American Heart Association
Advocates heart health; funds research
Community Impact Intern
More locations: Milwaukee, WI, USA
Hybrid in Madison, Milwaukee, or the immediate surrounding areas.
About the job
- Candidates must be seniors or graduate students pursuing a degree in public health, community health, advocacy, or another related degree program.
- Demonstrated ability to research health topics and translate findings into actionable guidance.
- Knowledge of local healthcare systems is a plus.
- Experience with community engagement and health initiatives.
- Willingness to travel to and from local community events and meetings.
- Strong oral, written, and presentation communication skills.
- Ability to learn quickly and maintain focused attention to detail.
- Intermediate to excellent proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, and PowerPoint, with basic knowledge of Canva.
- Reliable Wi-Fi connection and reliable transportation.
- Minimum availability of 20 hours per week, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
- Must be legally authorized to work in the United States for any employer without sponsorship, now or in the future. For remote work, the work must be performed inside the United States.
- Assist in organizing and implementing community and culturally appropriate health initiatives and programs throughout communities.
- Support work around community impact priority issues, including hypertension control, nutrition insecurity, community response, and tobacco and vaping.
- Assist with internal program evaluations.
- Assist the community impact team in communicating the impact of local work.
- Identify impact stories for showcasing, enhance them through research and interviews, and develop communication pieces for online or offline sharing.
- Create and manage a volunteer database and communications, and respond to volunteer inquiries about upcoming opportunities.
- Identify, review, and develop resources that meet community health needs, such as playbooks and other tools.
- Explore state or local organizations that align with the Association’s priority issue areas and identify opportunities for collaboration.
- Assist with planning and implementing trainings and other community impact meetings.
- Attend internal and external meetings as requested, including health fairs and community events.
- Assist with community health engagement activities such as hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation demonstrations.
- Bilingual Spanish proficiency is preferred but not required.
- Knowledge of local healthcare systems.
About the company
The American Heart Association advances cardiovascular health by funding heart-disease and stroke research, providing education for the public and health professionals, and advocating policies that promote healthier lifestyles. Its offerings include scientific grants, medical education programs, CPR and first-aid training, public health campaigns (like Go Red for Women), and advocacy networks that mobilize communities. Its products are these programs and resources, delivered through schools, workplaces, healthcare partners, and online channels. The organization differentiates itself as the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary group dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke, with a broad, integrated approach that combines science, policy, and care. Its goal is to reduce the incidence and impact of cardiovascular disease by empowering individuals and communities to live longer, healthier lives.
Company Size
5,001-10,000
Company Stage
Grant
Total Funding
$700K
Headquarters
Dallas, Texas
Founded
N/A
Get referred to American Heart Association
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Simplify's Take
What believers are saying
- September 2026 PREVENT-Epic rollout expands clinician reach across most U.S. electronic records.
- September 2026 grants and campaigns funded CPR kits, AEDs, and blood-pressure hubs.
- September 2026 Pilot raised nearly $11.5 million, validating community fundraising momentum.
What critics are saying
- Corporate fundraising concentration leaves AHA exposed if Pilot, NFL, or sponsors cut 2027 budgets.
- PREVENT adoption depends on Epic users; competing risk models can dilute AHA relevance fast.
- AHA's mission weakens if school CPR mandates stall before 2030 survival targets.
What makes American Heart Association unique
- September 2026 Epic integration embeds AHA PREVENT in everyday primary care workflows.
- AHA owns CPR standards, resuscitation training, and Nation of Lifesavers school programs.
- AHA mobilizes employers like Pilot, NFL Foundation, and local health systems nationally.
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Benefits
Health Insurance
Dental Insurance
Vision Insurance
Disability Insurance
Life Insurance
Employee Assistance Program
Wellness Program
Telemedicine
Tuition Reimbursement
Paid Vacation
Paid Holidays
Hybrid Work Options
Remote Work Options
Company News
Pilot hits $11 million raised for American Heart Association. Sep 21 2026 Operations & Marketing The company celebrated the milestone at the 2026 Greater Knoxville Heart Walk. Pilot has announced that over the last nine years, it has raised nearly $11.5 million in support of the American Heart Association. The achievement, according to a statement from the company, reflects "the power of community action and Pilot's commitment to safety, uniting people in the fight against heart disease and stroke to help save and improve lives." To celebrate the milestone, Pilot joined the Heart Association at its 2026 Greater Knoxville Heart Walk on Sept. 12. The event brought together Pilot leadership, team members and Heart Association representatives to honor nearly a decade of giving and impact. Since 2017, Pilot has supported the Heart Association through annual in-store fundraising campaigns. Each year during Heart Month in February and Stroke Month in May, Pilot's guests have turned routine fill-ups into critical funds by rounding up eligible purchases to the nearest dollar at checkout or purchasing a paper heart. "At Pilot, our purpose is to show people they matter at every turn, and supporting the safety and wellness of our team members, guests and surrounding communities through heart health and stroke awareness education is one of the most critical and meaningful ways we can live out that purpose," said Adrienne Ingoldt, senior vice president, communications, risk and procurement at Pilot and member of the American Heart Association's National Life is Why Council of Retailers. "Reaching this milestone reflects the generosity of our more than 30,000 team members and the 1.2 million guests who come through our doors every day. They truly are the heartbeat of this achievement." In the greater Knoxville area alone, Pilot's support has helped expand Hands-Only CPR education and training to more than 200,000 people. Additionally, Pilot has hosted on-site trainings at its corporate office and travel center locations on topics such as CPR and stroke identification and response. This critical education enables people to help save lives by giving them the tools to quickly identify potential symptoms and take action to get life-saving care when necessary. "Surpassing $11 million raised is a powerful testament to the commitment of Pilot and its guests to advancing heart health in communities nationwide," said Lisa Hinton, national senior vice president of corporate relations for the American Heart Association. "This support helps drive progress in preventing heart disease and stroke and brings us closer to a future where everyone, everywhere can live longer, healthier lives." Pilot's support of the Heart Association is fueled by the company's Miles of Good giving program. Headquartered in Knoxville, Tenn., Pilot is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and employs approximately 30,000 team members. As the largest network of travel centers, Pilot has more than 900 locations in 43 states and five Canadian provinces, serving an average of 1.2 million guests per day.
