Recent Announcements

Matt J. Granato, LL.M, MBA

Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) has selected Matt J. Granato as their next President and CEO. Launched in 1991 by patients and a caregiver, the group’s goal is to build a community of support, as well as to foster education and support research into pulmonary hypertension (PH). Granato will serve as the third person in the role of President and CEO for the PHA.

Most recently Granato served as the CEO of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), which focuses on helping people with high-risk pregnancies. There, he worked to meet the needs of both healthcare providers and their patients.

Granato succeeds Brad A. Wong as CEO of PHA, whose term began in 2016 and expires at year’s end. Under Wong’s direction, the PHA continued to promote patient care and research, raise awareness of the disease, and amplify the voice of people with PH.

Richard A. Balzano

Dredging Contractors of America (DCA), has selected Richard A. Balzano has their next Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director.  As the most recent Deputy Maritime Administrator, Richard successfully managed more than $1.4B in annual budget and conducted oversight of over 800 employees in multiple field offices located nationwide.

DCA is comprised of 28 companies providing over 50% of the total dredging services to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. DCA is a non-profit trade association that has represented the interests of the U.S. dredging and marine construction industry and its members for over 30 years. 

Adam Levy

The American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association (ACPA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Adam Levy as the organization’s new Executive Director. Levy succeeds Wendy-Jo Toyama, MBA, CAE, who left ACPA in April 2020.

Levy, most recently served as the Interim Executive Director of the American College of Osteopathic Emergency Physicians (ACOEP) in Chicago. 

Julia L. Chang, MBA, MS

Julia L. Chang, MBA, MS has been named the new Executive Vice President and CEO of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). Chang will be succeeding Penny Mills, MBA, who is retiring after 10 years of service and leadership with ASAM.  Association Strategies, Inc also placed Ms. Mills in her role with ASAM.

Most recently, Chang was the Executive Vice President of the science and quality division at the American College of Cardiology (ACC).

Susan Sedory, MA, CAE

Susan Sedory, MA, CAE, has been named Executive Director of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). Dean Wilkerson, JD, MBA, CAE, who is retiring this summer, has been the College’s Executive Director since 2004, when he was placed by Association Strategies, Inc. Ms. Sedory will be ACEP’s fourth executive director—and first female in this position—in the College’s more than 50-year history.

Sedory has been the Executive Director of the Society of Interventional Radiology since 2011, leading the association of more than 8,100 interventional radiology physicians, scientists and clinical professionals in the shared goal to optimize minimally invasive patient care. Ms. Sedory also spent 10 years at the American Academy of Otolaryngology in various positions, including Chief Strategy Officer, and started her career as a researcher at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders at the National Institutes of Health.

Amanda Perl

Amanda Perl has been named the new Executive Director of the American Thyroid Association (ATA).  Most recently, Perl was the Chief Global Member Engagement Officer with the Endocrine Society and brings over 20 years of association leadership to her new role.