Dr. Blankenship practices interventional cardiology at the University of New Mexico.  He recently left Geisinger Health System  where he was chair of cardiology. He is a professor of medicine at UNM and has co-authored over 200 scientific abstracts and publications. As President of SCAI in 2016 he helped develop the Society’s strategic 5-year plan. He has represented the American College of Cardiology on the AMA’s Relative Value Update Committee for the past 20 years.  As chair of the ACC’s Coding Task Force and, later, chair of the ACC’s RVU Update Task Force, he drafted the current CPT codes for cardiac cath and PCI.  In his spare time, he has taken 19 medical mission trips, earned a masters degree in health care administration from the Harvard School of Public Health, and climbed Kilimanjaro and Aconcagua with his children.  His is most proud of helping his wife of 34 years raise 3 outstanding children.