ashliewhite

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  • Supporting our Community in Uncertain Times

    Posted 2/7/2025 on socials

    Today I woke up not entirely sure how to name what I feel – it’s this ever morphing combination of despair, sadness, hope, pride, tenacity, and gratitude – a flood of contradicting sentiments leaving me with little faith that I have responded appropriately, or will, to the outpouring of supportive texts and emails from colleagues, friends, and family in response to the message linked below. I am heartbroken for our team – both those who were laid off or furloughed yesterday and those who remain with us to continue the Amputee Coalition‘s work serving the limb loss and limb difference community in these uncertain times.

    Over the past 2.5 years, I’ve had the privilege and the honor to be part of building something special, a dynamic team making an impact through our work every single day. Together we ushered the organization over a metaphoric threshold into a new era of action and productivity. It’s been fun and fulfilling.

    Now, the rules have changed but are not yet redefined; it’s hard to play three moves ahead. So, I divert to my most useful disposition, that of ambition. And I’m as committed as ever to seeing it through, to delivering on the promises I made to so many when I joined this organization.

    Supporting Our Community in Uncertain Times – An Important Message from Cass Isidro, President and CEO

  • NYU MSHLS Equity and Ethics Assignment 1

    Submitted as an assignment for Fall 2023 LAWH-LW-10003

    In my leadership role at the Amputee Coalition and as the principal investigator (P.I.) for the National Limb Loss Resource Center (NLLRC) under the Administration for Community Living (ACL), a $21M five-year Cooperative Agreement, it is imperative that I implement, advocate, and perpetuate equity within my work every single day. Recognizing the intersectionality of individuals who have lost limbs or who were born with limb differences, is of utmost importance – and in order to do that successfully, I cannot count on my own perspective, I must listen to people who have lived the experience of losing a limb or have grown up missing a limb. 

    Even the lessons learned in this expensive MS program for which I am privileged to be in, will not bestow the full breadth of knowledge that I need to get it right. Not even close. 

    When I was recruited to the Amputee Coalition, I was excited to be joining one of the most diverse teams that I had ever worked with, but I was surprised to learn that not a single team member was living with limb loss or limb difference, except for the interim CEO – the former Board Chair. One of the most important steps I’ve taken since joining the organization has been the active recruitment of individuals with lived experience, and not just for entry-level or coordinator positions, but positions with authority, director-level positions. 

    With this hiring emphasis, it has also been imperative that our organization approach its inclusion intentionally and thoughtfully, not requiring those employees with lived experience to always wear two hats. That is easier said than done, but it should be enough for Olivia, our public policy manager, to show up every day as the policy expert that she is and not also be expected to speak on behalf of all individuals who are missing both of their arms. She should be able to maintain the autonomy to choose when and how she discloses and/or engages her own experience in the context of her job. It is my responsibility to create a space for her, and all six employees with lived experience that I have hired so far, to fulfill the duties defined in their job descriptions without also having to bear the burden of speaking for the community that our organization serves. At an organizational level, in light of the political attacks on DEI initiatives, our Board of Directors, just last month, decided to emphasize our commitment to the work by changing the organization’s mission statement to include explicit language underscoring the prioritization of a culture that embraces diversity, is actively inclusive, and works to create equity both internally and within the community we serve. At a time when some organizations are archiving their DEI webpages, eliminating or merging DEI positions, and/or dissolving departments, having this language positioned within our mission requires that all work of the organization must incorporate diverse perspectives, be inclusive, and promote equity in order to be mission-aligned. That’s a directive that I am certainly proud to follow.

  • Joining the Amputee Coalition

    Published on socials 8/6/22:

    I am excited to announce that today I joined the Amputee Coalition team as the new Chief Programs Officer. I cannot imagine an endeavor more aligned with my passions and skillset than this role, at this organization, in service to the limb loss and limb difference community.

    My father, a semi-retired prosthetist of 43 years, exposed me to this community at birth. I’ve never known a world without knowing individuals living with limb loss and limb difference. Through my personal and professional experiences I have come to understand many of the challenges facing the limb loss and limb difference community. But perhaps more importantly, I am eager to learn all that I do NOT know in the pursuit of service to this organization and the community it represents.

    I have been volunteering with the Amputee Coalition and my local support group for the past 15 years. I attended my first Amputee Coalition conference in Atlanta in 2008 with a group from North Carolina and one of my best friends and former member of the community, David Ostiguy It was at that conference that he discovered a new connection with his community and a new opportunity to shine his incredible light. David has since passed away, having lost his battle to osteosarcoma, the culprit and cause of his multiple amputations over a seven-year cancer journey.

    Starting way back with my undergraduate documentary work on body image, experience after experience brought me back to this community. When I started becoming more involved in the management of my family’s prosthetics practice, I had the opportunity to reimagine what a more patient-centric approach to our business could look like and went on to focus my master’s thesis work on the development of what the Amputee Coalition later adopted as its platform for state-level coverage initiatives, InsuranceFairness.org.

    It’s been the fulfillment and joy that I have felt through my work over the past six years in service to the O&P business community at the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA), including oversight of advocacy, research, and strategic alliances, management of the Medical Advisory Board, and fervent dedication to lobbying members of Congress for better coverage policies, that have continuously reminded me that I am on the right path.

    Now, I am excited to dedicate this next chapter of my career to the Amputee Coalition and the millions of individuals living with limb loss and limb difference that it serves.

  • On Departing AOPA

    Written for socials on August 3, 2022

    Today is my last day at the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA). For the past six years, this organization has given me the opportunity to live my dream job, and I’ve loved every minute of it. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have worked with such amazing teammates and to have shared in moments that upon reflection will forever bring a smile to my face. I am thankful to all of AOPA’s members for the opportunity to serve them in this role; it has been such an honor. I am indebted to the Board members and other leaders in the O&P field who have challenged me, believed in me, and supported me along this journey.

