American College of Surgeons Professional Association

In 2001, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Board of Governors voted unanimously to establish a new, more flexible 501c(6) affiliated corporation, the American College of Surgeons Professional Association (ACSPA), to offer a broader range of activities and services benefiting surgeons and patients, including an expanded legislative advocacy program featuring a political action committee (PAC). The formation of the 501c(6) ensures that the College can continue to maintain the standard-setting educational activities that remain at the core of its mission. Additional information and resources can be found by visiting SurgeonsVoice.org and SurgeonsPAC.org.

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) holds a restrictive 501c(3) tax-exempt status that limits the range of services it can provide to and on behalf of its Fellows. Most notably, the College's tax classification forbids participation in political activity of any kind.

To ensure the College continues to maintain the standard-setting and educational activities that have always been at the heart of its mission, in 2001, the ACS Board of Governors unanimously voted to establish a new, more flexible 501c(6) affiliated corporation, the American College of Surgeons Professional Association (ACSPA), to offer a broader range of activities and services benefitting surgeons and patients, including an expanded legislative advocacy program featuring a political action committee (PAC). Any active, U.S. dues-paying members and green card holders (and their spouses) as well as ACS employees are invited to support the ACSPA-SurgeonsPAC.

In addition to advocacy and political activities, the ACSPA structure allows for the creation of new educational and credentialing programs, and the ability to provide: management services to other associations, market new insurance and investment products, and more. Currently, the ACSPA only houses the expanded legislative action program.

Surgeons hold a single and seamless membership in both the College and in ACSPA.

A Note About Membership Dues

Annual dues dollars are not used to fund or support the College’s political activities. All political efforts are financed through voluntary, personal contributions from ACSPA members made directly to the ACSPA-SurgeonsPAC. A small portion of dues receipts will be retained by the ACSPA to finance the legislative support program, and as a result, will no longer be deductible from federal income taxes as a business expense. The exact dollar amount (somewhere in the range of 3 to 5 percent of dues) is listed on the back of your annual dues statement.

Chair

Anthony Atala, MD, FACS

Vice-Chair

Fabrizio Michelassi, MD, FACS

Members

Carol L. Brown MD, FACS 
Annesley (AJ) W. Copeland MD, FACS 
James C. Denneny. III MD. FACS 
Timonthy J. Eberlein MD, FACS 
Diana L. Farmer MD, FACS, FRCS 
James W. Fleshman, Jr. MD, FACS, FASCRS
Andrea A. Hayes-Dixon MD, FACS, FAAP
Lena M. Napolitano MD, FACS, FCCP, FCCM 
Linda G. Phillips MD, FACS 
Sarwat Salim MD, FACS 
Kenneth W. Sharp MD, FACS 
Anton N. Sidawy MD, FACS 
Steven C. Stain MD, FACS 
Gary L. Timmerman MD, FACS 
Shelly D. Timmons MD, FACS 
David J. Welsh MD,MBS, FACS 
Philip R. Wolinsky MD, FACS 
Douglas E. Wood MD, FACS, FRCSEd 

Staff

Christian Shalgian
Director, Division of Advocacy and Health Policy
202-337-2701
cshalgian@facs.org

Courtney Lisowski
Manager, ACSPA-SurgeonsPAC and Grassroots
202-672-1511
clisowski@facs.org 

For questions or to learn more about the College’s advocacy and political activities, contact Courtney Eubanks, Manager, ACSPA-SurgeonsPAC and Grassroots, at 202-672-1511 or ceubanks@facs.org. To learn more about the College’s federal legislative efforts, contact Carrie Zlatos, Chief of Legislative and Political Affairs, Division of Advocacy and Health Policy, at 202-672-1508 or czlatos@facs.org.

Questions about membership and the annual dues statements should be referred to the Division of Member Services at 1-800-621-4111 or ms@facs.org.

Questions about SurgeonsPAC contributions should be referred to the ACSPA at 202-672-1520 or surgeonspac@facs.org.