Adrian
Adair.
CHD advocate, author, and founder of Heartbeat Forward. Everything a journalist, editor, or event planner needs — in one place.
Bios — Ready to Use.
Adrian Adair is a congenital heart disease advocate, author, and founder of Heartbeat Forward, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Los Angeles.
Adrian Adair is a congenital heart disease advocate, author, and the founder of Heartbeat Forward, a federally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Los Angeles. His work centers on CHD awareness, family support, and systemic change for the 1 in 100 children born with a heart defect every year. He is the author of three books on CHD, the host of the podcast Small Hearts, Loud Voices, and a builder of free resources for CHD families.
Adrian Adair is a congenital heart disease advocate, author, and the founder of Heartbeat Forward, a federally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Los Angeles dedicated to CHD awareness, family support, and funding pediatric heart surgeries for children in need. Congenital heart disease is the most common birth defect in the world, affecting 1 in 100 children born every year — yet it remains among the most underfunded and least visible pediatric conditions. Adrian has dedicated his career to changing that. He has written three books on CHD published under the Teneritas imprint, hosts the podcast Small Hearts, Loud Voices, and has built a comprehensive library of free downloadable guides for families at every stage of a CHD journey. He advocates at an institutional level through hospital partnerships, scholarship funding, and community education, with a long-term vision that includes congressional testimony and a CHD documentary.
Adrian Adair is a congenital heart disease advocate, author, and the founder of Heartbeat Forward, a federally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 2025, Heartbeat Forward delivers care packages to children in cardiac units, provides family support resources, and funds the Heartbeat Forward Scholarship for CHD survivor high school seniors — all in service of a mission to ensure that no child's heart condition goes unseen and no family navigates it alone. Congenital heart disease is the most common birth defect in the world. It affects 1 in 100 live births, sends approximately 40,000 babies into the U.S. healthcare system every year, and is lived with daily by an estimated 2.5 million American adults. Despite those numbers, CHD receives a fraction of the awareness and research funding directed at other pediatric conditions. Adrian built his platform to close that gap. He has written three books under his Teneritas publishing imprint: The Quiet Majority: Why Congenital Heart Disease Deserves to Be Seen, Letters to the Waiting Room, and You Were Built Different. He hosts the podcast Small Hearts, Loud Voices and has produced one of the most comprehensive free resource libraries for CHD families available online. His long-term vision encompasses hospital partnerships, institutional research collaboration, congressional testimony, an annual CHD summit, and a documentary that brings the CHD community's stories to a national audience. Based in Los Angeles.
Fast Facts & Key Details.
with CHD Worldwide
with CHD Each Year
CHD in the U.S.
Birth Defect Globally
Books & Publications.
A call to action for awareness and systemic change. This book makes the case that congenital heart disease — the most common birth defect in the world — has been invisible for too long, and that the families, survivors, and advocates who carry it deserve to be seen, funded, and heard.
Fourteen intimate letters addressed directly to the people who live inside a CHD journey — parents in the CICU, siblings trying to understand, survivors carrying scars, caregivers running on empty, and families who have experienced loss. Each letter speaks to a specific moment and a specific person.
A lyrical, affirming book written directly to children living with congenital heart disease. Across 16 sections, it tells a child with CHD that their scars are not flaws, their difference is not a deficit, and their heart — however it was built — is enough. A celebration of resilience written for the youngest members of the CHD community.
Speaking Topics.
An overview of the scale and impact of congenital heart disease — why the most common birth defect in the world remains among the least funded and least discussed, and what it will take to change that.
A practical and deeply human exploration of what CHD families face — from diagnosis through surgery, recovery, and lifelong management — and the gaps in support that advocacy must fill.
The story of founding Heartbeat Forward — from personal conviction to federally recognized 501(c)(3). A talk about mission-driven work, building a platform with purpose, and turning advocacy into infrastructure.
A narrative-forward talk that centers the human story of CHD — the children, the scars, the resilience, and the community that has grown around a condition most people have never heard of.
How Adrian uses books, letters, and storytelling as deliberate advocacy tools — the writing process behind Letters to the Waiting Room and You Were Built Different, and how language can reach people that statistics cannot.
A forward-looking talk on what systemic change looks like for the CHD community — from congressional advocacy to research funding, hospital partnerships, and the role of nonprofits in shaping pediatric cardiac care policy.
Adrian tailors presentations to specific audiences and event formats. Conference keynotes, hospital grand rounds, nonprofit summits, and awareness events are all welcome.
CHD Statistics for Media.
Congenital heart disease is the most common birth defect in the world, yet remains among the most underfunded and underreported pediatric conditions in the United States. The following statistics are available for use in editorial coverage, broadcast segments, event materials, and educational content related to Adrian Adair and Heartbeat Forward.
All statistics reflect published research and current estimates from leading pediatric cardiac health organizations. For sourcing or additional data, please reach out through the media contact below.
Adrian is available to speak to any of these statistics in interview settings and can provide context, human narrative, and advocacy framing for editorial use.