Greetings. It’s been a year since our last newsletter was published so I have much to share with you about the work of the Academy. First, I want to express what an honor it is to have been elected president of ANCDS. Being a member for almost 30 years, I’m proud of the accomplishments of this organization and am excited to now have the opportunity to serve in this role. I also want to express my appreciation, on behalf of all of the members of the Academy, to Past-President Kathy Yorkston who oversaw a year of impressive change and growth within the organization.

Among the many changes in the Academy, new mission and vision statements were written and adopted that do a better job of communicating the essence of our organization. They can be found on the Academy website. Board and committee collaboration has been improved substantially by the introduction of a new online work management tool. The tool allows these groups to view, share, track, and update the activities of all of the committees which has led to a more efficient work flow. Two new committees, Finance and Evidence-Based Clinical Research, were created while our current standing committees were restructured in the recently approved by-laws revision. There were also a number of important changes to Academy procedures.

One of the most important areas of growth in the Academy this past year was the successful effort to become a continuing education provider. As a result, the Academy will now be able to offer a host of new continuing education activities to our members as well as sponsor the activities of similar organizations. Our website continues to grow and now manages such important functions as conference registration, membership renewal and podcasts. It also provides an important tool for increasing the visibility of the Academy. We saw more members begin and/or complete the process to become board-certified thereby increasing the number of clinicians with evidence of advanced practice skills. We experienced one of our largest audiences for the outstanding annual scientific meeting that was held last November in Philadelphia and saw substantially increased donations to support the student fellowship program that runs in conjunction with this meeting. Thanks to all of you who participated in these programs.

And we are working to continue this impressive run in the coming year. The Education and Standards Committee is planning another series of podcasts as well as two webinars that can be completed to obtain continuing education credit. They are also already at work planning our next annual scientific meeting in Los Angeles this November, the theme of which will be traumatic brain injury. The aphasia writing group of the Evidence-Based Clinical Research Committee has just submitted their most recent systematic review for publication which should be available later this year. More on that as updates become available. The Communications Committee is continuing to keep members informed about important topics of interest and Academy business via social media, e-blasts, and newsletters like this one. And these are just the highlights.

These accomplishments are evidence that ANCDS continues to be foremost in providing opportunities for advanced clinical certification, continuing education, and clinical resources to those who work with individuals with neurologic communication disorders. I look forward to another productive year and enjoying all that the Academy has to offer. I hope you do too.

Sincerely,

Richard Peach, Ph.D., BC-ANCDS
ANCDS President 2017