Grassroots Committee and Network

The ACS Grassroots Committee strengthens engagement between the College's advocacy efforts and surgeons across the House of Surgery®. Through a network of specialty and constituency representatives, the committee promotes communication, education, and advocacy engagement while ensuring all surgeon priorities are reflected in ACS advocacy initiatives.

The committee serves as a bridge between ACS leadership and the Grassroots Network, helping increase awareness of advocacy opportunities, elevate member perspectives, and strengthen surgeon participation in state and federal advocacy efforts.

The goals of the Grassroots Committee are to:

Facilitate communication between ACS advocacy leadership and Fellows.
Elevate advocacy priorities and concerns from across specialties and constituencies.
Increase awareness of ACS advocacy initiatives and engagement opportunities.
Promote advocacy education and best practices.
Support participation in state and federal advocacy efforts.

Committee Roster

The committee is composed of advocacy leaders representing ACS specialty and constituency groups, including:

Advisory Councils
Board of Governors
Commission on Cancer
Committee on Trauma
Young Fellows Association
Resident and Associate Society
ACS Health Outreach Program for Equity in Global Surgery

Members serve as liaisons between their constituencies and ACS advocacy leadership, helping communicate priorities, share advocacy opportunities, and encourage member engagement.

Roster

Cardiothoracic Surgery
Jeremiah Hayanga, MBBCh, FACS

Colon and Rectal Surgery
Kelly Garrett, MD, FACS

General Surgery
Amy Vertrees, MD, FACS

Gynecology and Obstetrics
Yovanni Casablanca, MD, FACS

Neurological Surgery
Kunal Gupta, MBBCh, FACS

Opthalmic Surgery
Karen Allison, MD, MBA, FACS

Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Dan Meara, MD, FACS

Orthopaedic Surgery
William Ward, MD, FACS

Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery
Ken Kazahaya, MD, FACS

Plastic and Maxillofacial Surgery
Michele Manahan, MD, MBA, FACS

Pediatric Surgery
Marion Curtiss Wilson Henry, MD, FACS

Rural Surgery
Sue Long, MD, FACS

Urology
Roderick Clark, MD, FACS

Vascular Surgery
Anil Hingorani, MD, FACS

Board of Governors
John Maa, MD, FACS

Committee on Trauma
Lacey LaGrone, MD, FACS

Young Fellows Association
Jessica Burgess MD FACS

Resident and Associate Society
Fedra Fallahian, MD

Commission on Cancer
James McLoughlin, MD, FACS

ACS HOPE
Rachel Davis, MD, FACS

Activities

The ACS Grassroots Network is open to all ACS members interested in advocacy. As the College's "grasstops" advocacy community, the Network connects surgeons with opportunities to take action on legislative issues affecting surgery and patient care.

Network members receive advocacy updates and action alerts, participate in targeted advocacy campaigns, and share insights on issues affecting surgeons in their states, specialties, and practice settings.

Join the Grassroots Network

Contact Us

If you have additional questions or concerns, please reach out to Jamie Graves at jgraves@facs.org.