Dear AACVPR Colleagues,

I am honored and blessed to serve as the 2026-2027 AACVPR President, and I look forward to doing great work alongside my amazing colleagues on the Board of Directors.

Shout-Outs

First, I’d like to extend a huge “thank you” to Stacey Greenway, MA, MPH, CCRP, MAACVPR, ACSM-CEP, our outgoing President. Working with Stacey has been a true joy and an invaluable learning experience for me. She consistently brings pragmatic, forward-looking perspective to every discussion. More importantly, she always welcomes collaborative opinions and words of support and encouragement to everyone around her. Stacey is so professional in all that she does and elevates everyone around her, and our organization greatly benefits from her service.

I also want to extend my sincere appreciation to the past and current AACVPR Board directors and the dedicated staff team. Your dedication, passion, and professionalism have been truly inspiring. The engagement and partnership that emerges from a group of exceptional individuals has always led to remarkable achievements, and it has been an honor to be a part of it.

41^st AACVPR Annual Meeting

The thrill of accepting the transfer of leadership from Stacey aside, the 41^st AACVPR Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas was a boot scootin’ success! I thoroughly enjoyed the energy, passion, and incredible learning opportunities. Thank you to the conference attendees, the planning committee, speakers, vendors, and all who were involved in creating such an amazing event.

A Little About Me

Everyone has their own “why.” Why you attended the annual meeting, why you work in cardiac or pulmonary rehab, why you choose to lead. Let me tell you the story of my “why.”

My personal journey begins with my grandmother. She was a remarkable influence in my life. She instilled in me purpose, responsibility, belonging, the drive to succeed, and humility.

As a young boy, I knew I wanted to go into the medical field. But when I looked around, I did not see anyone who looked like me. My grandmother gave me a book titled Gifted Hands by Dr. Ben Carson, an African-American neurosurgeon. She was steadfast in making sure I understood that there were no barriers to my pursuit of a career in medicine. I attended a Science Academy in high school, which opened the door for me to pursue a college degree in the medical field and ultimately a career in health care.

As a clinical exercise physiologist and director of our cardiac and pulmonary rehab programs at Ascension Seton in Texas, I have the honor of working directly in patient care on a weekly basis and staying connected to the needs of clinicians at the bedside and in cardiac and pulmonary rehab programs.

I did not set out to reach this goal of being the first African-American AACVPR president in the history of the organization, although I do feel it is important to take a moment to recognize the milestone. I stand on the shoulders of those who came before me professionally and those who guided me personally. My grandmother lived to see 102 years on this earth. I miss our daily conversations and the wisdom she shared with me. I know that she would be proud today.

My grandmother also taught me that involvement is the key to change. I was not always the smartest person in the room, but I strived to always be present and show up. As a result of that tenacity, AACVPR has rewarded me with opportunities I never could have imagined. Attending Day on the Hill the past three years has given me the greatest joy and continues to ignite my passion for advocacy.  And I can personally tell you that some of the most rewarding experiences in my career have come from my work with association and serving alongside all of you.

Looking Forward

As I begin my presidency, I am incredibly optimistic about the future of AACVPR. We stand at an exciting moment in the evolution of cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation. The need for our services has never been greater, and the opportunity to expand our impact has never been clearer.

I will leave you with a quote from one of my grandmother’s favorite poets, Maya Angelou: "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

When our careers have ended, our patients may not remember every education session, every exercise prescription, or every quality improvement initiative. But they will remember how we made them feel. They will remember that we believed in them when they doubted themselves. And they will remember that we gave them hope when they needed it most.

I am honored to serve as your President, and I look forward to what we will accomplish together.

Sincerely,

Salim Street, M.Ed., CSCS
Ascension Seton
Kyle, TX