Bernadette Aulivola, MD

Service to the SVS

• 2008-2009: Member, Ad Hoc Vascular Web Advisory Group
• 2009-2011: Member, Student and Resident Outreach Committee
• 2009-2011: Member, VascularWeb Advisory Committee
• 2009-2010: Member, Women’s Leadership Subcommittee on Radiation Safety
• 2013-2016: Member, International Relations Committee
• 2015-2018: Member, Publications Committee
• 2016-2017: Member, Student and Resident Outreach Committee
• 2017-2020: Vice-Chair, Resident and Student Outreach Committee
• 2017-2021: Member, Education Council
• 2019-2020 Member, Program Committee
• 2019-2020: Executive Committee Member and Co-hair Task Force for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
• 2020-2023: Chair, Resident and Student Outreach Committee
• 2020-2023: Member, Education Council
• 2020-2021: Member, Diversity and Leadership Committee
• 2020-2023: Member, Coalition for Optimization of Vascular Surgery Trainees and Students, SVS Representative
• 2020-2023: Member, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee
• 2022-2025: Member, Strategic Board of Directors (VESS Representative)
• 2023-2024: Member, Compensation Task Force
• 2023-2024: Member, Executive Board of Directors
• 2023-2024: Executive Board Liaison to the Membership Committee
• 2023-2027: Member, SVS Foundation Board of Directors
• 2025-2026: Member, Independent Vascular Surgery Board Working Group
• 2025-2026: Member, Strategic Board of Directors Status Working Group

Service to Other Societies

Dr. Aulivola has held other societal leadership roles including Councilor, Treasurer and President of the Midwestern Vascular Surgical Society. She served as Chair of the nominating committee of the International Society of Women Vascular Surgeons as well as a member of the Mentorship committee. She is a Director of the Vascular Surgery Board of the American Board of Surgery, appointed in 2017 as a representative of the Vascular and Endovascular Surgical Society for a 6-year term. In 2022, she was elected to serve as a Councilor of the American Board of Surgery for an additional 6-year appointment. She has served on the DEI committee of the ABS and was appointed Chair of this committee this year. She has served on numerous journal editorial boards and is an Associate Editor for Rutherford's Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy textbook.

Please briefly describe your strategic vision for the future for vascular surgery and the key role SVS must play to realize that vision.

My vision for the future of Vascular Surgery is continuing progressive development as a data-driven, team-based, sustainable specialty—delivering consistently excellent clinical care while advancing innovation and advocating for our surgeons and patients.

The SVS is poised to be the unifying force that brings vascular surgeons together while actively engaging with other disciplines committed to the delivery of care that impacts vascular health. The SVS will set priorities, model progress and strengthen the identity of vascular surgeons as they make impactful contributions to clinical care, scientific inquiry and innovation. The SVS will build on its strengths in branding, education, guideline development and quality improvement. Society will expand the impact of the VQI, linking evidence to practice guidelines and policy, reinforcing its standing as the leading authority on vascular care.

With shifting demographics in both our membership and the communities we serve, SVS must prioritize recruitment and retention across diverse groups. Strengthening mentorship, sponsorship and leadership pathways will help sustain a robust workforce. Embedding inclusive principles into all Society endeavors will enrich the specialty and ultimately improve patient care delivery, education and research advancements.
Our patients benefit from coordinated multidisciplinary care. The SVS should lead strategic collaboration with other specialties to create joint practice guidelines, educational programs and care pathways. This will reduce practice variability and improve patient access to high-quality care. Transparent partnerships with industry are essential for innovation and education and should play a key role in society planning going forward.

Finally, the SVS must serve as a strong and credible advocate in addressing ongoing reimbursement threats to vascular surgery. Fair, sustainable reimbursement is essential to maintaining patient access and ensuring workforce stability. The Society should leverage data from the VQI and other sources to clearly demonstrate the value of vascular surgical care, engage proactively with policymakers and payers and equip its members with the tools to navigate an increasingly complex healthcare payment environment. Through coordinated advocacy, the SVS can help protect the future viability of the specialty while ensuring that patients continue to receive high-quality, timely vascular care.

Please highlight key activities or initiatives that exemplify your commitment to the success of SVS.

Participation in VQI and its regional study groups 

I advocated strongly for my own institution to enroll in VQI. Despite significant financial challenges, we successfully enrolled in 5 modules, assuring appropriate data abstraction workforce to populate complete data to the dataset.

Active and sustained participation on SVS committees 

I have volunteered countless hours serving on SVS committees continuously from 2008 onwards.  I am committed to the SVS and consider this an organization for all vascular surgeons, including me, to get involved in improving the specialty.  I have sought out the opportunity to contribute to committees of various councils specifically to gain perspective on the diverse aspects of the Society’s focus, including Education, Clinical Practice, and Leadership Development.

