Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) Vice President Linda Harris, MD, extolled the values of “co-elevation” in her presidential address at the 7th annual Women’s Vascular Summit (May 2–3), invoking lessons on teamwork from the world of sport to argue that a united vascular specialty is greater than the sum of its parts.
Harris, professor of surgery and past chief of vascular surgery at the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York, addressed the summit as its founder and first outgoing president.
“Dr. Linda Harris has established her legacy as a trailblazer in vascular surgery on all fronts,” said incoming president Palma Shaw, MD, as she introduced Harris at the Chicago gathering.
Harris’ address centered on uniting those involved in vascular care across lines of geography, sex, race and specialty. “We have to talk together, and we have to walk together,” she opined, “otherwise we will not succeed, and that goes for working with our friends across the pond, men and women, Black and white, private practice and academic, vein and artery,” emphasizing also the importance of collaborating with interventional radiology and cardiology colleagues.
Focusing on the summit and its associated International Society for Women Vascular Surgeons (ISWVS)—which Harris founded in 2023 to promote education about vascular disease in women and promote women in the vascular field—the presenter paid homage to the team around her, in particular Shaw, Kathleen Ozsvath, MD, Kellie Brown, MD, and Joann Lohr, MD.
Harris stressed that a strong, unified team was central not only to the creation of the summit and ISWVS, but will also be key to their longevity. “I don’t ever want an organization or something I create to be at the best when I create it or when I’m leading,” she said. “I want it to be the best it’s been to that date, but I want it to be better when my successors come along, because otherwise I’m not succeeding.”
To ensure unity within a team, Harris proposed the concept of “co-elevation.” She explained: “Leaning on someone does not mean you’re weak. It means you recognize your areas of weakness, and you complement them with someone else’s strengths, and they do the same for you and you rise together.”
“We will not succeed if we leave people behind,” Harris continued. “We need to encourage deliberate, intentional inclusivity and encourage people to learn their unconscious biases.”
To support her argument, Harris shared lessons to be learned from the world of sport about sacrificing personal gain for the greater good of group success. In the first of several sporting references, Harris shared the words of football coach Vince Lombardi: “Individual commitment to a group effort is what makes a team work, a company work, and a civilization work.”
“Other sports legends have echoed the same thing,” the presenter continued, noting that blue chip basketball player Michael Jordan has previously said that “talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence is what wins championships.”
Harris used another basketball reference to demonstrate how individual ambition can lead to a divided, unsuccessful team. Referencing Los Angeles Lakers teammates Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal, She stated: “When they were put together, the team actually did worse because they were both ‘the guy who had to be the guy,’ and they weren’t willing to work in a united fashion. They had to be the superstar.”
Caveating her argument for unity, Harris was keen to stress that this should not be confused with uniformity, urging the audience to avoid “groupthink.” Instead, the presenter encouraged discussion of differing viewpoints as a core tenet of any successful team.
‘Listen to each other’
Speaking to Vascular Specialist following her summit address, Harris homes in on the ways in which teams can unify. “I think the simplest thing that we need to do is we need to get in groups together, either virtual or real, and actually listen to each other,” she says, highlighting a current problem of individuals “digging their trenches” instead of working collaboratively.
Looking ahead, Harris notes that she intends for unity to be a key theme of her future SVS presidency, which is due to commence in 2026.
Harris will be the second woman to assume the lofty role, which she hopes will soon become a moot accolade. “Obviously it’s an amazing honor,” Harris remarks, “but I want to get to a point where it’s not a unique honor because I’m a woman. It’s just an honor.”
The focus, Harris believes, must rest firmly on her skillset, and, in particular, her “ability to bring people together and to empower and to help to elevate those around [her].”
Fostering unity, Harris posits, will allow the specialty to deal with a multitude of current and future challenges. “There are so many things that we need to deal with,” she comments, referencing artificial intelligence (AI), entrepreneurship and advocacy as just three of several key topics that the specialty “needs to work together on.”
Shaw assumes WVS presidency
Following the address, Harris passed the torch to Shaw, who she described as the “next great leader” and one she hopes will “surpass [her] success.” “I have every belief she will,” Harris remarked, “as will those who follow behind her.”
Shaw, professor of surgery at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, tells Vascular Specialist that her aim for the summit is to lead by Harris’ example, and continue to promote unity and collaboration. Specifically, she intends to do so on a global scale.
“What I bring to the table is the international component,” Shaw shares, highlighting her experience as president of the International Society of Endovascular Specialists (ISEVS), secretary general of the World Federation of Vascular Societies (WFVS) and—from September—Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) U.S. representative to the European Society for Vascular Surgery (ESVS).
Shaw details that she intends to take the summit and ISWVS to the world stage via dedicated sessions at the Pan American Vascular Congress 2025, VEITHsymposium 2025 and Charing Cross (CX) International Symposium 2026. “I want to try to expand our international membership, and maybe set up international chapters,” Shaw notes, alongside “continuing to add to the fabric of everything that Linda has already developed.”
