"Who I am NOT has captured a lot of people's attention. So, who am I? I am Cathie Biga, a leader, health care administrator, nurse, executive, mom, wife, nana and I still think of myself as a 'recovering' critical care nurse."

Cathleen Biga, MSN, FACC, is making history as ACC's first non-physician president. Within her 40 years of experience in health care, she spent 15 years in the critical care unit as a nurse and is a former hospital president, CEO and cardiovascular service line leader. A long-time leader at the ACC, she has been active in the College for more than 25 years, including serving for six years on the Board of Trustees (BOT).

In a recent interview, Biga shared the unique perspectives she brings to her presidency, what she is most excited about and what advice she has for future ACC leaders.

You're making history as the ACC's first non-physician president, what does this mean to you?

This historic event is not about me – rather it exemplifies the College's commitment to diversity and inclusion in all aspects – including leadership. The concept of "standing on the shoulders of giants" is often referenced when talking about leadership changes and transformation over time. This concept is certainly true for me. There have been incredible leaders throughout the College's 75-year history and it's a true privilege to follow in their footsteps.

What unique skills and perspectives do you bring to your role?

Over the next year, I'm excited to bring my own set of leadership skills and perspectives to the ACC as we kick off the first year of our new Strategic Plan and celebrate the College's 75th anniversary.

I have led throughout my career as a dyad and my year as president will be no different. I bring extensive experience in cardiovascular health care delivery, innovation, quality and economic sustainability, that I believe offers fresh perspectives and complements the competencies of my physician colleagues on the BOT. As a team, the BOT is charged with strategically managing the College and I'm excited to collaborate with and lead this incredible group of people during this historic time in our journey of improving heart health for all.

While my leadership in cardiology is on the administrative side, the end goals of optimizing patient care and outcomes are the same. I love to encourage and engage – I want us all to push our individual limits and challenge each other to deliver the best care we can for our patients – I want to remove barriers (legal, regulatory and operational) to ensure our physicians and care team members can practice cardiovascular medicine and find the joy and the reason why they went into medicine in the first place. Putting the joy back in our daily lives is a critical goal for me as your ACC President.

What advice do you have for ACC members, especially CV Team members, who want to become leaders?

Become involved – be engaged – find your local Chapter – offer to help – we NEED you!! Offer to mentor or sponsor some of our new team members. All cardiovascular care is local and we need you to meet with your lawmakers and educate them about what we do and the direct impacts of policies (or lack of them) have on our ability to deliver optimal patient care. We need you to talk to high schoolers – and those in college – and encourage them to consider a career in cardiology. We need to make sure that the next generation of cardiologists and cardiovascular team members are representative of the very people and communities they serve. There are so many ways to get involved. If you get stuck, email me and I will help you get started!

Read the TCTMD interview with Biga.

Keywords: ACC Publications, ACC Scientific Session Newspaper