Pulmonary Hypertension Association honors dedication of 9 advocates
Outstanding Member Awards bestowed this month in Dallas
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Nine members of the pulmonary hypertension (PH) community have received awards for their support of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA).
At the PHA 2026 International PH Conference and Scientific Sessions in Dallas, the community gathered to celebrate the recipients of this year’s member awards.
“The Outstanding Member Awards recognize Pulmonary Hypertension Association members’ dedication to the pulmonary hypertension community,” according to the PHA website.
PHA supports a mission of a world without PH through advocacy, research, and patient-focused efforts. The organization hopes to extend and improve the lives of people with the condition.
Caregivers, physicians, patients recognized
Carene Hensley of California received the Julie Hendry Memorial Scholarship Award. The prize funds PHA conference attendance for a nonpatient volunteer. Hensley is a caregiver for her husband, who has PH, and an active member of several PH advocacy groups.
The Rino Aldrighetti Leadership Award honors a community member whose leadership helped advance PHA’s mission. This year’s award went to Ayotunde Omitogun, who founded Nigeria’s first patient-led PH organization. The group, Cardiac Community Advocacy And Support Initiative, focuses on public outreach and awareness campaigns, and helps fundraise for people with PH who can’t afford healthcare.
For her more than two decades of PHA leadership and financial support, Jessie Kohler earned the PHA Philanthropy Award. In addition to monthly giving and a commitment to PHA in her estate, Kohler and her family contributed more than $100,000 to support PH Care Centers.
This year’s Outstanding Physician award recognized Anjali Vaidya, MD, a professor at Temple University in Philadelphia. Vaidya directs Temple’s Advanced Pulmonary Hypertension, Right Heart Failure & CTEPH Program, a specialty care center. She has also been a mentor to other PH specialists, including physicians who run PH-focused programs elsewhere in the U.S.
The Outstanding Allied Health Professional award went to Susanne McDevitt, a nurse practitioner based in Ann Arbor, Mich. In addition to providing PH care for nearly 30 years, McDevitt helps educate patients about the condition and mentors other healthcare providers.
Each of the individuals awarded tonight have exemplified dedication and service to the PH community and PHA by raising awareness so that the voice and face of the PHA community is heard.
Nicholas Herrera received the Outstanding Young PH Citizen Award, which recognizes a person age 30 or younger with PH who has contributed to the community. Herrera began his PH advocacy work after his sister Aubrey’s diagnosis in 2017, and continued to be active in PHA after his own diagnosis in 2021. He started the Running Recycled campaign to honor his sister’s memory and inspire hope for people with PH.
The Outstanding PH Citizen award goes to a person with PH for community dedication. This year, the prize recognized Eric Borstein. Borstein began Where is EB?, a walk from Los Angeles to San Diego to bring awareness to PH and fundraise for Team PHenomenal Hope, an education, research, and patient support organization. His third walk will begin on Sept. 20 of this year.
Matt Schusler was awarded the Outstanding Caregiver prize, given to a nonpatient caregiver. Schusler cares for his wife, who has pulmonary arterial hypertension, a type of PH. He is the cofounder of Heidi’s PHighters Golf Tournament, which benefits PHA.
Finally, the Outstanding PHA Support Group Leader Award went to Beverly Lipmyer. For more than 25 years, Lipmyer has led support groups in Michigan. She also founded an annual statewide PH luncheon, which fundraises for PH research and raises awareness of the condition.
“PHA would not be able to achieve its work without the dedication and excellence of the entire PH community,” longtime volunteer Doug Taylor, who presented the awards, said in a PHA news story. “Each of the individuals awarded tonight have exemplified dedication and service to the PH community and PHA by raising awareness so that the voice and face of the PHA community is heard.”
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