10/31/2022    Patrick (PJ) Andrus, CAE

Nominees for the ACFAS Board Election Announced (Joan Oloff, DPM)

Thank you to Dr. Oloff for raising an important
issue. The College agrees that advancing
diversity, equity and inclusion is imperative;
additional information that should be considered
when reading Dr. Oloff’s letter:

• The 2022 Board Nominations Committee, Chaired by
Thanh Dinh, DPM, FACFAS, Immediate Past President
of ACFAS, conducted a detailed review of all
applicants for the Board, including an interview
process to thoroughly assess every candidate. Last
year, Amber Shane, DPM, FACFAS was elected to the
Board of Directors and Dr. Dinh still serves on
the Board. Unfortunately, the College received
zero applications from female members this year.
We recognize our role to improve that statistic
and accept a goal of increasing the diversity of
applicants in 2023.

• While the College will be formally announcing
this new program in the coming months, the ACFAS
Leadership Development Program is in development
with the intention to support increasing the
applicant pool for the ACFAS Board and other key
volunteer positions. The leadership development
task force, Chaired by Laura Sansosti, DPM,
FACFAS, has worked for more than a year to develop
a program tailored to ACFAS members. The
Leadership Development Program is being designed
to deliver the knowledge, resources, mentoring &
networking opportunities to develop the key skills
needed to succeed as leaders and ambassadors of
the profession while infusing the diversity and
talent of future leaders into the ACFAS volunteer
pipeline.

• Another program in early stages of development
is the 2023 Women in Surgery Virtual Symposium,
which is being planned for early Spring. The ACFAS
Education & Scientific Affairs committee, Chaired
by Brandi Johnson, DPM, FACFAS, is in progress of
developing this symposium that will spotlight
female leaders from across the specialty to
discuss topics such as work/life balance,
transitioning to private practice, impactful
leadership, and more.

• The ACFAS Board of Directors is nearing the end
of a year-long strategic planning process. The
Board made the decision to include organizational
values within the strategic plan, one of which is:
Diversity and Inclusion: We are committed to
fostering a community that promotes respect for
diversity of opinion, inclusive of all origins
with transparent and open communication. The
identification and development of future leaders
is also identified as a goal in the plan, which
ensures equity and inclusion is of high importance
and enmeshed in all College initiatives, both
internally and externally.

The intent of this response is not to make the
claim that this issue has been resolved, not even
close. Although it should also be noted that the
College will continue to target the best and
brightest to serve in leadership positions. With
that said, ACFAS members should be aware of the
steps being taken by the College to advance
diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Patrick (PJ) Andrus, CAE, Executive Director,
American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons
(ACFAS)

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