Who We Are

Michael Earing, MD serves on the IAC Echocardiography Board of Directors as a representative of the Adult Congenital Heart Association (ACHA). Dr. Earing is both an adult and pediatric trained physician whom specializes in adult congenital heart disease. Currently, Dr. Earing is Medical Director of the Chicago Adult Congenital Heart Disease Alliance; Chief of Pediatric Cardiology, Professor Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Chicago; Section Chief and Co-director at Advocate Children’s Hospital Heart Institute; and Division Director of the Cardiovascular Service Line for the Chicago Children’s Alliance-University of Chicago at Advocate Healthcare\NorthShore University.

Ashlee Davis, ACS, RDCS, RCCS, BSMI, FASE serves on the IAC Echocardiography Board of Directors as a representative of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE). She presently holds the position of Chief Technologist at the Cardiac Diagnostic Unit at Duke University in Durham, NC. She has been an integral member of the Cardiac Sonography team since 2008. In addition to her responsibilities at Duke University, Ms. Davis has actively contributed to ASE, where she has served on numerous committees, participated in writing groups, and was distinguished as a member of the inaugural class of the ASE Leadership Academy. Furthermore, she is a participant in the CCI Advanced Cardiac Sonographer exam writing committee. Her academic background includes a bachelor's degree in medical imaging from the University of Oklahoma, and she takes pride in holding ACS, RDCS and RCCS registries. Within the echocardiography community, she has cultivated meaningful connections, affording her the opportunity to share her expertise across the United States and internationally. She has been a featured speaker at national conferences, collaborated with Dr. Joseph Kisslo in teaching the innovative concept of "Thinking in 3D," and has been invited to contribute to publications in esteemed journals and textbooks. Her commitment to global healthcare is evident through her involvement in international initiatives, such as traveling to Rwanda to assist patients with rheumatic heart disease. Additionally, she has actively participated in various echocardiography research projects, contributing to the advancement of the field. In reflecting on her multifaceted contributions, she expresses enthusiasm for the future of echocardiography and looks forward to continued engagement in shaping its trajectory.

Alina Nicoara, MD, FASE serves on the IAC Echocardiography Board of Directors as a representative of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE). Dr. Nicoara earned her medical degree from Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest, Romania. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at Duke University Medical Center and Director of Perioperative Echocardiography. Dr. Nicoara has been published in journals, books, and electronic publications. She is a part of numerous organizations like American Society of Echocardiography, American Heart Association and Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists. Dr. Nicoara has also lectured at meetings nationally and internationally.

Enrique Garcia-Sayan, MD, FACC, FASE serves on the IAC Echocardiography Board of Directors as a representative of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE). Dr. Garcia-Sayan is an Associate Professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. His interests include quality echocardiography lab operations, multi-modality imaging in structural and valvular heart disease, and advanced echocardiography. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Echocardiography, currently serves in the ASE Advocacy and Public Relations Committees, chairs the ASE Guideline App task force and Twitter Journal Club subgroup, and was elected to the ASE Board of Directors for the 2023-2025 periods. He is also the current President of the Greater Houston Society of Echocardiography.

Margaret M. Park, BS, ACS, RVT, RDCS, FSDMS, FASE serves on the IAC Echocardiography Board of Directors as a representative of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE). Ms. Park is a lead imaging specialist for Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute, C5 Research Imaging and a research coordinator for the Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH. In addition, she spends time volunteering with sonography organizations including with the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS) and the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ARDMS) as an exam content expert and exam writer. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Echocardiography from the Oregon Institute of Technology. Ms. Park has published two books on sonography education, authored nine book chapters and had numerous publications in peer reviewed journals and scientific abstracts accepted for publication. She has presented over 100 lectures at local, national and international meetings as well as on live webinars. She is a founding member of the Greater Cleveland Echo Society and the Northern Ohio Cardiac Imaging Association. In addition to ASE, ARDMS and SDMS, she is a member of several other professional societies including Society for Vascular Ultrasound (SVU), American College of Cardiology (ACC) and Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA). Ms. Park was awarded the ASE Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017. When asked why she chose sonography as a career, she revealed “I didn’t choose ultrasound, it chose me.”

