Keri Sweet Zavaglia
The American Heart Association has named Keri Sweet Zavaglia, SVP and US General Counsel of National Grid as the 2022 Syracuse Heart Challenge chairwoman. In this role Sweet Zavaglia is charged with a $580,000 fundraising goal to support the lifesaving work of the American Heart Association.
The American Heart Association’s Heart Challenge® is a suite of activities and initiatives designed to help companies positively impact employee overall health and well-being. The program is anchored in a series of customizable workplace events that inspires employees to be more engaged, reconnect with colleagues, get in their physical activity, support a great cause and have a lot of fun doing it.
“I have had family members and colleagues affected by cardiovascular disease and their health scares caused me to do more research,” said Sweet Zavaglia. “What I learned is that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. But, I also learned that most cardiovascular disease is preventable. For nearly 100 years, the American Heart Association has been helping people live longer, healthier lives and I want to do my part.”
The always popular Syracuse Heart Challenge event will be back in person with a walk event on April 24th at SRC Arena at Onondaga Community College. This is the 38th year for the Heart Challenge, previously called the Heart Walk. The Heart Challenge unites the community in celebrating health and honoring survivors. Sweet Zavaglia will be joined by other likeminded city executives working to increase physical and mental health, combat burnout and promote community engagement. The executive committee members include:
- Ronald Belle, AmeriCU Credit Union
- Amy Bidwell, Key Bank
- Brenda Colella, Barclay Damon
- Todd Cross, Mass Mutual
- Leslie Luke, St. Joseph’s Health
- Brent Murphy, Hillrom
- Duane Wiedor, retired
- Randy Tuthill, C&S Companies
To learn more about engaging your workforce in Heart Challenge events, or to join Keri Sweet Zavaglia and other area executives, visit SyracuseHeartWalk.org or contact Kristin Thompson Henry at [email protected] for more information.