Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians’ (LAFP) chapter leaders met in Kansas City, MO, April 23 – 26 for the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) National Conference of Constituency Leaders (NCCL) and the Annual Chapter Leader Forum (ACLF).

Louisiana’s official delegates to NCCL included:

• Oanh Truong, MD (minority physician representative)
• Naina Bouchereau Lal MD, FAAFP (women physician representative)
•  Richard Edward Bridges MD, FAAFP (IMG physician representative)

The National Conference of Constituency Leaders (NCCL) is the AAFP’s leadership development event that empowers underrepresented constituencies, including: Women physicians; Minority physicians; New physicians; International medical graduate physicians; and LGBTQ+ physicians to catalyze positive change in family medicine and create a lasting impact for current and future generations of family physicians.

The Annual Chapter Leader Forum (ACLF) is a time to focus on new ways to address the issues that affect chapters, by engaging in important dialogue. ACLF draws physician leaders and chapter staff from around the country each year, and features sessions around priority issues in leadership development, policy advocacy, engaging chapter members, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.  Louisiana members attending included:

• LAFP President elect, Lisa Casey, MD 
• Ragan LeBlanc, Executive Vice President,

Highlights of NCCL/ACLF included:

• A Town Hall discussion with AAFP’s elected leaders and a plenary session tackling the topic of fighting civic engagement and narrative as a means to achieve health equity led by President/CEO of Health Forward Foundation Qiana Thomason.
• A pre-conference presented by the AAFP’s Center for Diversity, Health Equity, and Global Health, which highlighted the vital role of family medicine in advancing leadership in health equity. The four-hour pre-conference session offered three distinct training opportunities designed to meet attendees where they are on their leadership, health equity, advocacy, and social justice journeys.