Mark Schoeberl serves as the Executive Vice President (EVP) of Advocacy for the American Heart Association, the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. As EVP, Schoeberl oversees the organization’s advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C., state capitals, and communities across the country. Internationally, Mark leads AHA’s advocacy engagement with the World Health Organization, Non-Communicable Disease Alliance, World Heart Federation, and others collaborating on key global policy issues. From the creation of its first government affairs office in Washington in 1982, the Association established a reputation as a science- and evidence-based nonpartisan resource for lawmakers and policymakers. With its SO-state presence and nationwide grassroots reach, the Association is uniquely positioned to inform, influence and support policies at the federal, state, local and global levels that advance the Association’s mission to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives.
Based out of the Association’s national headquarters in Dallas, Texas, Mark is responsible for the strategic leadership and day-to day management of all facets of the organization’s advocacy operations, including policy research and translation, legislative and regulatory advocacy, and relationships with government agencies. Mark also oversees innovative new advocacy initiatives, including the Association’s growing global policy portfolio and Voices for Healthy Kids, a program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to address childhood obesity. The Association’s advocacy operations include more than 150 staff with an annual budget of -$40 million.
Mark is a member of the Public Affairs Council board of directors, past chair of the Campaign to End Obesity board, and founder and past chair of the National Forum to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke. He has also served as a consumer representative to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
An Iowa native who now resides in Plano, Texas, Schoeberl received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Simpson College (Indianola, Iowa), Paramedic training from the Mercy College of Health Sciences (Des Moines), and Master of Public Administration from Iowa State University. Prior to joining the Association in 2002, Mark served as deputy director and chief of staff at the Iowa Department of Public Health. Mark was named EVP of Advocacy in 2006.