Sangeeta B. Shah, MD, FACC, FASE serves on the IAC Echocardiography Board of Directors as a representative of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE). Dr. Shah received her medical degree from the Louisiana State University Medical Center and went on to complete her residency at the Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans, LA. Dr. Shah is currently the medical director of the VCU Health Pauley Heart Center Adult Congenital Heart Disease (ACHD) program and is also the co-chair of the Pauley Heart Community Engagement Task Force. Furthermore, she holds the academic appointment of an associate professor in the department of medicine at VCU Health in Richmond, VA. Dr. Shah serves on several notable committees and boards including the ASE leadership Academy Cohort 1, ASE advocacy committee, ASE training and certification advisory committee and the Cardiovascular Credentialing International (CCI) noninvasive registry exam committee. She has given many interviews about ACHD and was featured as one of New Orleans Magazine's Best Doctors. In addition to ASE, Dr. Shah is also a member and fellow of the American College of Cardiology (ACC). She has authored numerous articles and given frequent lectures at both professional conferences and her own institutions. Her various research projects include: improving the value of cardiovascular imaging in endocarditis, exercise in adult congenital heart disease and is developing a community initiative to reduce the disparities in hypertension with a program to teach children.

G. Burkhard Mackensen, MD, PhD, FASE serves on the IAC Echocardiography Board of Directors as a representative of the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists (SCA). Dr. Mackensen is a Professor of Anesthesiology and Division Chief of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia at the Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle, WA. He also holds a position as UW Medicine Research & Education Endowed Professor in Anesthesiology and Adjunct Professor of Medicine. Dr. Mackensen is a practicing cardiothoracic anesthesiologist, interventional echocardiographer and critical care physician. Dr. Mackensen joined the University of Washington in early 2012 as the Chief of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia. Within the first year of his arrival, he assumed the role as acting chair of the entire Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, a position that he held for 15 months. Before joining the UW, he had served for eight years as an Associate Professor in Anesthesiology at Duke University Medical Center. He is certified by the National Board of Echocardiography (PTEXAM recertified in 2010) and has a strong interest in the perioperative and procedural utility of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). Academically, he continues to explore the utility of real-time three-dimensional TEE for procedural image guidance in the structural heart arena. As a key member of the UW structural heart valve team, he is intimately involved in multidisciplinary efforts that aim to advance minimally invasive transcatheter cardiovascular care. As a Fellow of the American Society of Echocardiography (FASE) he serves on the Council on Perioperative Echocardiography (COPE), the Research Committee and the Industry Relations Committee at the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE). Dr. Mackensen also chaired the development of a new ASE educational DVD/online product featuring procedural imaging in structural heart disease. He also serves as a co-director for the annually occuring ASE Symposium on Interventional Echocardiography for decision-making in Structural Heart. Most recently, he was asked to join the newly founded ASE task force on Structural Heart Disease. Dr. Mackensen lectures both nationally and internationally on the role of 2D and 3D TEE in interventional/structural heart disease and surgical decision-making. Dr. Mackensen has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and is the author of more than 15 book chapters. He currently serves as editor of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesia and on the Research Committee of the SCA and serves as reviewer for more than 10 internationally circulated scientific journals.

Merri L. Bremer, EdD, RN, ACS, RDCS, FASE serves on the IAC Echocardiography Board of Directors as a representative of the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS). Ms. Bremer is the Education and Quality Coordinator at the Mayo Clinic Echocardiography Lab in Rochester, Minn., and also holds an academic appointment as Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. Ms. Bremer is board-certified as a Registered Nurse, and holds the sonographer credentials of RDCS and ACS. In 2015, she earned a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. In addition to the SDMS, Ms. Bremer is an active member of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE), where she is a Fellow and a member of several committees. She also participates in the ultrasound accreditation program through Joint Review Committee on Education in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (JRC-DMS) and is a member of the CCI ACS Credentialing Exam Committee. During the past 20 years, Ms. Bremer has lectured extensively at national meetings, promoting the topic of sonographer ergonomics, quality improvement, and accreditation; in addition, she has co-authored several publications.