Vanderbilt Health's Annet Kirabo to receive major award for hypertension research. By: Bill Snyder Vanderbilt Health's Annet Kirabo, DVM, MSc, PhD, will be honored this fall for her groundbreaking research on immune mechanisms that drive high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease. Kirabo, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Genetic Medicine and Clinical Pharmacology, will receive the Established Investigator Award for Clinical Hypertension, a new recognition from the American Heart Association's Council on Hypertension and award sponsor Sky Labs Inc. The award will be presented Oct. 10 during the American Heart Association's Hypertension Scientific Session in Arlington, Virginia. In his nomination letter, Thomas Kleyman, MD, a renowned kidney researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, wrote, "Dr. Kirabo stands out as one of the most innovative, influential, and impactful investigators of her generation. "Her discoveries have fundamentally transformed our understanding of hypertension pathogenesis and have opened new avenues for therapeutic intervention in cardiovascular and kidney disease," he wrote. A native of Uganda, Kirabo earned a doctorate in veterinary medicine at Uganda's Makerere University and continued her studies in the United States, eventually earning a PhD in physiology and functional genomics from the University of Florida in Gainesville in 2011. She began to investigate the role of inflammation in hypertension as a postdoctoral research fellow under the mentorship of David Harrison, MD, the Betty and Jack Bailey Professor of Cardiology and Professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt Health. During this period and continuing after she joined the Vanderbilt faculty in 2015, Kirabo and her colleagues made several important discoveries that, wrote Kleyman, "established a previously unrecognized connection between oxidative stress, adaptive immunity, and hypertension." Subsequently, Kirabo and her team identified immune mechanisms of salt-sensitive hypertension that could lead to the development of immunotherapeutic approaches to treatment. With more than 230 scientific publications, she was ranked as a 2025 Top Scholar by the global academic analytics platform ScholarGPS "in recognition of (her) exceptional productivity, noteworthy impact, and quality of scholarly work" during the preceding five years. Kirabo, also Associate Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, previously received an American Heart Association postdoctoral fellowship and in 2020 was honored with the Harry Goldblatt Award for Early Career Investigators. She was named a Fellow of the American Heart Association in 2024. Based in South Korea, Sky Labs Inc., provides innovative chronic disease management solutions through "CART BP," the world's first medical-grade ring-type wearable blood pressure monitor.
Dr. Celeste T. Williams to lead Heart Association's Heart of Detroit campaign. Dr. Celeste T. Williams, professor of clinical medicine at Michigan State University College of Medicine and the medical director of quality for the Heart and Vascular Services at Henry Ford Health, was named chair of the American Heart Association's Heart of Detroit campaign. September 10, 2026 Dr. Celeste T. Williams, professor of clinical medicine at Michigan State University College of Medicine and the medical director of quality for the Heart and Vascular Services at Henry Ford Health, was named chair of the American Heart Association's Heart of Detroit campaign. Heart of Detroit engages companies, community leaders, and individuals to make a lasting impact across the Four Chambers of the American Heart Association's work: discovery, advocacy, access, and knowledge. "As an advanced heart failure cardiologist, it is my personal mission to improve access, quality of care and to save lives," Williams says. "This campaign is also personal, as my brother-in-law died from sudden cardiac death. As chair this year, I want to raise the level of awareness, bring our professional and community partners together, and use this moment not just to celebrate our victories, but to push our mission forward and save more lives." ADVERTISING The campaign culminates at the Detroit Heart Ball, which will take place on Nov. 14, from 6-10 p.m. at The Godfrey Hotel. The event celebrates hope and progress made through the dedication and passion of all who support the American Heart Association, a force changing the future of health for everyone everywhere. "Dr. Williams brings exceptional vision and energy as a healthcare leader," says Sara Hegarty, executive director, American Heart Association - Southeast Michigan. "Her commitment to the American Heart Association's mission, combined with a clear passion for improving the well-being of our community, makes her an outstanding choice to lead this year's campaign. We welcome Dr. Williams as chair of the Heart of Detroit campaign, which unites leaders across our community to advance health and hope for everyone, everywhere."
