NLA's Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity

The mission of the National Lipid Association is to enhance lipid management in clinical medicine. We do so through activities that focus on science, clinical care, and public advocacy. We are at a moment in time where the events of racial injustice have boiled over and compel everybody, including individuals and social and professional groups, to look within to stand up and declare what is obvious: there is no room for discrimination based on race, in addition to ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability bias, or veteran status in any corner of our society. This injustice has been further magnified by health inequity as most recently evidenced by the disparities in outcomes related to the COVID-19 pandemic particularly impacting the African American community. The NLA calls on our national and local leaders to make all forms of injustice and discrimination a priority.
 
As an organization, the NLA has a professionally diverse membership and leadership, and we continue to work towards greater diversity, inclusion, and equity within all aspects of our organization. We recognize the need to declare this core value and commit to actions that enable this goal while we pursue our primary mission. We pledge to further advance our diversity, inclusion, and equity commitment though the following actions:

1. Affirming diversity, inclusion, and equity as a core value in all aspects of our mission; and
2. Developing a structure to focus efforts to promote:
   1. Diversity within our organization,
   2. Inclusion of social determinants of health and gaps in knowledge related to lipid management in the scientific literature, and to ensure this issue is included in our educational offerings.

These efforts are long overdue within organizations that represent healthcare professionals, including the NLA, which must do more than just consider inclusive approaches. We strive to educate lipid specialists and other clinicians around the country and world about the impact of lipids and lipoproteins on health and disease, yet gaps in knowledge about underserved and diverse communities limits our ability to do so as effectively as possible. We stand by our core values and active efforts to assure diversity, inclusion, and equity.