IBHRE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Device Remote Monitoring Test Writing Committee
- Clinical Coordinator and RN Education Specialist
- FHRS, CCDS, Co - Chair
Amy Leiserowitz is the EP Clinical Coordinator and RN Education Specialist for Iowa Heart Center, MercyOne. She has over 30 years of device experience, and currently works with local device manufacture representatives to identify and contact each affected or at-risk-patient to schedule their device check in the office and/or see a provider to determine a plan of care. In addition, Ms. Leiserowitz has been an active member of IBHRE's Pacing Test Writing Committee since 2006, is co-chair of the Device Remote Monitoring Test Writing Committee, and became a member of the Board of Directors in 2021.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Device Remote Monitoring Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Allied Professional EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Device Remote Monitoring Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Allied Professional EP Test Writing Committee
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Device Remote Monitoring Test Writing Committee
- Director of Cardiac Rhythm Device Services at Johns Hopkins University
Dr. Charles Love is currently the Director of Cardiac Rhythm Device Services at Johns Hopkins University. Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, he served as Director of Cardiac Rhythm Device Services at New York University. Before that, he was Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at The Ohio State University Medical Center, practicing medicine at OSU for over 20 years. Known around the world as an expert and leader in techniques of pacemaker implantation and especially in the area of lead extraction, Dr. Love is an internationally sought speaker on pacemaker technology. He has made hundreds of presentations in venues ranging from the World Congress on Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology in Hong Kong to the Advanced Didactic Course on Cardiac Pacing in France and the Japanese Heart Rhythm Society in Tokyo. He has been published a number of times in peer-reviewed journals such as Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology. He is a member of several professional societies including the American College of Cardiology, The Heart Rhythm Society, and the American Heart Association. Dr. Love is the current president of the Board of Directors of IBHRE. He has been a member of the IBHRE Board of Directors since 1992.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Allied Professional EP Test Writing Committee
- Member of the Board
- FHRS, CCDS, CEPS, Co - Chair
- Specialist at the Centenary Hospital
Job Titles:
- Member of the Allied Professional EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Director, Certification Services
Questions about IBHRE certification? Contact IBHRE at info@ibhre.org. For information about IBHRE-C3, send an email to C3@ibhre.org.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Allied Professional EP Test Writing Committee
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Finance Committee
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
- FHRS, CCDS, CEPS - a
- FHRS, CCDS, Committee Chair, Adult Electrophysiology
Dr. Deepak Bhakta is a Cardiac Electrophysiologist at Indiana University Health Physicians, where he is Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and Program Director of the Cardiovascular Disease fellowship program at Indiana University School of Medicine. He is an avid medical educator with focus on electrocardiographic interpretation, arrhythmia recognition and management, and cardiac rhythm device evaluation and troubleshooting. Dr. Bhakta served as the Vice-Chair for the 2022 HRS Expert Consensus Statement on Evaluation and Management of Arrhythmic Risk in Neuromuscular Disorders with continued volunteer efforts through Heart Rhythm Society, American College of Cardiology, and American Heart Association. He is also an editorial board member of Heart Rhythm. Dr. Bhakta's involvement with IBHRE began in 2014 where he contributes to the Physician EP and Allied EP Test Writing Committees; he became a member of its Board of Directors in 2022.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Finance Committee
- Member of the Allied Professional EP Test Writing Committee
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
- FHRS, CCDS, CEPS - a, Chair / Washington, DC, USA
Dr. Edward V. Platia is a Cardiac Electrophysiologist at the Washington Hospital Center. He is also a professor of medicine at Georgetown University and George Washington University School of Medicine. His research interests have focused on cardiac arrhythmias. He has been principal investigator of a number of major grants, including the American Heart Association and National Institutes of Health. He has served on the editorial board of several cardiology journals, and continues to be a reviewer for Circulation, American Journal of Cardiology, Annals of Internal Medicine, and PACE. Dr. Platia has been a member of the IBHRE Board of Directors since 2002.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Device Remote Monitoring Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
Dr. Stephenson is Section Head of Cardiac Electrophysiology at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), where she is a Pediatric Cardiologist. She is also a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Toronto. She served as an Associate Editor for HeartRhythm Case Reports from 2015 to 2019, and has served on many Heart Rhythm committees. She has been on the IBHRE Physician EP Test Writing Committee since its inception. Dr. Stephenson's clinical research is focused on several topics in the field of electrophysiology and heart function, particularly as related to pediatric use of pacemakers, cardiac resynchronization therapy, and implantable cardioverter defibrillators. She has been Chair of the SickKids Research Ethics Board since January 2015.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Public Member
Elsie Kelly is retired and she and her husband, Raymond, are still active in private investments. During her working years, she taught Science and Math in the California Public Schools and spent many years as a Real Estate Broker and Property Manager. She has served her community via several charitable board memberships including the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Merola Opera Program Finance Committees. Probably her best qualification for joining the IBHRE Board of Directors as a public member is the fact that she has a heart arrhythmia condition herself. She has a personal interest in helping the public receive quality care through the certification of heart rhythm professionals by this board.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Allied Professional EP Test Writing Committee