    While I am full of excitement and curiosity as I turn the page to the next chapter in my career, I am having the hardest time signing off this evening. There is still so much to do 😊.  

    AOPA has always been more than an employer; the work has been more than just a job for me. As a second-generation child of O&P, the organization has been part of my life for a long time. The Annual Assembly often provided the location for our family vacations, and early in my career, serving on committees and attending events like the Policy Forum and Leadership Conference created opportunities to network with people who would end up changing my life. Before going to work at AOPA, I was a proud member and its biggest fan. I still am. 

    I am proud of what we’ve built and the work we’ve done during my time at the organization. I know our amazing team will continue to deliver for AOPA members and the O&P field.

  • NYU Law/Wagner Entrance Essays

    The MS Health Law and Strategy program is designed for mid- or senior-career professionals to develop strategy and drive innovation in health. Describe how the MSHLS will contribute to your career objectives. How do you expect this joint degree program to benefit you on a personal and professional level? (500 works max)

    As the Director of Health Policy and Strategic Alliances and the in-house lobbyist at the American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association (AOPA), I currently oversee both the advocacy and research portfolios for the organization. I helped design the department I now run under the guiding principle that our policy positions must be supported by the evidence base. It has been my experience that our current healthcare system imposes unnecessary barriers to entry for healthcare technology and arbitrary access challenges for the patients that could most benefit from those advancements. 

    Since the start of my “official” career in this field in 2008, I’ve witnessed a massive transformation, both for the clinicians delivering healthcare services to patients living with limb loss/difference or limb impairment and the manufacturers of the prosthetic and orthotic devices delivered by those healthcare providers. 

    I say “official” because I am a second-generation professional working in the Orthotics and Prosthetics field and have been immersed in it all of my life. My father has been a certified prosthetist since before I was born, and I remember fondly the days when attendance at the annual society conferences marked the beginning of our family vacations. In fact, my father attended Prosthetics school at NYU in the early 80s. 

    Over his 42 years as a prosthetist, he’s seen, and shared with me, exactly how innovation can transform lives. His very first patient wore a wooden prosthetic socket, and he now provides care to patients who have undergone osseointegration surgery and no longer need a traditional socket to successfully ambulate on their prosthetic legs. 

    Though I am not a clinician providing care to patients, I have built a role for myself in the orthotics and prosthetics field, a role that utilizes the best of my talents and allows me to live a mission-driven, motivated existence with a passion for my purpose. I see the MSHLS program as an opportunity to learn and grow so I can continue to serve this profession to the best of my ability. 

    What interests me most about this program is the positioning of innovation within the framework of healthcare law and policy fundamentals. I haven’t see any other program in the US that underscores that connection quite like the curriculum offered through this MSHLS. I believe I am the type of candidate that will benefit, specifically, from that balance. 

    My chosen field sits at the intersection of art and science; it is niche and complex. These factors make it, and the patients it serves, particularly vulnerable to a healthcare system that focuses on service in terms of units rather than value. I am looking forward to gaining new competencies and applying the concepts offered through this program toward efforts to address the challenges facing the orthotics and prosthetics field and the patients it serves now and in the future.

    Describe a significant leadership challenge in your life, possibly even a failure. What did you learn and how did this experience shape your professional aspirations? 

    A significant leadership challenge in my career, thus far, occurred following the acquisition of our family’s prosthetic and orthotic practice, Beacon P&O, in 2015. When we began the process, I was directing our company’s marketing efforts and developing a program to address the access challenges that our patients were facing as a result of inadequate insurance coverage. I had just finished my graduate studies at the UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Journalism and Media and was completing my thesis work on mobilizing patient populations to advocate through online communications platforms. During the program, I realized that my future was in advocacy work, not our family practice.

    Over the following year, I assisted my father in every aspect of the due diligence process and facilitated the collaboration necessary to bring us to an offer we were happy to accept. It was the most immersive version of business education possible, with real-world benefits and consequences in its resolution. 

    Following the acquisition, I was offered the director of operations position for the five-facility organization once owned by my family. Though it had been my intention to leave the company, I accepted the new challenge as another growth opportunity. 

    After a few months, I realized that the transition was taking a toll on my relationship with my father. We had always met in the middle regarding aspects of our family business; he made decisions about clinical matters and I helped navigate our operational decisions. In this new environment, the line where we used to meet no longer existed. As an example, part of my newly assumed responsibility involved terminating employment of a clinician who had been with the company, and whom I had known, since I was in high school. I found myself entirely lacking the ability to lead effectively through this challenge. The work had grown to be too personal, and I was too emotionally invested. 

    At this same time, I was receiving recognition for my volunteer work as a Board member for the National Association for the Advancement of Orthotics and Prosthetics (NAAOP), on the Mobility Saves committee for AOPA, as the director of government affairs for the North Carolina Orthotic and Prosthetic Trade Association (NCOPTA), and working with our local amputee support group as a healthcare advocate. 

    These volunteer roles served to define my strengths as I built my professional identity beyond that of “Eddie White’s daughter.” After ten months under BCP Group ownership, I gave a lengthy notice and began the process of hiring my replacement. I took a leap into the unknown, with no job lined up, but with confidence that I had something to offer the orthotics and prosthetics profession. Shortly after, I landed my dream job at AOPA.  

    Now, after six years at AOPA, as I explore my next transformation, I find myself poised to take a leap, again. While I remain uncertain as to where I will land, I am confident that I will arrive in that new place a better version of myself.