Fulfilling one of the first recommendations—and the highest priority—of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force, the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) has created and appointed members to the new Diversity Committee.
As is the case with the Finance and Audit committees, this new standing committee will report directly to the SVS Executive Board.
The DEI Committee will, among other charges, work across the SVS to implement the Task Force’s top-priority recommendations and actions, and determine the need for organizational policies and positions to align DEI initiatives.
Top priority recommendations the committee will undertake over the next six months include creating a diversity position statement, revising the SVS’ mission and core values, appointing DEI liaisons to key SVS committees, councils and task forces, and producing an annual dashboard of DEI metrics.
The committee creation and incorporation into the SVS governance structure “is essential in helping guide and serve the Society,” said SVS president Ronald L. Dalman. “This committee will be a resource to the Executive Board and the SVS Strategic Board of Directors as well as for all the other councils, committees, sections and task forces,” he said.
Vincent Rowe, MD, will chair the new committee. Members include the DEI Task Force vice chair Bernadette Aulivola, MD, plus members Steven Abramowitz, MD, Kwame Amankwah, MD, Young Erben, MD, and Matthew Smeds, MD.
Also on the committee are: Rana Afifi, MD, Kathryn Bowser, Laura Marie Drudi, MD, Garietta Falls, Andrew Gonzalez, MD, Omid Jazaeri, MD, Lee Kirksey, MD, Erin Koelling, MD, Rishi Kundi, MD, Kedar Lavingia, MD, Danielle Pineda, MD, Rebeca Reachi-Lugo, MD, and, as a liaison to the SVS Foundation, Nasim Hedayati, MD. Ulka Sachdev-Ost, MD, is liaison from the Journal of Vascular Surgery.
As befits its goals and charge, the committee’s membership is diverse, said Dalman. “You can’t address issues of inclusion and equity, not to mention diversity, unless you bring to the table points of view informed by different backgrounds and experiences,” he said.
