Speakers
Swapna Kakani, MPH is an award-winning advocate, speaker, consultant, and researcher in rare and chronic disease health care delivery and patient experience. Swapna was born with Short Bowel Syndrome (SBS), a rare GI disease, and received a small intestine transplant 10 years ago. Through her platform, Swapna Speaks, Swapna has spoken across the world to several hospitals, health care companies and associations, and has given a TEDx talk. Swapna also does health care advocacy, research, and policy work for the short bowel syndrome, intestinal failure, vascular access, and broader rare disease communities in her home state of Alabama and nationally. In 2017, she founded Alabama Rare, an organization advancing healthcare policy and education for Alabama’s rare disease community. In 2024, they passed the first community-driven newborn screening RUSP parity legislation. In 2021, she, alongside parent researchers/advocates, co-founded the gutsy perspective, a research initiative driven by members of the short bowel syndrome (SBS) community to ensure the patient and family narrative is represented in research and patient centered outcomes. The gutsy perspective has developed the first ever community-driven disease specific quality of life tool to investigate the well-being of children and their families affected by SBS and published findings from pilot data in multiple journals.
Swapna was awarded the consumer advocacy award by the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, the Innovator & Advocator Award by the Oley Foundation, and was nominated by Wego Health as a patient leader hero.
Swapna, originally from Huntsville, AL, received her bachelor’s in psychology and master’s in public health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).
Kenny Mendez, CEO and President, Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America
Kenneth Mendez became CEO and President of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) in early 2018. He came to AAFA from AdvaMed, the world’s largest medical technology association, where he served as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer for 12 years.
Mendez’s career has bridged the corporate and non-profit sectors. Early in his career, he worked on Wall Street in investment banking and then in business development at The Walt Disney Company. His career focus evolved to the non-profit sector based on a connection to causes about which he is passionate. Mendez, an avid fly fisherman, left Walt Disney to become the Chief Operating Officer of the nonprofit, Trout Unlimited, America’s largest cold-water fisheries
conservation organization. Based on his success at Trout Unlimited, he was recruited by AdvaMed to develop and launch new business initiatives, manage business operations and lead strategic planning. He has built his career in the senior leadership of nonprofits by growing the reach of these organizations, a track record he brings to AAFA.
Since joining AAFA, he has led the organization in establishing a new multi-year strategic plan that emphasizes dramatically reducing the impact of asthma and allergies on the underserved and tripling the size of AAFA’s online asthma community. The new strategic plan’s vision is for AAFA to be recognized as the most trusted ally serving the asthma and allergy community.
Randy Rutta, CEO, National Health Council
National Health Council (NHC) CEO Randall “Randy” Rutta is dedicated to policy-to-practice solutions that interpret, influence, and improve federal and state health care policies to enhance public and private sector health care innovation, outcomes, and efficiency. Since joining the NHC in February 2021, Rutta leads the NHC with the goal of affecting change across the health ecosystem and promoting increased access to affordable, high-value, and sustainable health care.
Prior to joining the NHC, Rutta was the President and CEO of the American Autoimmune Related Disease Association (AARDA), an organization dedicated to addressing autoimmunity and a longtime member of the NHC. He also served as AARDA’s Federal Policy Consultant and as Principal at ConnectHealth, LLC, a DC-based consulting company he established in 2017 that provides
strategic insight in achieving objectives across the health care ecosystem.
In 2017, Rutta transitioned from the position of President and CEO at Easterseals, a global, nonprofit organization dedicated to the health, well-being, and success of people with disabilities, veterans, seniors, and families. For most of his 36 years at Easterseals, he worked at the organization’s Office of Public Affairs, where he oversaw federal and state legislative and regulatory activities, federal grant development, and international knowledge exchange.
Rutta is a Board member of Patient Focused Medicines Development (PFMD) and the Medical Device Innovation Consortium (MDIC). He holds a master’s degree in politics from Catholic University of America in DC, and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Schroeder Stribling, President and CEO, Mental Health America
Schroeder Stribling is the President and CEO of Mental Health America, the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and promoting the overall mental health of all. She is a lifelong social justice advocate with over 20 years of experience managing organizations focused on mental health, homelessness, poverty, and racial justice.