Pamela Burgess, ACS, BS, RDMS, RDCS, RVT, FASE serves on the IAC Echocardiography Board of Directors as a representative of the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography (SDMS). As manager of the Cardiac Ultrasound & Stress Testing Lab at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem, NC, she brings more than 30 years of experience as a sonographer. Upon earning her CNMT credential in 1979, Ms. Burgess went on to become board certified by the ARDMS as a Registered Vascular Technologist (RVT), a Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (RDMS) in Abdominal Ultrasound and Obstetrics-Gynecology and a Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer (RDCS) in Adult Echocardiography. She received her BS in Health Management from the California College for Health Sciences. In addition to SDMS, Ms. Burgess is also a fellow of ASE, where she has served on the Board of Directors and several committees. As an educator, Ms. Burgess is an instructor in the Adult Echocardiography course at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and has been a speaker and director at numerous Echocardiography courses across the country since 1993. In addition to serving on the IAC Echocardiography Board of Directors, Ms. Burgess also serves on the IAC board and as a reviewer and site visitor.​

Craig E. Fleishman, MD, FASE, FACC serves on the IAC Echocardiography Board of Directors as a representative of the Society of Pediatric Echocardiography (SOPE). Dr. Fleishman is the Director of Non-invasive Cardiac Imaging at the Heart Center at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine in Orlando, Fla. He received his BA in chemistry and economics from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Dr. Fleishman earned his medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine and was a pediatric resident and chief resident at Yale-New Haven Hospital. He completed his pediatric cardiology and advanced pediatric echocardiography training at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Fleishman has lectured extensively at national and international meetings and has co-authored multiple articles, chapters, and abstracts. Dr. Fleishman is a peer reviewer for Echocardiography, Congenital Heart Disease, Circulation, Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging, Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography, and American Heart Journal. He has also served as guest editor for Circulation and Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging. Dr. Fleishman is a fellow of the American Society of Echocardiography and the American College of Cardiology and serves on multiple committees within those organizations.

Bernadette Richards, BS, RDCS, FASE serves on the IAC Echocardiography Board of Directors as a representative of the Society of Pediatric Echocardiography (SOPE). Ms. Richards is the Technical Director of the Pediatric Echo Laboratory at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, in Columbus, OH. She is certified as a Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer in the areas of Adult, Fetal and Pediatric Echocardiography. She is also a fellow of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE).

Leo Lopez, MD, FASE, FACC, FAAP serves on the IAC Echocardiography Board of Directors as a representative of the Society of Pediatric Echocardiography (SOPE). Currently, Dr. Lopez is the Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine and Medical Director of Echocardiography at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford. Born in the Philippines, he earned his BA from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and later received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia. Dr. Lopez was a pediatric resident, fellow and chief fellow in cardiology and senior clinical fellow in echocardiography at Children’s Hospital in Boston. Dr. Lopez is a peer reviewer for several publications including the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography. He has taken part in several cardiac medical missions to places all over the world, including trips with Healing the Children to Guatemala and Russia and with Heart Care International to El Salvador and Peru. He has lectured extensively worldwide and has co-authored several publications, review articles, book chapters and abstracts. Dr. Lopez is a member of several other organizations and councils including the Pediatric and Congenital Heart Disease Council of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE), the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Heart Association (AHA) and the International Society for the Nomenclature of Pediatric and Congenital Heart Diseases.

Jeanne M. DeCara, MD serves on the IAC Echocardiography Board of Directors as a Cardiology Member-at-Large. Dr. DeCara received her residency and cardiology training at Boston University Medical Center, before moving to the Midwest where she is presently Professor of Medicine in the section of cardiology at University of Chicago Medicine. In her clinical role, she serves as a consultative cardiologist and a full-time member cardiac imaging faculty, with imaging expertise in echocardiography. In addition to her general cardiology practice, she is Director of the Cardio-Oncology program at University of Chicago Medicine, where the focus is on the diagnosis and treatment of heart disorders among patients who have received or are about to receive chemotherapy and/or chest radiation. Dr. DeCara’s research focus is directed toward the application of noninvasive imaging techniques for the diagnosis and prognosis of patients with clinical and subclinical cardiovascular disease. She has been a member of the editorial board of the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography. She has additionally played an active role in professional organizations such as the ASE, where she has been a member of the Guidelines and Standards Committee and Research Committee, and served as Chair of the Research Award Committee. She has served as a member of the writing group for the ASE consensus document for use of echocardiography in clinical trials and well as the ASE and European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging expert consensus document for use of multimodality imaging evaluation of the adult patient during and after cancer therapy. In addition to these organizations, Dr. DeCara was a member of the technical panel for the Appropriate Use Criteria for echocardiography document endorsed by multiple professional societies, and content reviewer the AHA/ACC guideline for management of patients with valvular heart disease.

