Opportunities abound

By Matthew Walsh, Member Communications Specialist, May 1, 2025

The Academy offers a litany of benefits for members to take advantage of, ranging from reading DermWorld and the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (JAAD), to listening to the Dialogues in Dermatology podcast, to taking free online continuing medical education courses, to enjoying discounted registration to the Annual Meeting and the Innovation Academy. While this is certainly enough to keep any member busy, there are also many opportunities for members to get involved with the Academy to directly influence it from within.

No matter what level of experience you have within the specialty, what amount of time you’re willing or able to commit, or what degree of influence you wish to have on Academy affairs, there is an opportunity awaiting you somewhere in the AAD.

Governance opportunities

One of the most straightforward ways to impact how the Academy conducts business is to get involved in the AAD’s extensive governance system, which consists of councils, committees, and task forces, the Board of Directors, and the Advisory Board.

For members interested in getting involved in the Academy’s governance structure, councils, committees, and task forces (CCTFs) are probably the place to start. The hierarchy is simple: task forces report to committees, committees report to councils, and councils report directly to the Board of Directors.

Task forces perform specific, defined tasks under the direction of the appropriate committees and councils. Committees perform assigned tasks as defined in their mission statement and from their reporting council, and direct and monitor the specific activities carried out by task forces. Finally, councils serve as an oversight and coordinating group based on functions defined by their mission statement.

There are dozens of CCTFs in the Academy, each focusing on a specific area crucial to dermatology and making recommendations to the Board of Directors about the direction in which the Academy should move. If you are interested in joining a CCTF, there is sure to be one in an area that interests you.

You’ll also benefit from joining a CCTF. Benefits of CCTF involvement include enhancing leadership skills. Members interested in joining a council, committee, or task force simply need to apply. Applications open in April of each year and run through the end of June. Recommendations are required for resident members, and they are highly encouraged for fellows.

Since all CCTF activity eventually reaches the Board of Directors, the Board is clearly the pinnacle of the AAD governance structure. Luckily for members, the process for serving on the Board is relatively simple. Members who are interested in being considered by the Nominating Committee for a leadership position on the AAD Board may complete an online nominee application during the call for nominations period, which runs annually from July to September. Nominations must be submitted by Oct. 1. If selected by the Nominating Committee, you’ll become a candidate in the following year’s AAD election.

If you’re interested in helping to select the candidates, you can consider seeking a position on the Nominating Committee. The AAD Nominating Committee consists of seven members, each serving a two-year term. Two of the committee’s members are appointed by the Board of Directors, two are appointed by the Advisory Board, and two are directly elected by the general membership. The committee’s chair is elected by the committee peers to serve a third year. The Nominating Committee is responsible for evaluating the qualifications of potential nominees interested in being considered for a leadership position on the AAD and AADA Board of Directors and selecting the slate of candidates for the annual AAD election.

Members interested in joining the Nominating Committee may complete an online application during the call for nominations period. The Nominating Committee selects two candidates to present to the membership on the annual AAD election ballot.

There are additional positions on the Board of Directors that are chosen via a different process: the secretary treasurer and assistant secretary-treasurer. Each of these positions is a three-year term. Every three years, there is a call for applications for the role of assistant secretary-treasurer. Members in good standing are eligible to apply, and go through a series of interviews, culminating with an interview before the Board of Directors. Once selected, the assistant secretary-treasurer serves for three years before ascending to the role of secretary treasurer for an additional three-year term, at which point a new selection process for a new assistant secretary-treasurer begins.

The final way to get involved in AAD governance is the Advisory Board. Stay tuned for an in-depth look at the roles and responsibilities of the Advisory Board in next month’s issue of DermWorld.

Editorial and publication opportunities

The Academy takes immense pride in the continuous success of its editorial publications, including the DermWorld and JAAD families. If you’ve ever read an article and thought that you’d like to participate in that, the good news is that it’s easy to do so.

Articles featured in DermWorld are written by AAD staff and contributing writers, but the publication itself is overseen by the DermWorld Editorial Advisory Workgroup and the physician editor. Richard Nelson, editor of DermWorld, explained how a new physician editor is chosen.

“The AAD appoints an ad hoc task force to select the physician editor of DermWorld when a vacancy occurs,” said Nelson. “This year’s selection process marks the third time we’ve picked a new physician editor. Our inaugural editor, Abby Van Voorhees, MD, FAAD, was selected in 2010 and served two terms, leaving in 2018. At that point the current physician editor, Kathy Schwarzenberger, MD, FAAD, was selected, and she’s now approaching the end of her second term, so we’re in the middle of the process for selecting our next editor, who will take over in 2026. We look forward to announcing who it will be this fall! We held an open call for applicants from January to April, after which the current AHTF will review the applications, conduct interviews, and recommend a selection to the Board of Directors for approval.”

