Associate Executive Directors Add Value
by Valerie Jackson, MD, Executive Director
2020;13(2):3
Part-time employees sometimes have a big impact on an organization. That’s especially true when those men and women are experts in complex fields.
The endless benefits of such knowledge are the reason we have four associate executive directors (AEDs) on staff, one for each of the specialties we certify: N. Reed Dunnick, MD (diagnostic radiology), G. Donald Frey, PhD (medical physics), Anne C. Roberts, MD (interventional radiology), and Paul E. Wallner, DO (radiation oncology). They are respected and insightful professionals who went through extensive interview processes before being named to their positions.
Our AEDs oversee the implementation of the Board of Governors’ policies relative to the ABR’s mission, goals, and objectives. They plan programs and activities and perform other duties assigned by the executive director. A great resource for people in my position, they often serve as extensions of the executive director.
AEDs spend several days a year at our headquarters in Tucson. They were here in January, receiving updates about the organization and contributing ideas about how they might help us improve. They also commit two days per quarter to meeting with other staff on operational issues and attend planning meetings.
Drs. Frey and Roberts will soon step down from their roles after years of valuable contributions. We appreciate the dedication they showed to their fields and our organization. We have been actively recruiting for their positions and look forward to working with the new AEDs once they are on board.
AEDs are members of our staff, not our board. They are paid for their work and they answer to the executive director. Their expertise gives our organization greater insight into the priorities and needs of our diplomates and candidates. We welcome their contributions and appreciate everything they do to better our processes and products.
