The American Heart Association has honored two community-focused innovators with its 2026 Impact with Heart recognition, highlighting scalable solutions that remove barriers to health care and connect people to essential benefits. The awards were presented during an annual honors ceremony on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in New York City, as part of the Association's commitment to accelerating health care solutions for all.
The honorees are Mammha, a Miami-based Social Impact Funds portfolio company that transforms perinatal mental health care, and ThriveLink, a St. Louis-based EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator alumnus that uses AI-powered voice technology to enroll families in programs like Medicaid, food assistance, and utility support. Both organizations are addressing critical social drivers of health—factors such as access to care, food security, and economic stability—that significantly impact cardiovascular health outcomes.
According to a recent American Heart Association presidential advisory, at least 6 in 10 U.S. adults are projected to have some form of cardiovascular disease by 2050, driven by an aging, more diverse population and rising risk factors. Related health care costs are expected to triple. Heart disease and stroke already kill more people than all forms of cancer combined. Optimal cardiovascular health is shaped not only by clinical care but also by access to coverage, transportation, nutritious food, and stress-reducing support, as outlined in the Association's advisory on structural racism as a fundamental driver of health disparities (https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.000000000000093).
Mammha, founded and led by CEO Maureen Fura, offers a text- and web-based platform that streamlines maternal mental health screening, referral, and treatment in clinics and remotely. The platform helps mothers experiencing depression and anxiety receive timely, culturally relevant support. ThriveLink, founded and led by CEO Kwamane Liddell, removes internet and literacy hurdles by allowing people to complete complex applications for essential programs using voice commands, reducing paperwork barriers. A recent investment by the Social Impact Funds is accelerating ThriveLink's reach.
“The American Heart Association has a long history of impact, but the challenges ahead demand new approaches, new partnerships and bold leadership,” said Nancy Brown, chief executive officer of the American Heart Association. “What you see through Impact with Heart are powerful examples of what’s possible when mission-driven innovators are given the resources, trust and support to scale ideas that remove barriers to care and improve lives.”
Launched in 2018, the Association's Social Impact Funds, part of American Heart Association Ventures, support for-profit and nonprofit organizations tackling key social drivers of health through equity investments, loans, and grants. The EmPOWERED to Serve Business Accelerator provides philanthropic support and an MBA-style curriculum to help health-focused entrepreneurs refine business models and scale solutions. Additional information on the Social Impact Funds' impact is available in their 2024 Year End Report (https://newsroom.heart.org/news/population-shifts-risk-factors-may-triple-u-s-cardiovascular-disease-costs-by-2050).
