Voters’ Education Initiative: Engagement and Empowerment (IDEAS) - June 18

Associate Professor-Research
Director, Undergraduate Academic Pathway Programs for Diversity
Dept. of Medicine & Office of Diversity and Community Engagement
LSUHSC New Orleans, School of Medicine

Dr. Allison C. Augustus–Wallace leads and has several roles regarding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Affairs committees and educational initiatives in the LSU Health Sciences Center-New Orleans (LSUHSC-NO) Schools of Medicine and Graduate Studies for Faculty/Staff/Professional Students (Medical and Biomedical). Through leadership responsibilities that promote equitable inclusivity, she works to promote greater educational access, increase the presence of historically-excluded and marginalized groups of people in both medicine and biomedical research, and promote health equity and improved health outcomes for marginalized and overall collective communities.

In 2020, Dr. Augustus-Wallace earned Certification in Diversity, (Equity), and Inclusion from Cornell University. In addition to serving in active roles with Sigma Xi such as the Associate Director of the Research and Doctoral Universities Constituency Group, as well as a member of the 2022 and 2023 IFoRE Meeting Planning Committees, Dr. Augustus-Wallace is an active member of other professional organizations: the Maximizing Access Committee of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; the Health Professions Chapter of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education; the AAMC Group on Women in Medicine & Science Steering Committee; the Editorial Board of the AAMC’s peer-reviewed journal, Academic Medicine; the NIH-Women of Color Research Network; the Law Committee of the American Public Health Association; the Association of Women in Science-National & Southern Louisiana-LSUHSC Chapter; and others.

Director of Government Relations
AAMC

Ally Perleoni, MA was named to Modern Healthcare’s inaugural 40 under 40 list. The award recognizes “rising stars” in health care and highlights their contributions and accomplishments. At the AAMC, Ally lobbies on behalf of all U.S. medical schools and 400 major teaching hospitals. Her issue portfolio focuses on clinical issues, patient care, physician payment, graduate medical education, and maternal mortality. Prior to her time at the AAMC, Ally was a federal lobbyist at the American Academy of Pediatrics, where she advocated for the health of infants, children, and adolescents. Previously, she served as the manager of government relations at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, where she developed and enacted a government relations strategy for health information technology policy in their CapSite division. Ally also worked as a graduate assistant at the Women & Politics Institute at American University and as a lead research analyst for the Vermont Legislative Research Service. She is a graduate of the American University School of Public Affairs, where she earned her master’s degree in political science, and the University of Vermont College of Arts and Sciences, where she completed her bachelor’s degree with honors in political science.