A Commitment to Diversity
The Inclusion and Engagement Committee (I&E) of NESO and the Special Committee on Inclusion and Engagement (SCIE) of the AAO have made significant strides this year.
NESO’s I&E Committee is comprised of 8 dedicated NESO members who meet virtually on the second Monday of each month. The board created our committee with a charge of measuring the needs of our traditionally underrepresented members, recruiting emerging diverse leaders to broaden the leadership team, measuring our progress and setting up a structure for sustainability. To this end, we wrote a NESO Diversity Statement that is under board review. A draft member survey has been created and is being refined by the statistical team at the AAO to guide future programming that encourages member participation.
At the AAO level, SCIE is comprised of 10 members from around the country, all selected and approved by the AAO Board of Trustees. This year NESO’s own Dr. June Harewood will succeed Dr. Sunil Kapila as the chair of SCIE. SCIE hosted a highly successful live podcast entitled “We are ALL Included” at the Annual Session in New Orleans. Dr. Anil Idiculla moderated the event, and panelists included Dr. Lauren Pass (a former NESO speaker), Dr. Enrique Cruz and Dr. Richa Dutta. The recording is available in video and audio (podcast) format on the AAO website. SCIE is already working on another event for the 2025 annual session and has proposed an AAO Inclusion and Engagement Award that is under board evaluation.
View the Diversity Statement here.
Both groups have many opportunities for short or long-term volunteer leadership, so if these initiatives are of interest to you, please contact Kristin Dunn and get involved.
Dr. June Harewood
Chair, NESO Inclusion & Engagement Committee
Chair, AAO Special Committee on Inclusion & Engagement
New York, NY