Heather Logghe with AOSA colleagues at a restaurant during the 2026 ACS Clinical Congress
Advocacy & Activism

AOSA Advocacy & Activism

Co-Chair, Advocacy & Activism Committee, Association of Out Surgeons & Allies

With AOSA colleagues at the ACS Clinical Congress, 2026

Co-Chair · Advocacy & Activism Committee

Advocacy with AOSA

With Jad M. Abdelsattar, MD · 2026–2028 term, since September 2026

Building avenues for organizational and individual advocacy: responding to the institutional policies that shape surgical training, strengthening community for LGBTQ+ surgeons, trainees, and allies, and making it easier to take part.

That includes working toward organizational comment, and encouraging individual comment, on the requirements and policies that shape surgical training.

Roots

This work has deep roots. In 2015, Dr. Elinore Kaufman wrote one of the earliest #ILookLikeASurgeon pieces on LGBTQ+ visibility: “Being Queer in Surgery.”

AOSA 2026 Leadership announcement graphic: nine newly elected and appointed leaders, including Jad Abdelsattar and Heather Logghe as Advocacy & Activism co-chairs
AOSA’s 2026 leadership announcement
Join
Join AOSA Become a member of the Association of Out Surgeons & Allies. Membership is required to take part in AOSA committees. AOSA Committee Member Registration AOSA’s official form for joining a committee. Choose Advocacy to join the Advocacy & Activism Committee; you can select more than one committee.

Already registered? Our committee’s own interest form helps the co-chairs learn your role, time zone, and how you’d like to stay in touch. Members can join on a rolling basis — it’s not a competitive application.

Now

More of what I’m working on

American College of Surgeons Intimate Partner Violence Committee member: screening, response, referral, and surgeons around the world. Native American health Indian Health The federal promise of health care to Tribal Nations is a promise worth keeping. Dr. Heather Logghe giving a thumbs-up beside a Stanford Neurodiversity Project sign Neurodiversity Neurodiversity in the Workplace So that neurodivergent practitioners and patients thrive. What surgery still has to learn Trauma-Informed Care Most surgeons are never taught trauma-informed care, and it shows. What surgeons see first Gun Violence Surgeons are often the first to care for people hurt by guns. Health equity Health Equity Black women’s health: the numbers, the stories behind them, and what each of us can do. Burn care Burn Patient Advocacy Bringing palliative care into burn care, and learning from survivors. Co-founded with Dr. Paul Fedak #UnmaskMedicine Personal narratives about what medicine asks of the people in it. Physician mental health Physician Mental Health Making it safe for physicians to seek care.