Chair’s Corner: Advocacy Begins with Agency

Andrea Austin, MD, FACEP, MHPE, CHSE
Chair, AAWEP

Advocacy is not only something we do in state houses or on Capitol Hill—it begins with agency. With the quiet, courageous decision to believe that our voice matters and that we have the power to shape the world around us. In the Changemaker Framework I developed as part of my master’s work, transformation starts at the personal level: noticing what feels misaligned, naming what matters, and choosing to act. From there, change ripples outward—to our teams, our departments, our organizations, and ultimately our systems.

Whether you are advocating for protected pumping time, speaking up for a colleague experiencing bias, redesigning a broken workflow, or testifying for policy that protects patients and physicians, each act is a declaration: I am not powerless here. Advocacy is how we move from endurance to influence.

One of the most powerful ways to amplify your impact is by getting involved in AAWEP. Community turns individual courage into collective change. I invite you to join us at an upcoming event and bring your voice to this shared work:

• January 13 – AAWEP Coffee Talk
• February 10 – AAWEP Coffee Talk with ACEP President Dr. Cirillo on Allyship & Advocacy
• March 5–8 – Refuel & Rise AAWEP Retreat, St. Lucia
• April 26–28 – ACEP Leadership & Advocacy Conference
• October 5–8 – ACEP Scientific Assembly, Chicago

Register for our Coffee Talks here.

This issue highlights the many ways AAWEP members are reclaiming agency—at home, at work, and on the national stage. My hope is that as you read these stories, you’ll recognize your own capacity to be a changemaker. You don’t have to fix everything. You simply have to take the next right step.

That is how we rise.

To advocacy and action.