President's column: Remarks from incoming Board Chair

I am honored to assume the role of Board Chair for AMIA for a 2-year term starting January 1, 2012. I would like to use this column to give you an overview of the strategies that are setting the directions for AMIA. Before starting the core of this document, I have a couple of notes. First, I would like to acknowledge the terrific work of my predecessor, outgoing AMIA Board Chair Nancy Lorenzi. During her term, Nancy made AMIA a much more effective and efficient organization. Nancy led a refinement of AMIA's strategic plan,1 which put the organization on a firm forward-looking path. She addressed long standing needs at AMIA, including a revision of the bylaws and the committee structure, as well as the development of a Conflict of Interest policy. She also chartered and brought to completion several key task forces including ones that examined AMIA's (1) approach to conferences, (2) international strategy, (3) proceedings archive approach, and (4) publications endorsement policy. As Chair-elect for the past year, it has been my pleasure to work closely with, and learn from, Nancy. I thank her on behalf of the entire membership for her strong and steady work over the past 2 years. Second, I would like to acknowledge Ted Shortliffe for his superb service as AMIA President and CEO. In early November (immediately prior to this writing) Ted announced his decision to resign from AMIA at some point in 2012. Ted took over the leadership …