SCA prevention with courage and determination. He’s recruited volunteers and worked himself at many screenings, where he easily relates with calming sincerity to the young athletes he’s screening. He’s presented to his classes and demonstrated an ECG screening, as well as been a resource for the local news station. He’s featured in a video that was presented to Southeastern University’s board of directors, and his story will be shared at the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) at their 2019 conference. In the new year, he will bring his passion and commitment to SCA prevention on an overseas medical mission trip as well as Florida’s Camp Boggy Creek (free, safe camp for seriously ill youth) during Cardiac Week. After three procedures to correct his own WPW, Xavier remains passionate and anxious to the change the mindset of the stakeholders in SCA prevention.

2019 Local Hero Champions

Dana Holden, Sherri Juniel, Melody Stephens & Amy Travioli. These four families in Central Texas have a child either lost to SCA or who survived an SCA event. While this is the club that no one wants to belong to, these moms have banded together to support their mutual efforts to prevent SCA. All four have their own foundations, and so have formed what

they call The Women’s Auxiliary to help and support each other. If one has a heart screening, another will help with the CPR training, a third will run registration. They hype each other in the media, they

share successes, they offer encouraging words when the work gets to be too much. Even though they would never have met except for the way SCA has touched their lives, and even though they live on opposite corners of Central Texas, these women have formed a support network and a friendship bonded by their mutual passion to save lives. In just the last 12 months they have screened more than 12,000 young people, trained 3,000 in CPR and AEDs and increased awareness to thousands more.

2019 Young Survivor Champion

Parent Heart Watch is familiar with Lexi and her story as she was featured in last year’s video: Friends Don’t Let Friends Hearts Stop. Lexi had a sudden cardiac arrest while working out at her local fitness center and was saved by a bystander’s quick action. What PHW may not be familiar with is the incredible amount of work Lexi has put in for SCA prevention, which has included setting up and leading heart screenings across Central Florida and volunteering at approximately 50 events. Her determination to screen youth, according to her pediatric cardiologist, literally saved her best friend’s life when a screening detected a heart abnormality. Lexi has continually shared her story of survival, lending her voice to the cause through six news stories and dozens of presentations. She joined with her family to lead the initiative to change Brevard County to include CPR as a high school requirement, and later with her family lead the initiative to pass a law in Florida mandating CPR education in the state—a feat thought impossible by an American Heart Association lobbyist.

2018 Medical Advocacy Champion

Because of Bob Page’s impassioned plea to EMS and all of health care to stand up for our kids, PHW has been receiving inquiries from EMS about starting screening programs in their community. In his presentation Bob covers the major causes of teen SCA and describes through a six-point action plan the screening that should be done on all of teen athletes. Bob is an internationally known speaker, instructor, author and paramedic. He is recognized for his energetic, humorous and motivational style. He has been an instructor for over 4 decades teaching a variety of adult education courses from customer service to advanced medical care. As a nationally registered paramedic, critical care paramedic and a Nationally Certified EMS Educator he has been involved in EMS since 1978. His passion began when he became a CPR instructor as an Eagle Scout (1976). He remains active with his son, Aaron, as an Assistant Scoutmaster.

2018 Adult Advocacy Champion

Mike is a sudden cardiac arrest survivor. His event happened at the age of 17 while coaching at a basketball camp. No one started CPR and there was no AED on site. Luckily for Mike, someone did call

9-1-1. There was a volunteer EMT working next door who got the call on his pager, and came to the gym to find Mike on the ground, turning blue. He performed CPR perfectly saving Mike’s life and sustaining him until the ambulance arrived with an AED. Doctors told Mike that based on the circumstances that day, his chances of survival were one in a million. In 2015 Mike founded In A Heartbeat to help prevent sudden cardiac death and to expand medical knowledge about Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). In just two years, In A Heartbeat has donated 28 defibrillators and raised $14,000 for HCM research.

2018 Adult Advocacy Champion

Julie lost her daughter, Peyton, to SCA at 19. Co-founder of The Peyton Walker Foundation, Julie has made remarkable progress in increasing awareness and survival rates of Sudden Cardiac Arrest in

South Central Pennsylvania. Julie has worked strategically with community members, healthcare organizations, media and corporate partners, including the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association – District 3, which encompasses 125 senior high schools with over 82,000 students. A

major component of this campaign is a public announcement made prior to the start of all sporting events indicating the location of the AED. The foundation has donated over 35 AEDs throughout the community, as well as screened and provided AED & CPR demonstrations to 600 youth, plus certified over 90 adults. Julie runs the foundation while also owning and managing a meeting and event planning firm. Her emotional investment to save other families from this heartache benefits so many.