The physician editor is assisted by the DermWorld Editorial Advisory Workgroup, which interested members can get involved with. Kathy Schwarzenberger, MD, FAAD, DermWorld physician editor, described this process.

“Members of the workgroup are chosen by the magazine editorial team,” said Dr. Schwarzenberger. “We strive to ensure that we have a broad range of expertise and demographics covered. When a member of the workgroup resigns, the editors and I review the remaining members to identify any potential gaps in content expertise and we each have an opportunity to suggest potential replacements. Many of our candidates have interacted with DermWorld in some fashion. Our ideal workgroup member is creative, interactive, and likes to write. At present time, there is no term limit on the position, so members serve a variable amount of time.”

DermWorld Insights and Inquiries (DWII) offers additional ways for members to get involved, and Warren Heymann, MD, FAAD, physician editor of DWII, provided insight into how this works.

“We don’t actually have a formal process for joining the editorial board,” said Dr. Heymann. “There are several areas of expertise and subspecialities that we try to keep represented on the board. If someone has a burning desire to get involved and has a special interest in which they think they can contribute, they can reach out and we’d gladly have them contribute by providing ‘Our expert’s viewpoint’ or possibly on the editorial board itself.”

“It doesn’t have to be a full-time commitment,” Dr. Heymann continued. “You can say something as simple as, ‘Hey, I’m an expert in this subject, so if you ever feature a piece on it, please reach out and I’ll be happy to provide my insight.’ We’re welcoming to anyone who thinks they can contribute to our editorial vision.”

“As a Dialogues editorial board member, it is your privilege and job to be a surrogate for all clinical dermatologists and you get to engage with everyone from young, up-and-coming researchers who can speak to the latest innovations, to established old guard figures in dermatology who can speak from the depth of their experiences and explain how things have changed over the years.”

The Academy’s academic journal JAAD also offers plenty of opportunities for members to get involved. Dirk Elston, MD, FAAD, editor of JAAD, put it simply.

“To get involved, you can register as a reviewer for a wide range of topics,” said Dr. Elston. “We need general dermatologists to say if articles are of interest to the typical dermatologist in practice.”

Like DermWorld, JAAD has a full suite of publications, each of which offers its own unique opportunities for getting involved. JAAD Case Reports Editor Abby Van Voorhees, MD, FAAD, offered some suggestions.

“You can volunteer to serve as a reviewer for the JAAD Case Reports in any aspect of dermatology that most interests you,” said Dr. Van Voorhees. “We can always use more reviewers, and the editorial board is chosen from our best reviewers. You can also publish a paper with us.”

The newest publication in the JAAD suite, JAAD Reviews, launched last year. Shari Lipner, MD, PhD, FAAD, editor of JAAD Reviews, provided some examples of how to get involved.

“There are many ways and levels that AAD members can get involved in JAAD Reviews,” said Dr. Lipner. “Members will have the opportunity to read up-to-date and comprehensive reviews on topics that are relevant to their practice quarterly. In addition, on the home page of JAAD Reviews, they can read the Articles in Press section, which is a sneak peek of the articles that will come out in a later issue. Members can also publish clinical reviews, scoping reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses, at a reduced AAD member rate. Members can also get involved as reviewers, which is a great opportunity to shape the content of the journal by your expertise while also learning. Members interested in reviewing can sign up on Elsevier's website.

Dialogues in Dermatology, which is now included as a benefit of Academy membership, offers still more opportunities for members to get involved in the Academy’s editorial mission. Jules Lipoff, MD, FAAD, explains how Dialogues interview subjects are chosen.

“We choose interview subjects who can speak to the many diverse issues in clinical management, practice management, pathophysiology, research, and treatments that we believe will be of the greatest interest to the average practicing dermatologist,” said Dr. Lipoff.

If you’d prefer, you can serve on the Dialogues editorial board, which Dr. Lipoff describes as a uniquely different way to benefit from Academy involvement.

“Dialogues is an incredible opportunity to meet key opinion leaders and directly ask them questions,” said Dr. Lipoff. “As a Dialogues editorial board member, it is your privilege and job to be a surrogate for all clinical dermatologists and you get to engage with everyone from young, up-and-coming researchers who can speak to the latest innovations, to established old guard figures in dermatology who can speak from the depth of their experiences and explain how things have changed over the years.”

Opportunities to get involved in Dialogues also extend to residents. Residents can write commentaries and CME quiz questions, and Dr. Lipoff thinks all residents should take advantage of it.

“Writing commentaries and questions is an especially effective way to engage with the material,” said Dr. Lipoff. “Not only will you as a resident learn the content that much better, but you can serve your peers by highlighting the must-know facts and helping others understand the forefront of new knowledge in the field.”

