October 20, 2020
Dear members of the APA,
We have all had to deal with the various unexpected and changing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our daily lives. Whether it be at work or at home, disruption of our daily routines, ways of communicating, ways of managing our children, and so on, these changes have all created significant feelings of unsettlement in our minds. That coupled with the general unrest and unfortunate divisions within our society now during this election year may make us feel overwhelmed with so many events over which we have no control.
But within every challenge and every suffering lies seeds of opportunity for growth and learning. I have learned recently that working from home can be quite productive and quite healthy for the soul. I have also seen the tremendous response of our nation to the unjust violence against communities of color. That rekindles my belief in the innate good nature of human beings. I missed going to the annual PAS meeting. I am sure that many others feel the same way. So we asked for volunteers to serve on four time limited task forces focusing on a) well-being of our members, b) scholarship generation c) scholarship dissemination opportunities during COVID as well as 4) anti- racism. I am so impressed with the number of our members that volunteered for our task forces. Their energy, and their engagement rekindles my faith in our collective ability to overcome any challenge. I just wanted to say a sincere thanks to each and every member of these task forces.
Scholarship Dissemination
Benard Dreyer, MD
Judith Groner, MD
Jennifer Jackson, MD
Rita Nathawad, MD
Jo-Ann Oyaide Nesiama, MD, Co-Chair
John Olsson, MD
Caroline Paul, MD, Co-Chair
Loan Nguyen, MD
Teri Turner, MD, MPH, MEd
Barry Solomon, MD, MPH
Jacqueline Rankine, MD
Traci Wolbrink, MD, MPH
Scholarship Generation
Mayssa Abuali, MD
Amy Beck, MD, MPH, Co-Chair
Cristin Fritz, MD, MPH
Ashley Jenkins, MD
James Kaferly, MD
Susmita Pati, MD, MPH
Eliana Perrin, MD, MPH
Mona Sharifi, MD, MPH
Amy Starmer, MD
Padma Swamy, MD, MPH, Co-Chair
Well Being
Samudragupta Bora, PhD
Paul Chung, MD
Annamarie Church, MD
David Cooperberg, MD
Megan Furnari, MD, MS
Mona Patel Gera, MD
Josette Bianchi-Hayes, MD
Kajal Khanna, MD, Co-Chair
Marie Leiner, MD
Daniel R. Neuspiel, MD, MPH
Heidi Roman, MD, C0-Chair
Elaine Schulte, MD, MPH
Ariella Slovan, MD
William Stratbucker, MD
I am also proud and pleased to announce that despite the COVID 19 Challenges, we have launched the first cohort of the National Academy of Distinguished Educators in Pediatrics (NADEP) after a rigorous national process. Please join me in congratulating the inaugural cohort of NADEP! These action leaders are already dividing into subgroups and designing ways to enhance the visibility and prestige of the educational mission nationally as well as support the career growth of educators in Pediatrics.
Mark Alder, MD
Patricia Batchelor Chess, MD
Rebecca Blankenburg, MD, MPH
Julie Byerley, MD, MPH
Donna D’Alessandro, MD
Heidi Feldman, MD, PhD
Lewis First, MD, MS
Helen Barrett Fromme, MD, MPHE
Maryellen Gusic, MD
Louis Patrick Halamek, MD
Terry Kind, MD, MPH
Su-Ting Li, MD, MPH
Mary Ottolini, MD, MPH, MEd
Janet Serwint, MD
Sandrijn van Schaik, MD, PhD
Elisa Zenni, MD
Despite our arduous efforts to ensure blinded external reviews and rigor to the selection process, due to the paucity of applicants of color, our first cohort does not have an adequate representation of people of color. NADEP will address this head on with the recruitment of the next cohort.
Unfortunately, we will have to wait a bit longer for us to have a large conference- hopefully in 2022. Meanwhile we will continue with the educational, research and community activities that keep us motivated and engaged within our places of work. COVID -19 has brought into the forefront the glaring racial disparities in health care and health outcomes. In our research and advocacy roles, how do we equip ourselves to challenge the status quo and bring more equitable health care outcomes for all of us? These are the pressing issues of today and we are fortunate to collectively have the skills to address these systematically. I encourage each of us to think how we can individually and in collaboration, move forward our mission of enhancing the health and well -being of all children, especially those who are underserved. Our actions today will make a huge impact on the children of tomorrow. In that vein, I strongly recommend that each of us fulfill our civic responsibility and vote in the upcoming presidential election. We need to participate in this process to shape our future together
Thank you for your continued engagement with the Academic Pediatric Association.
Sincerely,
Latha Chandran, MD, MPH, MBBS
President
Academic Pediatric Association
