Dear SVS Members,
Now that the VAM23 has concluded and I am stepping into my role as your new SVS President, I want to congratulate our newly elected SVS Vice President, Keith Calligaro, and our newly elected Treasurer, Tom Forbes. The newly restructured Nominating Committee, including representatives from the DEI Committee, Community Practice Section, and Young Surgeons Section, selected outstanding candidates for this year, and all are incredible leaders for our specialty. I also want to acknowledge and thank Drs. Kellie Brown and Palma Shaw, each strong leaders within our society and their institutions. I look forward to continuing to work with them within SVS; there’s no doubt we will continue to see great things from them.
As mentioned in my message from yesterday, we strived to reach every eligible member through email, social media messaging, SVS Connect, SVS Section outreach, and new, this year, onsite voting at the Vascular Annual Meeting. Additionally, in 2023, the Society changed its policy so that all board-certified Early Active members are eligible to upgrade to Active membership to ensure voting eligibility. Since then, 120 Early Active members have upgraded to Active membership, twenty of whom upgraded during the election period so their voices could be made heard.
The SVS is fully dedicated and committed to achieving its DEI objectives, and following the result of each election, efforts are undertaken to identify DEI Gaps and ensure the Executive Board includes input from all key member perspectives. SVS continues to be vigilant in discussing our Appointments and Elections policy and process and evolving them to align with our values and objectives. This discussion will continue at the July 27-29 Executive Board Retreat.
Thank you all for being committed SVS members. You are the lifeblood of our Society, and I look forward to serving you as your President for the next year.
Sincerely,
Joseph Mills, MD, DFSVS
President, Society for Vascular Surgery