Association Updates - October 8, 2024

Alison E. Heron, MBA, CAE serves as the Chief Executive Officer and is a Certified Association Executive (CAE) with 27 years of diverse association sector experience and 21 years in leadership roles. Alison holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) and a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Strayer University. She is data-driven and a high-achieving visionary leader committed to advancing an organization’s strategic goals through diversity, equity and inclusion strategies, transformational leadership, trend/data analysis, and commitment to high-level customer service interaction.  

Before joining ACLP, she served as the Senior Director of Membership and Customer Relations at the Water Environment Federation. Prior to WEF, she served as the Senior Director of Membership and Units at the Council for Exceptional Children. Alison is an active member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and a 2008-2009 ASAE Diversity Executive Leadership Scholar.  

She is the proud mother of two thriving sons in college and enjoys spending time with her family, traveling by planes, trains and automobiles and considers herself a life-long learner.

Sarah Patterson is a Certified Child Life Specialist whose career has spanned over 30 years, providing care to children in a number of clinical areas at Sick Kids Toronto coupled with over 20 years of teaching at several universities. Currently, Sarah is an Associate Professor and the Curriculum Coordinator for the Master of Science in the Child Life and Pediatric Psychosocial Care Program at McMaster University, Canada. She played a critical role in the co-creation of the design and content from inception and establishing the only child life masters program across Canada.  Sarah’s current research within psychosocial practice and simulation education brings together many different discipline collaborators to the studies she is involved with and she has been invited to present her work locally, nationally, and internationally.

Sarah’s expertise and engagement in child life extends beyond her clinical and academic work.  She is an international subject matter expert consultant for Sick Kids International.  Sarah has designed, developed, and delivered pediatric psychosocial training and education initiatives in Austria, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan, South Africa, and Qatar.

Sarah’s deep commitment to child life locally and globally extends to her active involvement over many years with the Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP). She has held several committee member and leadership roles, both positional and within committees, including serving as a board member, journal reviewer, mentor, leadership development academy chair, and within partnership development. In addition to her diverse work with ACLP locally, she has been an invited keynote speaker and trainer for international initiatives in pediatric psychosocial care, representing the ACLP.

Beyond her direct work in child life, Sarah serves as an educational simulation expert. She lends her expertise within simulation faculty development workshops, with committees at INSPIRE (International Network for Simulation-based Pediatric Innovation, Research, & Education), and IPSS (International Pediatric Simulation Society). In the last two years, Sarah was elected to the IPSS Board of Directors as the first child life specialist to serve on the board, and was invited to deliver the INSPIRE inaugural grand rounds in 2022 on unifying emotional and physical safety within simulation-based education.

Sarah is grateful to all child life leaders who pioneered and paved the way.  Sarah believes the child life field of practice continues to thrive and flourish in novel and innovative areas.  Her passion, wisdom, and deep commitment to emotional safety, clinical simulation-based learning, preparation of learners entering the field, overall education, and diversity, equity, and inclusion continue to drive her.