Leadership development opportunities

If you’re looking to develop your leadership skills, the Academy offers a variety of ways to get involved through its Leadership Institute. The most notable is the Leadership Forum, a weekend-long training session that will fill your needs regardless of your level of experience with leadership development.

The Leadership Forum is developed for new and emerging physician leaders who are ready to take the next step in their careers, where you’ll learn vital skills to become a more effective leader and can then leverage those skills in real-world applications.

The Advanced Leadership Forum is designed for physicians with 10 or more years of experience in practice, academia, or professional organizations, and will strengthen leadership knowledge and skills required to lead and influence in later stages of careers and in more complex organizations and environments.

Finally, the Academic Leadership Development Program is a year-long program specifically designed to address the unique challenges and opportunities faced by dermatologists in academia.

“The fact that AAD leadership has had the vision and insight to create, maintain, and support the work of the Leadership Institute is amazing! Everyone should take advantage of the opportunities to participate in leadership training, because we are all leaders.”

In addition, shorter sessions are available at the AAD Annual Meeting and Innovation Academy that build knowledge and skills in competency-cased, contemporary leadership topics. These sessions are open to all members.

Kelly M. Cordoro, MD, FAAD, immediate past chair of the Leadership Development Steering Committee, thinks it’s crucial to get involved in leadership development no matter what career stage you are in.

“The sessions and resources offered to members by the Academy’s Leadership Institute are a unique and valuable opportunity. Very few societies offer this type of training,” said Dr. Cordoro. “The fact that AAD leadership has had the vision and insight to create, maintain, and support the work of the Leadership Institute is amazing! Everyone should take advantage of the opportunities to participate in leadership training, because we are all leaders. You will be enriched by the content and the experience of the Academy’s leadership programs and the voices of others in the room sharing the journey with you.”

If strategic planning and manifesting the vision of the Leadership Institute is more your style, you can apply to become a member of the Leadership Development Steering Committee through the CCTF application process described earlier.

Clinical guidelines opportunities

More scientifically minded members can get involved with the Academy by contributing to clinical guidance. To select guidelines authors, the Academy’s guideline work group empanelment process begins with reviewing research and publications on the guideline topic. The work group reviews peer-reviewed journals to identify experts who are at the forefront of medical knowledge for the topics being considered for guidelines. Research and publications help build credibility and demonstrate expertise in specific conditions and treatments.

Once guidelines are completed, members are given the opportunity to comment. The Academy’s internal review and approval process includes a 10-day member comment period that is open to all AAD members for every guideline developed. Guideline comment periods are communicated in AAD newsletters and provide members with the ability to provide comments and feedback. All comments are reviewed by the guideline work group for that respective topic.

Advocacy opportunities

If you’d like to have a direct impact on your day-to-day wellbeing, you could get involved in the Academy’s advocacy efforts.

For the past two years, the Academy’s sole federal advocacy priority has been Medicare payment reform. As Melissa Piliang, MD, FAAD, explains, the annual AADA Legislative Conference is a great way to bring advocacy directly to lawmakers.

“Members should attend the AADA Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C.,” said Dr. Piliang. “At the conference you will learn about the key legislative priority and how to engage with your congressional representatives. The conference concludes with meetings with your representatives and senators at their offices on the Hill. It’s a great way to establish and build personal relationships with your representatives.” This year’s event will be held Sept. 7-9.

If you’re unable to commit time to travel to the AADA Legislative Conference, there are other ways to help.

You can also participate in state advocacy. Each state works a bit differently, so the best way to get involved is to join your state’s dermatology society, medical society, or state medical board. Participation in all these groups is critical to successful state advocacy, and each has many committees within them that you can join. These groups will also often host state advocacy days, and you should be sure to attend them to introduce yourself to your local legislators and to offer your services as a resource on health care. You could make use of AADA resources to host a legislator at your office so they can learn about the specialty firsthand.

The Academy makes members aware of ways in which they can participate in grassroots advocacy via alerts.

“Be sure to respond to AADA grassroots advocacy alerts,” said Dr. Piliang. “This is very easy! You just click the link in the email and a letter is generated for your congressional members. You can edit the letter, add additional information, or just send as is. It takes just a few minutes. Only a small number of members respond to these alerts. We need everyone to respond to have the biggest impact.”

Your patients can even get involved!

“Talk to your patients about the flaws in Medicare physician payment and help them understand the impact on their access to care and on your ability to keep your practice running,” said Dr. Piliang. “If you identify patients willing to engage and support our efforts, the AADA has resources to help them.”

No matter your experience, subspecialty, educational background, or level of commitment you’re willing to make, if you want to get involved at the Academy and help shape the direction it’s heading in and its future, there is a way. There is no excuse to not get involved!

Additional DermWorld Resources