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Slate of Officer Candidates for the 2021-2022 Election

Katrina R. Burton / 2020–2021 AMWA President-Elect

One of the duties I’ve enjoyed most about serving as President-

Elect is the opportunity to chair the Nominating Committee, 

a group appointed by me and charged with selecting a slate 

of AMWA officers for the 2021-2022 service year. Many thanks 

to members serving alongside me on this year’s Nominating 

Committee, including Cyndy Kryder, MS, MWC; Tenille 

L. Lawson, PharmD, BCPS; Julie Munden, BA; Rajalaxmi 

Natarajan, PhD; JoAnna Pendergrass, DVM; Jill Roberts, MS; 

Theresa E. Singleton, PhD; and Susan Krug, MS, CAE (AMWA 

Executive Director), an ex officio nonvoting member.

 Each year, interested members are invited to submit a 

Board of Interest form for consideration of 1 of 3 elected 

offices: President-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer. The 

Nominating Committee reviews the forms and qualifications 

of candidates who meet the criteria and collectively agrees on 

a candidate for each officer position to submit to the Board of 

Directors (BOD) for consideration.

 I’m honored to present the following candidates who  

were presented and ultimately approved by the BOD at the 

June meeting:

•  President-Elect: Elise Eller, PhD

•  Secretary: R. Michelle Sauer Gehring, PhD, ELS

• Treasurer: Julie Phelan, MBA, MD

President-Elect
Elise Eller, PhD, an AMWA 

member since 2009, is cur-

rently a Director-at-Large 

on the AMWA BOD and is 

the Chair and Board Liaison 

of the Member Awards 

Committee. Previously, 

she was Chair and Board 

Liaison for the 2019-2020 

Annual Conference Program 

Committee. She was Board 

Liaison for the Chapter 

Leader Community in 2018-2019; served on the Chapter 

Advisory Council Task Force, the Constitution and Bylaws 

Committee, and the Chapter Support Committee; and chaired 

the Chapter Handbook Committee in 2014. At the chapter 

level, she organized the 2011 and 2013 chapter conferences 

for the Rocky Mountain Chapter and served as President of 

the Rocky Mountain Chapter from 2013 to 2017. She also 

served as Chapter Delegate to the AMWA BOD from 2012 to 

2017. Originally a freelance medical writer, Elise is now a 

medical writer and consultant at Whitsell Innovations, Inc. 

Elise lives in Colorado, where she likes to hike in the foothills 

above Boulder.

Secretary
R. Michelle Sauer Gehring, 

PhD, ELS, an AMWA 

member since 2009, is in 

her third year on the BOD 

(since the 2018-2019 term) 

and currently serves as 

Secretary and Liaison to the 

AMWA Journal. Previously, 

she served on the Annual 

Conference Planning 

Committee from 2013 to 

2020, chaired the commit-

tee for the 2019 Annual Conference in San Diego, and was 

a member of the most recent Editor-in-Chief Search Task 

Force. At the chapter level, Michelle served as the Treasurer 

(2012-2016), Program Chair/President-Elect (2016-2017), and 

President (2017-2018) of the Southwest Chapter, as well as 

Chapter Conference Committee Chair from 2015 to 2018. At 

the national and chapter level, she has led multiple open ses-

sions, webinars, and roundtables on grantsmanship, research 

development, copyright laws, and professional develop-

ment in the academic and freelance sectors. In addition, she 

teaches AMWA's Ethics for Science and Medicine Workshop 

and multiple medical writing courses for the University of 

California San Diego Extension. She has authored and con-

tributed to multiple AMWA Journal articles and serves as a 

peer reviewer as needed. When Michelle isn't teaching or 

volunteering for AMWA, she serves as the Senior Research 

Scientist for The University of Texas Health Science Center at 

Houston's Center for Advanced Heart Failure, the Copyeditor 

of PURSUE, and the Managing Editor of The VAD Journal. 

Michelle is also the co-owner of RnA Editing, LLC, and resides 

in Texas with her husband and 2 daughters.

AMWA Journal / V36 N3 / 2021 / amwa.org    129



Treasurer
Julie Phelan, MD, MBA, an 

AMWA member since 2009, is 

in her fifth year as Treasurer on 

the BOD and as Chair of the 

Budget & Finance Committee 

(2016-2021). She has previously 

been 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 chapter 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 written articles for the AMWA 

Journal and currently serves as AMWA’s Registered Agent. She 

was awarded an AMWA fellowship in 2017. Julie is President of 

Biomedisys, Inc, and enjoys fishing.

Procedure for Additional Nominations
As required by AMWA’s Bylaws (Article IV.2e-f), these nomina-

tions were announced to the AMWA community by email more 

than 60 days before the annual business meeting. A nomi-

nee who is unopposed for any office is declared automatically 

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 provided the member 

meet the criteria set forth by the BOD. The criteria and process 

is listed below:

• member dues must be current, and member must be in 

good standing

• nomination is 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 

on November 12, 2021

• 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

• nomination must be accompanied by a letter from the can-

didate stating that he or she is willing to serve if elected

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130 AMWA Journal / V36 N3 / 2021 / amwa.org 

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