“Voices of Vascular,” an initiative to highlight the diverse voices within the SVS, has earned the Society and the SVS Foundation a Profile of Excellence Award from the American Association of Medical Society Executives (AAMSE).
Catherine Lampi, the Foundation’s director of development, accepted the award on behalf of the Society, in the “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) category, at the AAMSE conference, which took place in mid-July.
The annual awards program recognizes member organizations that have achieved excellence in one of several categories: DEI, advocacy, communications, education, membership and leadership.
Voices of Vascular honors several months of diversity throughout the year, including Black History Month in February; Women’s History Month in March; Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in April; Pride Month in June; and National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15.
During each of the given months, the SVS and the Foundation share important facts about the groups to spread awareness. The campaign also involves posting profiles of SVS members and, on occasion, patients too.
“Every person has a story,” said Foundation Chair and Immediate Past President Michael Dalsing, MD. “Voices of Vascular shares our members’ stories and experiences, not only as a vascular surgeon, but also as a member of a particular group. The initiative has proved very popular and insightful.”
During June, Pride Month, Eric Pillado, MD, an integrated vascular surgery resident at Northwestern University in Chicago, shared his life’s story.
“I think the future of vascular involves Pride Month, making sure all our patients, regardless of their background, are included, and the future of vascular surgery involves providers of various backgrounds being included in our specialty.”
Visit Voices of Vascular at vascular.org/VoicesofVascular.
