V38 N3 / 2023 ©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