Paula Blonski

ARDS Alliance, USA

Paula Blonski is President of the ARDS Alliance and a longtime caregiver advocate dedicated

to improving outcomes for patients and families affected by Acute Respiratory Distress

Syndrome (ARDS). Her work began after losing her 36-year-old sister, Marybeth, to ARDS in

1998 — an experience that shaped her lifelong commitment to the critical care community.

For nearly three decades, Paula has worked alongside survivors, families, clinicians, and

researchers to ensure that patient voices are meaningfully integrated into research, policy,

and survivorship efforts. She is particularly focused on advancing long-term functional

outcomes. Through the ARDS Alliance, Paula champions collaboration between lived

experience and scientific innovation, advocating for a future in which recovery is defined

not only by survival, but by dignity, independence, and life beyond the ICU.