2018 Youth Advocacy Champions

Jenna (24) and Landry (14) have competed in pageants for more than four years. With a

younger brother, Brooks, who was diagnosed at five with a congenital heart condition, these

young women quickly learned that not all families get to prevent a tragic end to a fatal heart condition. The sisters dedicated their pageantry to promote preventative heart screenings and AED placement, calling their platform “A Heartbeat Away.” They have used Parent Heart Watch resources to support

their message through speeches and appearances to North Carolina and Washington DC legislators, civic groups and at community and media events. The sisters also co-founded a community service group called Serving Our Seniors. Through the USA Ambassador System, Jenna received the Silver Presidential Service Award and is poised to be further recognized by as a North Carolina and Miss Central Carolina USA Ambassador and Miss Southern Regional Miss Heart of the USA. Landry leads her high school Rotary IMPACT group, where she works with her peers and nursing staff to educate students on SCA warning signs and prevention. She has earned a Gold Presidential Service Award and is also poised to be recognized by National Junior Miss Heart of the USA and Miss Junior Teen Central Carolina USA Ambassador. She plays three instruments plus travel softball, has done ballet since age three and is an honor scholar.

2018 Local Hero Champions

Lisa and Kenny’s son, Cory, was lost to SCA in 2013 while attending Georgia Southern University. As Lead

Nurse for the local school district, Lisa understands the critical need for immediate response to a cardiac

emergency, but Georgia Southern had only a handful of AEDs and no organized response plan. Lisa, Kenny and Cory’s sister, Morgan, founded the Cory Joseph Wilson Memorial to raise awareness of

sudden cardiac arrest in youth. The foundation funds AED donations to the Savannah Chatham County police department, camps and schools, including Georgia Southern, which now has 144 devices on campus. In addition to making area schools heart safe, Lisa was part of a Georgia Senate study committee to develop a designated Heart Center system for the state of Georgia. The Wilsons also recorded an SCA awareness video for the American Heart Association.

2017 Allied Health Professional Advocacy Champion

Clint Sperber is the MPA Health Officer & Administrator of Florida Department of Health in St. Lucie County. He has worked with the Jessica Clinton MVP Foundation and supported their heart screenings for the past four years. Clint truly believes in our cause and provides local resources through his connections within the health community. Each year he grants use of the local health department facility, in addition to supplies and volunteers to support heart screening events. This partnership in SCA preven­tion so inspired Clint that he submitted an abstract that he will be presenting to the State Surgeon General, his executive leaders and to the National Association of County City Health Officials. This abstract supports a model of connecting the health department community with local motivated foundations to provide free heart screenings. Clint Sperber is a true champion and for someone who has not suffered the loss that many of us have, to be as committed and dedicated to saving lives, is most admirable.

2017 Adult Advocacy Champion

Melinda has been a long-time board member of Parent Heart Watch, helping to drive the vision to eliminate preventable deaths and disabilities from SCA in youth by 2030. In the past year alone, Melinda has partnered with Karen Acompora on the Anyone Can Save a Life Program (ACSAL) in NY and between 2015 and the present time, more than 1300 students and coaches have been trained. She has partnered with Karen and the Hofstra School of Medicine in the development of a template to teach medical students how to teach Hands Only CPR and the ACSAL Program that they bring into schools.

Melinda is a co-founder of Heart Screen New York, which screened 720 students in the past year and which alone resulted in more than 1,000 people being trained in CPR and AED usage. She was a key advocate in helping New York State pass the CPR in Schools Bill and she has presented the Dominic A. Murray Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act to the New York State legislature. She has conducted several other CPR classes, including churches and schools, far too numerous to count, and she has additionally donated several AEDs. She is truly an inspiration to all who meet and work with her and she honors Parent Heart Watch and its mission each and every day.

