





































 V38 N2 / 2023 

©2023 American Medical Writers Association. All rights reserved.  
ISSN 2163-5315

AMWAJournal.org     57

As I write this, the AMWA Board of Directors (BOD) is pre-
paring to meet in Rockville, Maryland, for its spring board 
meeting. It’s always a pleasure to see my fellow board mem-
bers and AMWA staff in person. I’m also excited because the 
AMWA BOD will review and discuss recommendations from 
the Diversity & Inclusion Assessment Task Force.
 The AMWA BOD reviewed preliminary findings from 
AMWA’s 2022 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Survey 
at its meeting in January. One of the things respondents 
felt would be most helpful for AMWA to cultivate a more 
inclusive culture is to provide programs and resources on 
DEI topics. Providing education and resources is solidly 
in AMWA’s wheelhouse, and I am pleased that AMWA has 
already begun to offer this educational content, and we plan 
to develop more. Our monthly webinar series has included 
DEI topics, and we had educational sessions, roundtables, 
and posters related to DEI at the 2022 Medical Writing & 
Communication Conference. I understand that there are 
several proposals on DEI topics for our upcoming annual 
conference in Baltimore, Maryland. I thank everyone who 
has stepped forward to share their expertise in this area.
 Survey respondents also shared what would be most 
helpful to them as medical communicators. These include 
resources on using inclusive language in medical commu-
nication, on how to develop inclusive health communica-
tion, and on health equity and health disparities. If you have 
expertise in any of these topics or can recommend someone 
with expertise, please reach out to AMWA staff. We can use 
you, whether it’s a webinar, online learning, or conference 
content. The AMWA Journal is another venue to showcase 
your expertise.
 The survey respondents also indicated that AMWA 
should strive to have a more diverse representation in 
leadership and among subject matter experts (eg, AMWA 
Journal article and blog authors, conference and online 
education presenters). To keep our organization strong, we 
need to continuously cultivate new leaders and encourage a 
diversity of voices in our leadership.

 Many AMWA leaders got their start at the chapter level—
chapters always need volunteers! If you are in a chapter and 
would like to be more involved, consider volunteering for 
a task, whether it’s printing out name tags for your chap-
ter’s conference, organizing a networking or educational 
event, or serving on a chapter committee. Members can also 
develop leadership skills by volunteering at the national 
level, such as volunteering for the AMWA Journal or serv-
ing on a committee, task force, or working group. As volun-
teers gain experience, they might want to further develop 
their leadership skills by chairing a committee, task force, or 
working group. From there, leaders might want to apply to 
serve on the AMWA BOD, where they will need to think stra-
tegically on behalf of the organization. In short, activities 
range from the operational and logistical to management to 
strategic, and volunteers need to consider what skills they 
have and want to develop further as well as the space in 
which they feel the most comfortable.
 In addition, you can demonstrate leadership by put-
ting yourself forward as a subject matter expert. We have 
many members who have established themselves as such by 
authoring articles for the AMWA Journal, presenting webi-
nars, leading workshops, or presenting at chapter or annual 
conferences. Members can also serve as subject matter 
experts for the Education Committee. By sharing your exper-
tise, you are investing in yourself as well as our profession.
 Of course, this wouldn’t be a proper president’s column 
without me mentioning this year’s Medical Writing & 
Communication Conference in Baltimore. I’ve been get-
ting sneak peeks into the content that will be offered at 
this year’s conference, and this year’s program promises to 
be amazing. Our annual conference is where leaders and 
experts share their knowledge. This is the heart of AMWA. 
Come experience it this year in Baltimore and be inspired.

FROM THE PRESIDENT

Expertise and Leadership

AMWA NEWS

Elise Eller, PhD / 2022–2023 AMWA President

http://www.amwajournal.org