The American Heart Association's PREVENT equations are now integrated into Epic's electronic health record platform, making modern cardiovascular risk assessment available in most EHR systems nationwide. The integration brings guideline-recommended risk assessment into everyday patient care for primary prevention of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. PREVENT equations are designed to estimate cardiovascular disease risk using measures of cardiovascular, kidney, and metabolic health. They were developed using health information from more than 6.5 million adults from diverse backgrounds. The equations provide risk estimates over 10- and 30-year time horizons for total cardiovascular disease, including heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. Recent American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology guidelines for managing high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol, and cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome recommend using PREVENT equations for risk assessment and personalised treatment decisions.
Tonawanda student going to Super Bowl LXI. Wed, Sep 9th 2026 08:45 am NFL CPR commitment awards Super Bowl tickets to Tonawanda student √ Hands-only CPR education offered through American Heart Association's in-school programs supports mission critical work to improve chain of survival A Tonawanda Elementary School student is among five students across the country who have been awarded special incentive prizes. At a special assembly Tuesday, Damar Hamlin - Buffalo Bills safety and cardiac arrest survivor - surprised students with the announcement that Finley, a second grader, received two tickets to Super Bowl LXI taking place Feb. 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. The prizes are part of a collaboration between the American Heart Association, devoted to changing the future to a world of healthier lives for all, and the National Football League Foundation to encourage young people to learn hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Students who participated in the AHA's in-school programs, Kids Heart Challenge and American Heart Challenge, during the 2025-26 school year and learned hands-only CPR were eligible for incentive prize drawings from the NFL. Individual prizes included tickets to Super Bowl LXI. Participating schools were eligible for a drawing of $10,000 for a physical activity equipment makeover. Other awardees are still to be announced. Students who participate in the AHA's in-school Kids Heart Challenge program receive free hands-only CPR instruction so they can be confident and capable to respond in a cardiac emergency. More than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the U.S. each year, 70% of those occurring at home. According to AHA data, 9 out of every 10 people who experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital die, in part because they do not receive immediate CPR more than half of the time. CPR, especially if performed immediately, can double or triple a person's chance of survival. A scientific statement from the AHA shows children as young as age 4 can impact the survival rate by calling 911. The AHA is the global leader in resuscitation science, education and training, and publishes the official guidelines for CPR. The collaboration with the NFL is the AHA's most recent demonstration of the vow to grow CPR education with the commitment to double survival rates of cardiac emergencies by 2030. With most cardiac arrests outside the hospital occurring at homes, knowing how to perform CPR is critically important for all families. If a teen or adult collapses, witnesses should immediately call emergency services and begin chest compressions at a rate of 100-120 beats per minute and a depth of approximately 2 inches. "The Bills remain dedicated to advancing CPR education throughout the Western New York community," said Michelle Roberts, vice president of community impact for the Buffalo Bills and executive director of the Buffalo Bills Foundation. "Not only is Finley's surprise great for him, it's also a fun way to highlight the lifesaving skills of hands-only CPR." The Buffalo Bills and the AHA are working together to save lives through CPR education. The HeartBEAT initiative, launched in 2023, is a five-year, $1 million commitment by the Buffalo Bills to educate thousands of Western New Yorkers in hands-only CPR. The project is adding more people to the Heart Association's Nation of Lifesavers movement, which intends to double survival rates by 2030. The NFL's support includes an introduction video by Hamlin. In the video, which appears prior to the Kids Heart Challenge hands-only CPR online learning module, Hamlin shares that CPR saved his life. He encourages kids to learn the lifesaving skill. The NFL Foundation renewed its commitment to support CPR education for the 2026-27 school year. Once again, five student participants will receive tickets to Super Bowl LXII on Feb. 1, 2028, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta; and five schools will receive $10,000 fitness equipment makeovers. Entries are available now to those completing the hands-only CPR module called Finn's Mission. Parents and school administrators can visit heart.org/jointhechallenge to learn how their students can participate. With a foundation set in physical activity and rooted in proven science, Kids Heart Challenge has expanded beyond the gymnasium to meet the needs of today's youth and educators as science has proven the strong connection between physical and mental health. The program offers a variety of activities to get elementary students' hearts pumping such as dance, basketball or jumping rope paired with digital missions such as learning hands-only CPR. The AHA has worked with schools across the nation for nearly 50 years promoting physical health and wellness. The AHA encourages everyone, everywhere to join in the Nation of Lifesavers initiative and make CPR awareness and education a permanent fixture in all communities across the country. Take 90 seconds to learn how to save a life now at www.heart.org/nation. Connect with the American Heart Association on heart.org, Facebook, X or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.