2017 Youth Advocacy Champion

N’Jhari, age 14, is an athlete and Eagle Scout who has earned 117 merit badges. He knows firsthand the impact of heart conditions and sudden cardiac arrest and death. Most family members on his mother’s side of the family are living with cardiomyopathy and have ICDs and AICDs. Others have sadly died. His cousin is currently wearing a life vest at 22 years old. Due to his family history N’Jhari is being closely monitored by a pediatric cardiologist. This is the motivation behind an initiative he started to donate lifesaving equipment (AEDs) to schools to help treat athletes and others who experience sudden cardiac arrest on campus. He has worked to train and certify staff members in CPR/AED/First-aid and raised money to purchase the devices. He once refused to play because the team or field was not equipped with an AED. He is now teaming up with Saving Young Hearts to provide heart screenings for youth. He has already sought and secured funding to provide the screenings for free, promote the events and provide food and drinks to volunteers.

He has also engaged pediatric and adult cardiologists, EMS personnel and others in his area to give of their time and expertise at the screenings. N’Jhari shows empathy and compassion for others in all areas of his life, from his school to his church to area hospitals. In February 2016, N’Jhari was 1 of 10 scouts across the country to deliver the Boy Scouts of America 2015 Report to the Nation to congressional and government leaders.

2017 Local Hero Champions

After the loss of their 12-year-old daughter, Andra, in October 2010 to undetected Long QT Syndrome, Jenine and Phillip started Andra Heart Foundation. The Dalrymple family has since found out that Phillip (dad), and Andra’s younger sister, Grace, 16, have Long QT Syndrome. The foundation has provided heart screenings for 3,400 students in Arizona and Washington, and donated 13 AEDs to schools and other organizations. One of the things Jenine learned is that hydration is good for heart health. This past year the foundation donated hydration stations and water bottles to Flowing Wells Junior High, the school that Andra attended. They also launched Andra Heart Speaker Series to raise awareness and foster better prevention and intervention of SCA in children and teens, particularly in young athletes.

2017 Young Survival Champion

Millions of people have seen Claire’s story of survival from a sudden cardiac arrest on October 13, 2015, thanks to a Facebook post the following February by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Project S.A.V.E. The post generated over 35 million views around the world, bringing awareness to SCA.

Upon recovery, Claire wanted to continue the exposure of SCA in youth. She partnered with her electrophysiologist to speak to Emory School of Medicine students about her heart condition, symptoms and misdiag­nosis prior to her SCA, striving to educate new medical professionals about the reality of undetected youth heart conditions and advocate for prevention.

Given the Cardiac Chain of Survival saved Claire’s life, she also spends ample time advocating for secondary prevention. She is partnering with Lord Wedgewood Charity of Birmingham, AL to raise money for AEDs and heart monitoring equipment. She’s worked with EMS Safety Services, Inc. of California for AED/CPR instructor and student training videos to be released later in 2016. Claire also participated in the American Heart Association Executive Breakfast to launch the 2016 Heart Walk campaign to raise money for AEDs to be donated to organizations in need.

2017 Media Advocacy Champions

Alan and Sarah are producers for 60 Minutes Sports. They spent countless hours talking to PHW Board Members, parents, medical professionals, young athletes and others for a comprehensive and balanced story on the importance of prevention titled “A Heart of an Athlete” that aired on Showtime in 2016.

After graduating from NYU School of Journalism, Alan worked at CBS News, with a show called West 57th Street with Meredith Vieira and Steve Kroft. From there he helped start Dateline and then settled in for almost 19 years with 20/20. He joined 60 Minutes Sports in 2013.

Sarah has been with 60 Minutes since 2015, with a long career as a writer and/or editor for outlets such as ESPN.com, Fast Company, Bon Appetit, and many more.

2016 Allied Health Professional Advocacy Champion
Michael has been working in public safety for over 20 years. He is a licensed Connecticut Paramedic and National Emergency Dispatch Instructor. He operates a private public safety consulting firm and currently holds the position of Director of EMS and 911 for the Town of Stratford, Connecticut. In his role as Director of EMS and 911, Michael has worked hard to enhance sudden cardiac arrest response in Stratford through staff and community education, policy and protocol updates, and providing responders and dispatchers with the latest cardiac care technology. Stratford EMS has recently received several awards including HEARTSafe designation, Mission LifeLine Silver EMS and the Connecticut Governors Award honoring an organization that has enhanced understanding and support of the EMS system through their public service, community education and contributions to a city, town, region or the state as a whole.