How a Visit to Capitol Hill Inspired One Member to Become an Advocate

Anju T. Peters, MD, MSCI, FAAAAI, discusses the impact of the member voice

Until June 2026, Anju T. Peters, MD, MSCI, FAAAAI, At-Large Member of the AAAAI Board of Directors, had never done any advocacy work. “I heard and read about the work AAAAI was doing, but I never participated,” she said. “I am a dedicated allergist and a researcher, but I didn’t think advocacy work was something I could really do.”

Anju T. Peters, MD, MSCI, FAAAAI, on Capitol Hill

That changed when she participated in a visit to Capitol Hill alongside a number of other AAAAI Board of Directors members. During the two days of visits, AAAAI members discussed issues affecting the allergy/immunology (A/I) specialty, including Medicare physician payments, prior authorization, patient access to specialist-recommended therapies, research funding and penicillin allergy de-labeling.

Dr. Peters joined the second day of visits, meeting with congressional offices representing her state of Illinois. “We were briefed on what to expect before the visit, which was helpful,” she said. “I went to the office of Representative Lauren Underwood of Illinois. She is both a healthcare worker and a politician, making her the type of person who really understands our voice and concerns. I also went to the office of Representative Jan Schakowsky, who also represents Illinois.”

For Dr. Peters, who works at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, the opportunity to bring the concerns of allergists and their patients directly to congressional offices was eye-opening.

“The office staff who met with us were very prepared for the meeting,” Dr. Peters said. “They were extremely welcoming and open to listening to our concerns and had a lot of great questions. It even turned out that one of the staff team members has a penicillin allergy label, so we gave them Carla M. Davis, MD, FAAAAI’s, information to get them evaluated!”

Dr. Peters visiting the office of Representative Jan Schakowsky

The experience challenged Dr. Peters’ assumptions about who can be an advocate—and what advocacy has to look like. “Those of us, like myself, who have never done advocacy before do not really think about how we can make an impact. But we can, and in fact we need to advocate because politics impacts all of us, the A/I specialty and our patients.”

Since her visit to Capitol Hill, Dr. Peters has continued to use her voice to advocate for the specialty using AAAAI Advocate. “AAAAI makes it so easy for us to get involved,” she said. “You can use the platform to quickly send emails to your representatives about the issues important to you. I used AAAAI Advocate to reach out to one of my Illinois senators, Tammy Duckworth, and in the last two months I’ve received emails back from her four separate times. We’ve been discussing the importance of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding and how so many medications that are approved right now started with NIH funding. It’s an issue very important to me as someone who has benefited from NIH funding during my career. Conversations like this show that we are being heard and that our voices do matter.”

Her experience has also changed the way she talks to patients about advocacy.

“Lately, if a prior authorization request is denied, I’ve been telling my patients to contact their representatives so they can hear how burdensome this is for their constituents who are just trying to get the care they need,” Dr. Peters said.

Now that she’s gotten involved in advocacy, Dr. Peters plans to keep the momentum going. “This experience has made me really appreciate those who participate in advocacy on a regular basis. I hope that us members, collectively with the AAAAI, can use our voices to make an impact for our patients and the A/I specialty. Participating in this Hill visit is one of the best experiences I’ve had as an allergist. I feel energized and ready to keep advocating.”