LITTLE ROCK - The Arkansas Immunization Action Coalition (AIAC) has named Heather Mercer to lead the AIAC as the new Executive Director. Mercer was selected from a pool of candidates with backgrounds in healthcare, communications, and non-profit leadership.

Heather Mercer

The Arkansas Immunization Action Coalition is a group of healthcare providers and public health stakeholders, often referred to as the immunization neighborhood, whose mission is to serve as a catalyst to promote individual and public health for all Arkansans through collaboration, coordination, and communication about immunizations. The AIAC Executive Committee, comprised of physicians, pharmacists, and others with a vested interest in immunizations, made the final decision of choosing Mercer as Executive Director.

Mercer holds a Bachelor's Degree in Marketing and Communications from the University of Central Arkansas. She previously served as the Director of New Business Development and Strategic Planning at UAMS Center for Health Literacy and as a physician recruiter at UAMS. She and her husband Clay have one son and live in Little Rock.

In December 2016, the Coalition was awarded a Blue & You Foundation for a Healthier Arkansas grant of $150,000 that Mercer and Vinson plan to use on creating sustainability for the coalition, including establishing the Coalition's 501(c)(3) status, awarding mini-grants to vaccine providers, and organizing an immunization summit to bring stakeholders and providers together to discuss skills and strategies related to improving immunization rates.