Participation in SVS PG courses 

I have been asked to speak at the SVS PG course and have lent my expertise in clinical topics in this venue.

A history of SVS service with emphasis on recent leadership positions (EB, SBOD)

I was honored to have been selected to serve on the Executive Board and Strategic Board.

Please highlight key leadership positions you hold or have held, and/or significant leadership achievements you have accomplished in vascular surgery or organized medicine and summarize how these have prepared you for the position of SVS Treasurer.

Listed here are the leadership positions that I would like to highlight, many I consider transformative. The combination of my ongoing investment in leadership training and education, my role in leading a growing and flourishing academic Vascular Surgery Division at an expanding health system, and my involvement in organizational leadership locally, regionally and nationally to foster an environment of inclusion, equity and belonging have honed a skillset that I believe would be an asset to the leadership of the SVS as it continues to pursue its mission. Finally, my experience as the Treasurer of a regional organization, MVSS, was invaluable. During that time, I developed innovative financial investment paradigms and supported increased funding opportunities to enhance member development. These experiences and investments would allow me to continue to contribute significantly to the SVS in the future.

History of Leadership Training

• SVS Women's Leadership grant-funded personal coaching (2013) 
• AAMC Mid-Level Faculty Leadership course (2014)
• American College of Surgeons- Surgeons as Leaders Course (2017)
• Brandeis University- The Heller School for Social Policy and Management Leadership Program in Health Policy & Management (2021) 
• Positive Intelligence 6-week foundation course participant (2022)
• Loyola Leadership Book Club (2026)

History of SVS Leadership Mentoring

• Co-Chair, Taskforce on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (2019-2020)
• Chair, Student and Resident Outreach Committee (2020-2023)
• Key Faculty of SVS Leadership Development Program (Cohorts 1 and 2)
• VAM Mentor

Leadership Positions in Home Institution

• Director, Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy
• Vice Chair for DEI, Inclusive Excellence, Department of Surgery
• Medical Director, Vascular Noninvasive Lab
• Program Director, Vascular Surgery Fellowship Program

Leadership Positions in Regional Vascular Societies 

• President, Midwest Vascular Surgical Society

Leadership Positions in National Vascular Societies 

• Member, SVS Executive Board (2023-2024)
• Member, SVS Foundation Board of Directors (2023-2027)
• Member, SVS Strategic Board of Directors, VESS representative (2024-2025)
• Chair, SVS Resident and Student Outreach Committee (2020-2023)
• SVS representative to the ACS (2024-2027)
• VESS Representative to the ACS (2021-2024)
• VESS representative to the Vascular Surgery Board (2016-2022)
• Member, Program Committee of ACS Clinical Congress (2025-present)

Leadership Positions in Vascular Certification

• Director, Vascular Surgery Board (2016-present)
• Vice Chair-elect and Executive Council, Vascular Surgery Board (2025-present)
• Councilor, American Board of Surgery (2022-2028)
• Chair, DEI Committee of the ABS Council (2026-2028)
• Chair, VSITE and Qualifying exam committees

Leadership Positions in Vascular Journals

• Editorial Board, JVS Vascular Insights
• Editorial Board, Vascular Specialist
• Associate Editor, Rutherford’s Vascular Surgery, 10th and 11th Editions

Please highlight activities or initiatives that best exemplify your commitment to clinical and academic excellence in vascular surgery.

I have led an academic Division of Vascular Surgery during a time of significant healthcare, political and financial challenges. Despite this, I have grown our vascular group from three to eight surgeons and three APPs, have overseen expansion of regional vascular services, increased clinical volumes and expansion of our training programs. Our clinical program has supported recruitment, programmatic development with the restructuring of the institution’s multidisciplinary Comprehensive Aortic Center and outreach, leading educational and patient outreach. Importantly, I have led a group where each individual’s as well as the group’s successes have been recognized.

Over my career, I have participated in and led both institutional and collaborative Multi institutional scientific works including the recently published Compensation Task Force document and updated claudication clinical practice guidelines. My clinical research almost always serves as a platform for student and trainee engagement, efforts tied to research mentorship and recruitment.

I have mentored many students and trainees in their research pursuits. My approach typically allows the student or trainee to take to the podium to present findings, field questions and develop their own leadership skills.

I have participated in a number of multi-institutional trials, including device trials, VLFDC studies, BEST-CLI and our own institutional trials. My current focus includes a collaborative study, of which I am co-PI, that required developing an arterial specimen biobanking protocol to attain arterial specimens for investigation of vascular smooth muscle cells.