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Specialist at Advocate Sherman Hospital
Esther Weiss is currently practicing as a Clinical Nurse Specialist at Advocate Sherman Hospital. She has worked for many years in the hospital setting, helping to create the Electrophysiology Department and holding the lead position in the Device and Electrophysiology Lab. Esther has served on several councils and committees including NASPE/CAP in 1999, several HRS Document Review and Development Committees and the Writing Committee for a Consensus Statement, as well as IBHRE's Electrophysiology Test Writing Committee since 2007. She received an HRS Fellowship in 2015.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
Dr. George Crossley is active in clinical research, teaching and clinical medicine at Vanderbilt University, where he is a Professor in the Cardiology section. He is also the Director of the Cardiac Research Enterprise and the Medical Director of the EP Lab. Dr. Crossley has been active in the governance of both the ACC, where he served on the Board of Governors, and the Heart Rhythm Society, was the president of the middle Tennessee chapter of the AHA, and has been involved with IBHRE since 1994 serving on the Pacing Test Writing Committee. He joined IBHRE's Board of Directors in 2022.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Member of the Finance Committee
- Director of the Pacemaker Center at Montefiore Medical Center
Dr. Jay Gross is the Director of the Pacemaker Center at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York. He is Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He has been on the IBHRE Pacing Test Writing Committee since 1994 and joined the IBHRE Board of Directors in 2013.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Director of Electrophysiology at North Texas Heart Center
Dr. Hurwitz is the Director of Electrophysiology at North Texas Heart Center and the Director of the Electrophysiology Lab at Medical City Heart and Spine Hospital in Dallas. She is President of the North Texas Electrophysiology Society and has been involved in multiple Heart Rhythm Society activities, including the Women's Leadership Initiative, serving as the HRS representative for the American Medical Association, and chairing the Membership Committee. She is also a member with the ABIM CCEP writing committee.
She received her medical degree from Albert Einstein College of New York and her Fellowship in Cardiology and Electrophysiology at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Hurwitz is published widely and participates extensively in clinical and device trials, and has been named several times to the Best Doctors in Dallas and Texas Super Doctors.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Allied Professional EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Device Remote Monitoring Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Director of the Heart Center of National Hospital Organization Kure Medical Center
Dr. Imai is Director of the Heart Center of National Hospital Organization Kure Medical Center and Chugoku Cancer Center. He is a board surgeon of cardiovascular surgery and serves as Director of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery of his hospital. Dr. Imai earned his medical degree from Hiroshima University School of Medicine and has been involved in arrhythmia surgery, AF surgery, device therapy using CIED and lead extraction at Hiroshima University Hospital where he serves as a visiting professor. He is a Japanese Heart Rhythm Society Board member and has served on numerous committees and task forces including the Healthcare Insurance Committee, CIED Committee, as well as the Journal of Arrhythmia Editorial Board. For over a decade, Dr. Imai has been on the CDR Certification Committee/IBHRE Japan Test Translation Committee, and was assigned as Chairman in 2022.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Device Remote Monitoring Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Device Remote Monitoring Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Allied Professional EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- FHRS, RCRT, CCDS, Chair
- RCRT, FHRS, CCDS, Co - Chair
- Specialist and Clinical Research Associate at the University of Alberta
Marleen Irwin is currently practicing as a Device Specialist and Clinical Research Associate at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. Recognized as a leading expert in the device field, she is widely published and known as a prominent international lecturer. She has served on numerous committees for the Heart Rhythm Society and the Canadian College of Respiratory Therapists. She is also a practicing consultant specialist and director of CardioSys Knowledge Transfer Group Ltd. In 2005, Marleen Irwin received the HRS Distinguished Service Award, and in 2006 received an HRS Fellowship. She has served as a member of the IBHRE Pacing Test Writing Committee since 1985 and has been on the IBHRE Board of Directors since 2006.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Allied Professional EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Board of Directors
- MSA, CAE
Tracy Lofty is the Chief Executive Officer of the International Board of Heart Rhythm Examiners in Washington, DC. With more than 20 years of experience in professional development, she previously served as Executive Director for the Commission on Nurse Certification and as Director of Postdoctoral Residency Training Standards and Evaluation for the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland College Park and also Trinity College. In addition, she received a certificate from George Washington University's School of Business and has earned the Certified Association Executive certification. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Institute for Credentialing Excellence and previously served as an advisor to the Board of Directors for the Clinical Nurse Leaders Association.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Physician EP Test Writing Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Device Remote Monitoring Test Writing Committee