AVMA Advisory Panel Pilot Project Update

July 15, 2015 — 

The AVMA Board of Directors has approved an Advisory Panel (AP) pilot with the aims to improve opportunities for member input and engagement, be more responsive and proactive, and streamline processes. The Advisory Panel members have just been named.

Following approval of the pilot, Dr. Chip Price, Board chair, selected Drs. Mark Helfat (chair) and Lori Teller from the Board, and Dr. Mike Topper, HAC chair, selected Drs. Rachel Cezar and Chuck Lemme from the House of Delegates to comprise the four-person Advisory Panel Organizing Committee. The committee identified potential candidates, narrowed the field, and ultimately formed two selection committees, each tasked to appoint one of the two Advisory Panels—Practice or Regulatory.

AVMA put out a call for nominations and each of the nine councils and committees participating in this pilot identified an individual to serve on the Advisory Panels. Thus, the Regulatory Advisory Panel was pre-populated with a member from the Clinical Practitioners Advisory Committee, Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents, Food Safety Advisory Committee, Council on Public Health and Regulatory Veterinary Medicine, and Committee on Environmental issues. In a similar fashion, the Practice Advisory Panel was pre-populated with a member of the Animal Agriculture Liaison Committee, Aquatic Veterinary Medicine Committee, Committee on Disaster and Emergency Issues, and Council on Veterinary Services. These representatives will play a critical communication role between the Panels and their entities during the pilot.

The Selection Committees carefully reviewed the professional backgrounds of the pre-populated members of the Advisory Panels, derived from the nine participating councils and committees. In the same fashion, the Selection Committees reviewed the documents accompanying the received at-large nominations, discussing the unique qualifications of the nominees, with an eye toward forming broadly representative Panels.

The Regulatory AP Selection committee comprised Drs. Kent McClure (chair), Chris Chase, Mike Gilsdorf, Dan Lafontaine, Shannon Mesenhowski, Andrew O’Carroll, and Eric Willinhan. Following careful deliberation, from 17 nominees this committee named the at-large members to complement the pre-populated members of the Regulatory Advisory Panel. Congratulations to members of the Regulatory Advisory Panel: Drs. Rick Sibbel (chair), Sebastian Heath (vice chair), Cindy Driscoll, Peggy Anne Hawkins, Linda Hickam-Fountain, Michael Hodgman, Jennifer Koeman, A.Gregorio Rosales, John Sanders, Mary Grace Stobierski, and Edward Wakem.

The Practice AP Selection Committee, chaired by Dr. Eva Evans, comprised Drs. Elizabeth Boggier, Stuart Brown, Tom Johnson, Cynthia MacKenzie, Michelle Sprague and Apryl Steele. This Selection Committee took a pool of 26 nominees for the Practice Advisory Panel and narrowed it through a deliberative process to a final Practice Advisory Panel consisting of at-large and pre-populated members. Congratulations to members of the Practice Advisory Panel: Drs. Laurie Zelby (chair), George Robinson (vice chair), Travis A. Cigainero, Andy Clark, Duane Colmey, Matthew Edson, Grace Karreman, Lauren Keating, Meghann Pierdon, Jen Quammen, Daniel Randall, Brian Reed, and Donald Sanders.

The Advisory Panels and the nine participating councils and committees gather in a grouped set of meetings September 30-October 3.

Please feel free to share your thoughts at APPilot@avma.org