President's Message

By Diane S. Berson, MD

Fall 2011

Fall is here, and I am happy to report that WDS was quite active and in full swing over the summer! We welcomed new members of our management team at Talley Management Group, including a new Executive Director, Alex Springer and Program Manager, Donna Colavita. They join Amelia Ballinger, Meeting Manager; Shelby Truxon, Marketing & Communications Assistant; Diann Furfaro, Director of Accounting Operations and Nancy FitzGerald, Director of Communications. This team has worked closely with our various committees to continue all of the wonderful WDS programs.

The WDS International Leadership Forum, chaired by Dedee Murrell, MD was held in late May in Seoul, South Korea. The 80 attendees will attest that this event was a huge success and thoroughly enjoyed by all.

We had the opportunity to network with friends, make new acquaintances, and hear inspiring talks from WDS leaders, including Jean Bolognia, MD; Wilma Bergfeld, MD; Lisa Garner, MD; Amy Paller, MD; June Robinson, MD; Wendy E. Roberts, MD and Susan Weinkle, MD. The Philippine Dermatologic Society also hosted WDS members at its meeting preceding the World Congress. Networking events have also taken place in Australia, the Czech Republic, India and Germany. Photos of WDS friends from around the world can be seen on the WDS Happenings page in this newsletter.

In the United States, WDS luncheons were held at many events including the SID Annual Meeting co-chaired by Kelly Cordoro, MD and Lauren Hughey, MD; and the Mohs College Annual Meeting and ASMS Clinical Symposium both co-chaired by Elizabeth McBurney, MD and Saadia Raza, MD. A WDS Member Renewal Forum preceded the AAD summer meeting in NYC. Kathy Hectorne, MD and her committee organized a wonderful two days filled with various fun activities, camaraderie, networking and a panel of terrific speakers, including: Sam Horn, an award winning communication strategist; Betsy Gotbaum, Former New York City Public Advocate; Nell Merlino, Founder & President for Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence; and Cathy Salerno, Vice President, Global Skincare Research & Development for Johnson & Johnson. WDS also hosted a Networking Reception during the meeting in NYC which was attended by almost 100 people.

The Play Safe in the Sun season has been filled with successes as we broke new ground in various ways to help educate the public about the importance of sun safety and skin cancer prevention, thanks to all of the dedication and hard work of so many WDS members around the country. Numerous WDS members volunteered in their communities throughout the summer, beginning in May, with member grassroots activities in their offices, local schools, hospitals and outdoor sporting events as a part of the WDS “Coast-to-Coast” program. In June, we held our first outreach geared for the breast cancer awareness community in St. Louis at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure®, co-chaired by Saadia Raza, MD and Stacey Tull, MD—one of the largest such events in the world. Also in June, WDS volunteers reached out to record-breaking crowds at the Manayunk Arts Festival in Philadelphia, chaired by Aradhna Saxena, MD. In July, under the leadership of event co-chairs Adrienne Stewart, MD and Kathy Sawada, MD, WDS volunteers broke another screening record for the weekend at the USGA-run US Women’s Open—another highly-attended event. At press time, Latanya Benjamin, MD was gearing up for the final major outreach of the year, to be held at the LPGA CME Group Titleholders tournament in Orlando, FL, November 18–20. Please read more about the WDS Service program on pages 12–14 of this newsletter issue.

I thank all of our committee chairs, participating members and management for making all of these events such a success! Join us the weekend of the ASDS Annual Meeting for the WDS Networking Reception on November 4th, hosted by Tina S. Alster, MD and on November 5th for the WDS Networking Luncheon and Forum in Washington D.C.