Halleh Akbarnia, MD

Dr. Halleh Akbarnia is an Emergency Medicine Physician who has worked at level-one trauma centers for almost 20 years. Working with gun violence victims and having been personally affected by gun violence herself, she has become a strong advocate for Gun Violence Prevention (GVP) at a national and local level.  She has given many lectures on this topic, and has moderated and sat on panels, including this past year in Washington D.C. at the national GVP conference as well as speaking at the 10th Annual National Vigil honoring GVP and Sandy Hook victims, sharing the stage with President Biden  She is also involved at a grassroots level helping advocate and pass safer gun laws and is the co-lead for her local Moms Demand Action group, sits on the board of People for a Safer Society, and is a member of the Illinois Alliance for Prevention of Gun Violence.  Dr. Akbarnia is also active in GVP work through Doctors for America, and is the Vice Chair of Community Health and Prevention, which oversees the Gun Violence Prevention, Opioid Use and COVID Recovery Subcommittees. During the pandemic, she became involved with the Illinois Medical Professionals Action Collaborative Team (IMPACT) and led volunteer vaccination efforts in Chicago, organizing hundreds of volunteers in over 350 vaccine clinics. Dr. Akbarnia is an active member of the Chicago Medical Society and the Illinois College of Emergency Physicians, where she sits as an ICEP Councilor. With her interest in public health, she is back in school at the University of Illinois in Chicago getting her MPH, focusing on Community Health. She lives at her home in Glenview with her husband and two children.