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

AMWAJournal.org     36

This year, I am honored to serve as President-Elect for the 
American Medical Writers Association. As such, I chair the 
Nominating Committee, which is charged with selecting 
a slate of officers for the upcoming governance year. Each 
year, any interested AMWA member is invited to submit 
a board interest form for consideration of 1 of 3 elected 
offices: President-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer. The 
Nominating Committee reviews the forms and qualifica-
tions of candidates who meet the criteria and collectively 
agrees on a candidate for each officer position to submit to 
the AMWA Board of Directors (BOD) for consideration.
 I want to extend my gratitude to those who volunteered 
their time and expertise to serve alongside me as committee 
members:

• Cyndy Kryder, MS, MWS
• Tenille L. Lawson, PharmD, BCPS
• Brian Bass, MWC
• Gail V. Flores, PhD
• Theresa E. Singleton, PhD
• Leslie Nielstat, ELS
• Susan Krug, MS, CAE (ex officio, nonvoting member)

 This year’s committee consists of past AMWA presidents 
and board members as well as members who have served 
in leadership positions in the medical communication field. 
We received multiple strong applications for the executive 
committee, and the Nominating Committee’s insightful 
feedback and critical analysis allowed for robust discussion 
and a strong slate of officer candidates. 
 I respectfully present the following candidates who were 
presented to and approved by the AMWA BOD at the June 
BOD meeting:

•  President-Elect: Shawn Watson, PharmD, PhD, BCPS, 
RPh, BSPharm

•  Secretary:  Kimberly Korwek, PhD
•  Treasurer: Julie Phelan, MBA, MD

PRESIDENT-ELECT
Shawn Watson, PharmD, 
PhD, BCPS, RPh, BSPharm, 
has been an AMWA member 
since 2012. He has served on 
the board as a Director at Large 
since 2019. Shawn has served 
on the Diversity and Inclusion 
Assessment Task Force and 
as the Liaison for the Engage 
Committee. He has assisted 
with the virtual conferences 
and publications on salary surveys. Dr Watson has also 
served on the National Nominating Committee (2018-2019) 
and the National Educational Committee (2018-2019). 
At the chapter level, Shawn served as President (2017-
2018), Immediate Past President (2018-2019), and Chapter 
Delegate (2015-2017) of the New England Chapter; he also 
served on the Chapter Nominating Committee from 2017 
to 2019. Shawn has authored or contributed to multiple 
AMWA Journal articles and has led roundtables and ses-
sions at the chapter and national conference level. Shawn 
is currently a Senior Director of Clinical Development, 
Program Team Lead, and Interim Head of Medical Writing 
at Recursion Pharmaceuticals.

SECRETARY
Kimberly Korwek, PhD, an 
AMWA member since 2010, 
has been on the AMWA BOD 
for 4 years. She is currently the 
2022-2023 Secretary. She pre-
viously served as the Chair of 
the 2022 Annual Conference 
Program Committee. During the 
2019 2020 term, she served as 
the Chapter Advisory Council 
Chair on the BOD, and prior to 
that, she was a member of the Chapter Advisory Council 
(2017-2019). From 2016 to 2019, she was a section editor, 
serving on the Editorial Board for the AMWA Journal. Kim 

R. Michelle Sauer Gehring, PhD, ELS / 2022-2023 AMWA President-Elect

Officer Candidate Slate for the 2023-2024 Election

AMWA NEWS

http://www.amwajournal.org


AMWAJournal.org     37Officer Candidate Slate for the 2023-2024 Election

was President of the AMWA Southeast Chapter (2016-
2017), serving previously as President-Elect (2015-2016). 
She also served as a Chapter Delegate to the AMWA Board 
(2016-2017) and the Website Coordinator for the Southeast 
Chapter (2018-2019). Kim is the Manager of Scientific 
Communications within the Clinical Operations Group 
of HCA Healthcare. In this role, she is responsible for the 
management of the portfolio of comparative effectiveness 
research projects that seek to use data collected within the 
course of clinical care to improve health care delivery and 
patient outcomes. Kim also manages the development of 
scientific publications, including manuscripts, abstracts, 
presentations, and white papers, to facilitate the distribu-
tion of research findings to internal and external audiences.

TREASURER
Julie Phelan, MD, MBA, an 
AMWA member since 2009, is 
in her seventh year as Treasurer 
on the BOD and as Chair of the 
Budget & Finance Committee 
(2016-2023). She was previ-
ously a member of the Budget 
& Finance Committee (2015-
2016), the Communications 
Committee (2014-2015), the 
2015 Salary Survey Task Force, and the Online Community 
and Social Media Committees (2012-2014). At the chap-
ter level, she was President of the Greater Chicago Area 
Chapter (2013-2016), serving previously as President-Elect 
(2012-2013). She also served as Membership Chair for 
the chapter (2011-2015) and as a Chapter Delegate to the 
Board (2013-2016). She has authored articles for the AMWA 
Journal and currently serves as AMWA’s Registered Agent. 
She was awarded an AMWA fellowship in 2017. Julie is the 
Founder and President of Biomedisys, Inc, a medical com-
munication and strategy consulting boutique in Chicago, 
IL. She has more than 20 years of medical communication 
and business strategy experience, including working as a 
Biotechnology Equity Research Associate Analyst at Robert 
W. Baird & Co, Medical and Strategic Advisor for an insur-
ance corporation, and Medical Communication Consultant.

PROCEDURE FOR ADDITIONAL NOMINATIONS
As required by AMWA’s Bylaws (Article IV.2e-f), these nomi-
nations were announced to the AMWA community by email 
more than 60 days before the annual business meeting. A 
nominee who is unopposed for any office is declared auto-
matically elected at the annual business meeting. As stated 
in the bylaws, additional nominations for President-Elect, 
Secretary, or Treasurer may be made by any member pro-
vided the member meets the criteria set forth by the BOD. 
The criteria and process are listed as follows:

•  Member dues must be current, and the member must 
be in good standing.

•  The nomination must be submitted in writing to the 
Secretary of AMWA at least 30 days in advance of the 
annual business meeting. This year’s annual business 
meeting is scheduled for October 28, 2023.

•  The nomination must clearly state the qualifications of 
the candidate and be signed by 50 members in good 
standing as of the date of the receipt of the nomination.

•  The nomination must be accompanied by a letter from 
the candidate stating that they are willing to serve if 
elected.

Author declaration and disclosures: The author notes no com-
mercial associations that may pose a conflict of interest in rela-
tion to this article.

Author contact: michelle@rnaeditingllc.com

http://www.amwajournal.org