David A. Orsinelli, MD, FACC, FASE serves as an Advisor the IAC Echocardiography Board of Directors. Dr. Orsinelli has been a staff echocardiographer at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center since 1991. He is currently a Professor of Clinical Internal Medicine at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. He is a very active clinical echocardiographer and is a member of the OSU Structural Heart Disease Team. Dr. Orsinelli received his medical degree from St. Louis University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He completed his residency at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, R.I. in 1986 and held the position of Chief Medical resident at the hospital from 1986-87. He completed his cardiology fellowship at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worchester, Mass. in 1991 where he also served as Chief Fellow from 1990-91. Dr. Orsinelli is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) as well as an active member of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) and the American Heart Association (AHA). He served as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Chapter of the ACC from 2007-2011. Dr. Orsinelli has been a manuscript reviewer for the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography, American Heart Journal, Circulation, Journal of the American College of Cardiology and Heart and Lung (The Journal of Acute and Critical Care). Dr. Orsinelli has also served on the Editorial Board of the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography. He has been an abstract reviewer for the AHA on many occasions since 1999. He has delivered many lectures at local, regional and national meetings around the country and has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed manuscripts, review articles and book chapters in the field of echocardiography.

David H. Wiener, MD, FACC, FAHA, FASE serves as an Advisor the IAC Echocardiography Board of Directors as a representative of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE). Dr. Wiener is Clinical Professor of Medicine at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. He serves as Director of Clinical Operations at the Jefferson Heart Institute, with responsibility for developing and administering an integrated hospital- and outpatient-based academic cardiology practice. He is a practicing clinical cardiologist who has received numerous teaching awards; and is also a member of Jefferson’s echocardiography faculty. Dr. Wiener received his BA degree from Columbia University and his MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He completed residency training at Montefiore Medical Center in New York, and clinical and research cardiology fellowships at the University of Pennsylvania. With a longstanding interest in high quality, high value cardiac imaging, Dr. Wiener chairs the Guidelines and Standards Committee of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) and served on its Board of Directors. Dr. Wiener has published about high value cardiac imaging, contributed to multi-society documents on clinical competence and appropriate use criteria, both as an author and as a content reviewer, and has been an abstract reviewer for ASE.

Mary Lally, MS, CAE is the Chief Executive Officer at the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission (IAC). Ms. Lally began her tenure with the IAC in 2007, serving as Director of Accreditation. In this role she has been instrumental in the development and oversight of the IAC’s MRI and CT diagnostic divisions as well as the Carotid Stenting, Cardiac Electrophysiology and Cardiovascular Catheterization therapeutic divisions. Ms. Lally has a unique combined background of clinical expertise and association management experience, possessing both a Master’s degree in Radiation Health Physics as well as the Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential. Before joining the IAC, Ms. Lally gained more than 20 years of clinical, operational and leadership experience, serving as the founding MRI program director at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. In addition, she developed and implemented radiology quality assurance programs with emphasis in the vascular surgery, interventional and cardiology departments at the University of Maryland Hospital. An ARRT-certified MRI Technologist, Ms. Lally is a passionate advocate for quality and safety in imaging.

Katherine Gibson, RDCS is the Director of Accreditation for Echocardiography at the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission. Joining the IAC in 2019, she brings many years of clinical experience and her passion for congenital heart disease which caused her to pursue a career in pediatric and fetal echo. Ms. Gibson has worked as a cardiac ultrasound Applications Specialist, served as a clinical instructor for adult echocardiography at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, served as a clinical instructor for pediatric echo at The Helen B. Taussig Congenital Heart Center at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, and developed the didactic curriculum for pediatric and congenital heart disease for The Johns Hopkins School of Echocardiography, Cardiac Sonography Program while also serving as an instructor. She graduated from The Johns Hopkins School of Echocardiography, Cardiac Sonography Program in 2009 and went on to earn her RDCS credential, Pediatric Echocardiography credential and Fetal Echocardiography credential from ARDMS. Ms. Gibson served on the Board of Directors for The Greater Baltimore Echo Society from 2011-2017.