Friends and Colleagues,

As this new year begins, I wish to thank you for your continued support of WIO. It has been my pleasure and distinct privilege to serve as your president. At this time, I would like to present an update to you about developments in WIO over the preceding year. My main areas of focus over the past year were on membership development and enhancing benefits available to you as WIO members. I have been fortunate to be assisted by a very capable, dedicated and talented group of WIO members comprising the WIO Executive Committee and the WIO Board. The WIO Executive Committee meets monthly and the WIO Board meets quarterly via teleconference calls. In addition we meet face-to-face at the AAO meeting and the Annual Summer Symposium meeting.

At the beginning of last year, we transitioned to a new management company, Association Acumen. Acumen’s Ms. Gail Bast and Ms.Sarah Krause consistently deliver quality management services and advice. At a time of financial difficulty for many in our country, the WIO Board realized that trimming costs was essential to our survival. With their help, WIO cut costs and yet expanded services.   

A major new member service is our redesigned website. The new site has online membership renewal capability, networking links, a photo library for WIO events and links to features of interest to women physicians and ophthalmologists. A new feature on the website is our WIO Facebook page. Realizing that technology continues to march forward, we have embraced Facebook as a way to reach out and to entertain dialogue with our members. 

As always, a major WIO focus remains career and leadership skills development. To this end, the Summer Symposium continues to feature workshops and forums on these topics. Our annual Summer Symposium continues to receive high marks from WIO members who attend. Many comment on how enjoyable, informative and relaxing the Summer Symposium is for them. Indeed, as a testament to the value placed on the Symposium, despite the state of the economy, 2009’s Summer Symposium recorded one of the highest attendances on record. Many new attendees returned home with an infectious enthusiasm about WIO and the Summer Symposium. This has led to more new members. Our members include ophthalmologists, ophthalmic researchers, women leaders in industry and educators. I cannot think of a better group which can understand the needs of women in the ophthalmic field. I encourage you to attend a Summer Symposium, if you never have. Hopefully, you will continue to return annually, as many do, because you see value in the meeting.  

WIO continues to embrace younger members, the lifeblood for the future of WIO. WIO sponsors a female resident to attend the AAO Mid-Year forum annually. As an initiative to increase interest from the Young Ophthalmologist (YO) group, we have instituted a YO liason position within WIO.

I continue to be impressed by the dedication and leadership of our WIO members in the AAO, government, academia, private practice and research. We have indeed come a long way. Our members have a plethora of opportunities today that for our founders was just a dream in the future. In 2010, I wish to recognize the founders of WIO for laying the groundwork that have benefitted so many of us today. The WIO Board and I will continue to promote the visibility of women in our field and to help our members achieve career advancement and family–work balance.   I wish you a successful, fulfilled and joyous 2010!

Take care,
Jenny

Jennifer I. Lim, MD
President, Women in Ophthalmology