The ANA’s president Justin C. McArthur. MBBS, MPH, recently addressed members in a letter detailing efforts towards diversity, equity, and inclusion within ANA and upcoming DEI Virtual Town Halls. Read his statement below:
Dear ANA Members,
As we move into a new year, we want to kick-start the ANA’s initiatives in diversity, equity and inclusion. The Inclusion/Diversity/Equity/Anti-Racism/Social Justice (IDEAS) taskforce, led by Allison Willis, MD, MS and Lesli Skolarus, MD, MS has been working toward the goal of instantiating action steps to transform our organization to address inequities in health care, and to focus on diversity and inclusivity within academic neurology and neuroscience. We are challenging this organization to be the champion for ALL in academic neurology.
We envision an ANA where diversity, equity, and inclusion are in our DNA, and where together we commit to:
• Embracing and celebrating our differences
• Educating and developing our members
• Engaging in equitable healthcare delivery, research and education
In line with these initiatives, ANA leadership has prepared a series of potential actionable steps that we would like to discuss in a series of three moderated town halls this month. Drs. Willis and Skolarus, along with President Elect Frances Jensen, MD, and I will discuss these steps and seek your input on them. New ideas are certainly welcome, with the goal of publishing an action plan this Spring. We strongly encourage all members to attend at least one of these interactive sessions, please register using the links below.
Town Hall #1
Wednesday, January 20, 2021 | 3-4:30 PM ET
Town Hall #2
Friday, January 22, 2021 | 7-8:30 PM ET
Town Hall #3
Friday, January 29, 2021 | 1-2:30 PM ET
About the Moderator
Dr. Regine Talleyrand is an Associate Professor for the Counseling Program in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University. She completed her PhD in Counseling Psychology from the University of Maryland and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Talleyrand has spent the past twenty years studying mental and physical health disparities in People of Color and developing culturally relevant counseling interventions for communities that have been underrepresented and underserved. She has published and presented extensively in the areas of eating disorders in African American women, racial identity development, acculturation stressors for immigrant populations, multicultural social justice counseling, career counseling and advising and mentoring relationships.
