[2] During her tenure she honed the organizational focus on health equity and introduced progressive initiatives such as a Health Equity Action Agenda,[3] taking a stand in support of the removal of the J. Marion Sims statue,[4] and awarding posthumous fellowship[5] to the eminent physician and abolitionist Dr. James McCune Smith, an 1847 candidate who was denied NYAM fellowship due to race.
Her early work addressed bringing in a younger generation of donors,[12] streamlined financial systems, and overhauled training and affiliate programs.
[14][15] Salerno served as the Leonard D. Schaeffer Executive Officer of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies from January 2008 to September 2013.
Earlier in her career, Salerno also served as Senior Clinical Investigator, implementing research protocols for patients with Alzheimer's and hypertension.
[21] From 1996 to 2001 Salerno directed the continuum of Geriatrics and Extended Care programs across the nation for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
Elected member, National Academy of Medicine, 2018 Elected Fellow, The New York Academy of Medicine, 2017 Meritorious Service Award, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2001 NIH Director's Award, 2003, 2005, 2008 Surgeon General's Crisis Response Service Award, U.S. Public Health Service, 2006 Crain's New York Notable Women in Health Care, 2018, 2019 City & State Health Power 50, New York State, 2019, 2021, 2022 National Organization of Italian American Women, 2019 National Honoree Harvard T.H.