The American Heart Association announces its new leadership for the 2001-2002 fiscal year beginning July 1. The new officers will take office during the association's annual delegate assembly on June 22 and 23.

David P. Faxon, M.D., chief, section of cardiology at the University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill. was elected president of the organization. Lawrence B. Sadwin, northeast division marketing leader for General Electric Financial Assurance, long term care division, headquartered in San Rafael, Calif., was elected chairman of the board.

Gayliss R.Ward, senior vice president of Fiduciary Trust International, New York, N.Y., was elected secretary-treasurer.

Craig T. Beam, president of Beam & Associates, a real estate consulting/institutional development firm in Orange, Calif., was chosen as chairman-elect. Robert Roberts, M.D., chief of cardiology and professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Tex., was named president-elect.

Faxon, whose clinical focus is the treatment of patients with coronary artery disease, was one of the first physicians to perform coronary angioplasty at Boston University Hospital, where he served as associate director of cardiology. In 1993, he joined the faculty of the University of Southern California Medical School and in 1999, accepted his current position as chief, section of cardiology at the University of Chicago. Faxon has been an American Heart Association volunteer since 1980. He served as the affiliate board president in the association's Massachusetts Affiliate and then as president of the association's affiliate located in Los Angeles.

Sadwin, a resident of Warren, R.I., received his bachelor's in business administration at the University of Rhode Island. He is a skilled public speaker and has devoted much of his time as an American Heart Association volunteer, sharing his personal story as a heart disease survivor to raise awareness of heart disease and stroke. He has been a volunteer for the association since 1982 and has received numerous awards for his service and leadership to the organization. He served as chairman of the American Heart Association's Rhode Island Affiliate and New England Affiliate.

Ward is a certified public accountant, with more than 20 years experience advising individuals and family groups on tax matters. Before joining Fiduciary Trust International, she was vice president in charge of the private banking tax department at Bankers Trust. She has been a volunteer for the American Heart Association for more than 10 years at the affiliate and national levels and was active in the formation of the American Heart Association's Heritage Affiliate in New York. She is currently serving as chair of its Corporate Operations Coordinating Committee.

The American Heart Association spent about $337 million during fiscal year 1999-2000 on research support, public and professional education, and community programs. Nationwide, the organization has grown to include more than 22.5 million volunteers and supporters who carry out its mission in communities across the country. The association is the largest nonprofit voluntary health organization fighting heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases, which kill about 950,000 Americans every year.