Ryung Suh, MD, FACPM
President, ACPM
Greetings! Preventive Medicine 2026 in Baltimore is just around the corner, and we look forward to welcoming many of you to what promises to be an outstanding annual conference. Our meeting theme, Securing the Future of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, reflects both the opportunities and responsibilities facing our specialty today.
Preventive medicine stands at an important moment. Health systems, political leaders and broader society are increasingly recognizing the value of prevention, yet the infrastructure and workforce needed to sustain high quality preventive medicine services remain fragile. In times like these, professional communities like ACPM play an essential role in convening leaders, advancing science, shaping policy and strengthening the field that we collectively serve.
Since the start of the year, ACPM leaders and staff have continued to focus on transforming the organization into a stronger and more impactful College. The College must respond to the rapidly changing health care landscape while delivering meaningful value for our members. Across governance, advocacy, education and organizational development, momentum continues to build.
Let me share a few brief updates on our progress.
Impact and Influence: ACPM has continued to strengthen its national voice for prevention and evidence-based policy.
- Over the past several months, the College has engaged in advocacy efforts focused on strengthening the preventive medicine workforce, expanding funding for preventive medicine residency training, and advancing policies that reinforce prevention as a foundational element of the U.S. health system.
- ACPM joined national efforts to support vaccine policy, preventive services and the broader public health infrastructure. These issues remain central to protecting the health of communities across the country, and these actions reflect ACPM’s commitment to grounding public dialogue in science and evidence.
- We celebrated 70+ years of ACPM members and preventive medicine physicians being at the forefront of scientific and public health advancements. Moments & Momentum chronicles our history and speaks to our legacy of preventive medicine leadership and the accomplishments of ACPM in advancing disease prevention and health promotion.
- ACPM leadership is advancing the Prevention First framework, which will help guide the College’s policy priorities, partnerships and advocacy agenda in the years ahead. Our goal is to elevate prevention as a strategic national priority and to ensure that preventive medicine physicians remain essential leaders in shaping the future of health care.
Member Value: Our members remain at the center of everything ACPM does.
- Over the past year, we have continued expanding opportunities for education, collaboration, and professional development across the preventive medicine career pathway. Our Membership Committee has focused on using data-driven approaches to improving membership value.
- Educational programming continues to grow, including the successful Artificial Intelligence in Preventive Medicine and Public Health certificate program, new webinars in disaster preparedness and response and PrevEd Plus providing unlimited access to ACPM’s top Continuing Medical Education (CME) courses.
- Preventive Medicine 2026 brings together leaders from across clinical medicine, public health, academia, industry and government to exchange ideas and build new collaborations. Our annual meeting remains one of the most important opportunities for connection within the preventive medicine community.
- We have strengthened engagement through our Medical Student, Resident Physician and Early Career Physician Sections, while launching Communities of Practice that allow members to collaborate around shared interests such as artificial intelligence, digital health and emerging prevention strategies.
College Strength: ACPM has continued strengthening the organizational foundations needed to support our mission.
- Through disciplined financial stewardship and the leadership of our Executive Director and Board of Regents, the College successfully ended 2025 in a positive financial position, an important milestone following several challenging years. This progress reflects our commitment to strengthening long-term financial stability.
- We are also investing in new opportunities that expand the College’s impact. Two mission-aligned initiatives – ACPM Advisory and ACPM Executive Search – are helping position the College to engage in high-impact projects while creating new pathways for members to contribute their expertise in consulting, leadership and health system transformation.
- The Strategy Committee is leading a refresh of ACPM’s strategic plan, the first major update in nearly a decade. This work will align the College’s priorities with the realities of today’s health system and with the aspirations of our members, while complementing the broader Prevention First framework.
- ACPM has energized the new Past President’s Council to contribute strategic advice, is exploring options for modernizing the name and identity of the College to reflect our broad membership, and is organizing an ACPM Member Challenge to incentivize and build further momentum on initiatives that advance the specialty and strengthen the College.
The strength of ACPM has always come from the creativity, expertise and dedication of its members. These initiatives are designed to ensure that member voices continue to guide the College’s direction.
Stirring the Lees and Achieving Results
Stirring the lees (also known as bâtonnage) is a winemaking technique in which the yeast cells and sediments that settle at the bottom of a barrel are gently stirred back into the wine. The process enriches flavor and texture, prevents stagnation, and ultimately strengthens the wine’s structure and stability. Over the past year, ACPM has been engaged in a similar process.
We have been bringing ideas, leaders and members back into the center of the College’s work. We are re-energizing our community and strengthening our foundations for the future. The work has required honest conversations, thoughtful decisions and collective effort, and the results are beginning to take shape. We are building a stronger organization, expanding our influence and creating new opportunities for members to lead and flourish in ACPM.
As we approach the annual conference, I will also be transitioning from the role of ACPM President to that of Immediate Past President. I am confident in the College’s continued momentum and in the strength of our leadership, and I am pleased to share that Jill Waalen will serve as President through Preventive Medicine 2027 in San Diego. Later this summer, we will be launching elections for incoming Regents, as well as the next President-Elect. These are important leadership moments for the College, and I encourage you to consider nominations (including self-nominations) as we continue to build ACPM’s future together.
I remain deeply grateful for the energy, ideas, and commitment that our members continue to bring to our work. As I look back on the past year, I am confident that we are achieving results in our efforts to advance preventive medicine. ACPM’s future will ultimately be shaped not by any one leader or initiative, but by the shared engagement of this extraordinary community. That gives me great optimism and hope for the future of our specialty and of our College. I look forward to seeing many of you soon in Baltimore.
