As we get ready to welcome the “dog days” of summer, this is also the time to wish the ACPM’s Chief Executive Officer for the past six years, Ms. Donna Grande, MGA, a fond farewell, as both Donna and the ACPM are embarking on and looking forward to new beginnings!
The past six years have been a great opportunity for us to have a leader like Donna, one who worked to transform the organization and prepare it for what lies ahead, even as she had to deal with leading us through the COVID-19 pandemic. Donna helped to usher in multiple organizational improvements, worked to energize Hill Day, launched our This is Preventive Medicine campaign, coordinated the relocation of the ACPM office, and she assisted in facilitating the recent sale of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (AJPM) and AJPM Focus. Thus, we want to express our gratitude to Donna for her service as the ACPM’s CEO.As Donna’s term comes to an end, and with us looking forward to our next chapter in staff leadership, we will utilize the solid foundation that has been built to summersault into a space where there is more cross-collaboration with other like-minded organizations, where membership is growing, where we prioritize the local, regional, national, and global Preventive Medicine needs, and where the ACPM has a more secure annual financial budget.
We are fortunate to have a very strong, talented, and committed staff in place to continue to advance the important mission of ACPM and to meet the needs of the entire continuum of preventive medicine physicians—from medical students to emeritus members. In the weeks to come, ACPM will begin a national search for our new CEO, and details of that search will be forthcoming. But as the work of the ACPM must continue, we want to thank Ms. Melissa Ferrari for stepping in as the Interim CEO, where she will continue to be the exemplary leader she has been here at the ACPM these past few years. And now, let us all embark upon this new beginning together, in our 71st year of service to the Preventive Medicine community!
As I close, let me thank Donna once more for her service to the ACPM, and wish her the very best in her new beginning. I’ll end with a quote from Donna, who said, “I leave you with love in my heart, a song in my step, hope for the future, and wishes of continued success and professional fulfillment for each of you.”
Mirza I. Rahman, MD, MPH, FAAFP, FACPM
President, American College of Preventive Medicine