by Annette Bak, Ph.D., M.B.A., AAPS President
AAPS Members,
Thank you for this opportunity to serve as your AAPS President. The aspect of this role that I am most excited to dive into involves the dynamic AAPS Communities. This forum facilitates how we can connect with one another on a regular basis. As discussed at the 2022 Leadership Meeting, a Community Board Mentor program was launched. This means there is built-in support and guidance in each community, with a Board member available to answer questions, guide conversation, and connectivity.
Consider AAPS’ global membership: 13% of members reside outside North America. Our volunteer leaders represent 13 countries, and we have 55 student chapters in 9 countries, and 8 discussion groups in 3 countries. Engagement in the AAPS Communities allows us to connect globally across time zones, tag other members, and engage in meaningful conversation about topics of interest from wherever we may be.
Overall at the Leadership Retreat, great connections were created and proposal ideas were generated for joint webinars, networking events, regulatory guidance for new modalities, ideas for development processes, white papers, and much more. Our primary focus in all things is how best to serve you as members. If you have any questions or want to discuss a matter, please reach out to me at president@aaps.org.
Looking forward, I am also eager to review the survey responses from our recent Diversity and Inclusion Survey. AAPS aims to be welcoming for everyone and our Diversity Equity Inclusion Committee recently surveyed AAPS members and has launched committee liaisons to all AAPS committees to observe current practices. Keep reading my updates online in AAPS Newsmagazine to hear more about the results and other happenings.
Between these articles, you can find me and your colleagues in the AAPS Communities. I encourage you to start a conversation today! There are 42 communities, and they are waiting for you.
All the best,
Annette Bak