Prior to joining Mental Health America, Stribling was the CEO at N Street Village, a nonprofit providing housing support services for women and families in Washington, DC. Under her leadership, N Street Village expanded from one to eight locations. She helped diversify revenue streams, create partnerships with government
entities, lead city-wide policy initiatives on homelessness, and acquire a smaller nonprofit organization. Prior to her time at N Street Village, Stribling was a Senior Social Worker at Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital, where she was responsible for the implementation of new mental health programs in the inner-city Head Start school system. Earlier in her career, she worked as a Clinical Social Worker and served as a Coordinator for the Dual Diagnosis Program on the Inpatient Psychiatry Unit at Suburban Hospital, which is now a part of Johns Hopkins.
Stribling received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Wellesley College, a master’s in social work from Smith College School for Social Work, and a certificate in nonprofit management from Georgetown University. She speaks and writes frequently on topics related to mental health and racial and economic equity and is an ever-passionate spokesperson for mental health and social justice in our times.
Schroeder Stribling, President and CEO, Mental Health America
Schroeder Stribling is the President and CEO of Mental Health America, the nation’s leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and promoting the overall mental health of all. She is a lifelong social justice advocate with over 20 years of experience managing organizations focused on mental health, homelessness, poverty, and racial justice.
Prior to joining Mental Health America, Stribling was the CEO at N Street Village, a nonprofit providing housing support services for women and families in Washington, DC. Under her leadership, N Street Village expanded from one to eight locations. She helped diversify revenue streams, create partnerships with government
entities, lead city-wide policy initiatives on homelessness, and acquire a smaller nonprofit organization. Prior to her time at N Street Village, Stribling was a Senior Social Worker at Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital, where she was responsible for the implementation of new mental health programs in the inner-city Head Start school system. Earlier in her career, she worked as a Clinical Social Worker and served as a Coordinator for the Dual Diagnosis Program on the Inpatient Psychiatry Unit at Suburban Hospital, which is now a part of Johns Hopkins.
Stribling received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Wellesley College, a master’s in social work from Smith College School for Social Work, and a certificate in nonprofit management from Georgetown University. She speaks and writes frequently on topics related to mental health and racial and economic equity and is an ever-passionate spokesperson for mental health and social justice in our times.
Jeff Todd, CEO Prevent Blindness
Jeff Todd is President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Prevent Blindness, the leading eye health and safety organization in the U.S. dedicated to preventing blindness and preserving sight across all age and eye conditions. He joined the organization in 2003 as Director of Public Health and later served as Chief Operating Officer until becoming President and CEO in April 2018. His contributions to the organization include establishing the Center for Vision and Population Health, launching the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health, fostering an annual national summit as a forum for the exchange of ideas relating to vision and public health, and overseeing the development of leading public health research — which has become widely used to capture the prevalence and cost of vision problems across the U.S.
In addition to his work at Prevent Blindness, Todd is currently Chair-Elect of the Board of Directors of the National Health Council. He also chairs the NHC’s Public Policy Committee, the Advisory Committee to the Prevent Child Injury coalition, the Executive Committee of Vision 2020 USA, and the Advisory Board to Jonas Children’s Vision Care at Columbia University Medical Center. He is a past chair of the Vision Care Section of the American Public Health Association, has served on the Board of Directors of Chicago-based Howard Brown Health Center, and is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association.
Todd earned a juris doctor degree from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, an Executive Education Certificate from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, a master’s degree in communications from Butler University, and a bachelor’s degree in business from Indiana University Bloomington.
Harold Wimmer, National President and CEO, American Lung Association
Harold Wimmer is the National President and CEO of the American Lung Association, carrying out the strategic framework and policies established by the National Volunteer Board of Directors. Fostering a culture of innovation and a distinct mission-first approach, Wimmer directs the executive operations of the Association to deliver high impact services and initiatives to improve the lung health of Americans and prevent lung disease.
Wimmer has dedicated his life to improving the lung health of all Americans. His work with the American Lung Association began in 1978, and he became National President and CEO in February 2013.
Prior to leading the nationwide organization, Wimmer served in key executive positions in the American Lung Association in Illinois and the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest. Earning a B.S. in Community Health and an M.S. in Health Administration & Policy from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, he has been an active alumni member at U of I, serving on the Applied Health Sciences Alumni Board. Wimmer received the 2008 Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Illinois, College of Applied Health Sciences.