Meet Our Kitchen Table Society Awardees

The Pulmonary Hypertension Association recently honored six members of the PHA community with our Kitchen Table Society Awards.

PHA’s Kitchen Table Society is a group of donors who have made lifetime commitments of at least $10,000 to PHA or contribute at least $1,000 a year. The awards acknowledge financial support and donors’ enduring trust and belief in PHA’s mission. We announced the recipients at PHA 2026 International PH Conference and Scientific Sessions.

Meet the recipients:

Heidi Schusler

Schusler received the Kitchen Table Society Event Award for her significant commitment to PHA through fundraising events. Schusler, of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, was diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension in 2018. A year later, she dove into fundraising and has become one of the top fundraisers for PHA’s Philadelphia O₂breathe Walk.

In 2025, she launched a golf tournament that raised $40,000 in its first year and more than $70,000 for the second tournament, held earlier this month.

Joanne Sperando

Sperando received the Legacy of Hope Award for her 25-year involvement in PHA. Sperando, who has heritable PH, has lost two family members to PH. She founded the PHA Long Island Support Group and is former PHA member of the PHA Board of Trustees. Sperando is a longtime fundraiser, PHA advocate and volunteer. She demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to PHA by including a legacy donation in her will.

Traci Stewart

Stewart received the PHaithful PHriend Award for her 18 years of PHA leadership and philanthropy. The immediate past chair of PHA’s Board of Trustees, she has been a member of the PH Professional Network since 2001 and chaired PHPN Executive committee. Stewart is one of our few “trifecta” donors who belong to all three PHA giving societies: Sustainers Circle, Kitchen Table Society and Legacy of Hope.

Jim White

Our Healthcare Provider Award goes to Jim White, a new member of the PHA Board of Trustees. White, a PH specialist at the University of Rochester Medicine, has been active with PHA for more than 20 years. He encourages leadership giving as a member of the Sustainers Circle and Kitchen Table Society.

Carey DeWalt

DeWalt received the Bright Star Award for her success as a first-time fundraiser at the Baltimore O₂breathe Walk. DeWalt, who was diagnosed with PAH in 2008, raised more than $2,600 in the two weeks before the event.

Mary Felkel

Felkel received the Kitchen Table Society Patient/Caregiver Award, which recognizes a patient or caregiver’s past or present commitment to PHA. Felkel became a donor and volunteer in 2000 to support her daughter Sally Maddox, who joined the PHA board in 1999. Maddox, who was diagnosed with PH in 1990, created PHA News and was its first editor. Felkel has continued to support PHA after Maddox died in 2018.