Dear esteemed SGO members, friends, and gynecologic oncology community,
It is the professional privilege of my lifetime to serve as your 57th Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) President. As I begin my tenure, I sincerely thank our SGO Past Presidents, including our 55th President, Angeles Alvarez Secord, MD, MHSc, and our 56th elected President, Wendy Brewster, MD, PhD, whose presidential term I am saddened but deeply honored to fulfill. Our Past Presidents’ leadership, wisdom, and unwavering commitment have paved the way for future leaders and shaped the Society into the esteemed institution it is today.
In the spirit of this inspirational leadership legacy, I chose this year’s presidential theme: “MULTIPLY YOUR IMPACT: Building Extraordinary Careers, Cancer Programs, and Community during Extraordinary Times.” Baseball legend Jackie Robinson once said, “There is no greater gift or purpose in life than to impact the lives of others.” Gynecologic oncology professionals and advocates live this mantra every day, impacting lives in countless ways. Our 2024-2025 theme is a call to action to leverage the expertise of our SGO members and professional staff to make an even more significant IMPACT on the lives of those diagnosed with, or at risk for, gynecologic cancers and build meaningful careers, strategic partnerships, and leadership opportunities within our field.
Our remarkable 2025 Annual Meeting Program Chairs, Paola Gehrig, MD, Sean Dowdy, MD, Victoria Bae-Jump, MD, PhD, and Alex Olawaiye, MD, alongside wonderful SGO staff, look forward to welcoming our members to beautiful Seattle, WA in March 2025 for a spectacular Multiply Your Impact themed meeting.
But this theme is not just the cornerstone of our annual meeting; it is a guiding principle that will permeate several programs and initiatives we undertake this year. While we live in Extraordinary Times, which offer exciting, diverse professional opportunities in our field and more novel clinical breakthroughs in cancer medicine than ever, we remain challenged in our opportunities to build Extraordinary Careers, Cancer Programs, and Community. Oncology providers in the U.S. and globally are increasingly faced with a rapidly evolving healthcare environment, administrative burdens, and unreliable cancer care resources while our patients continue to experience persistent cancer care inequities. While we, alone, cannot solve the challenges facing our field, our goal at the SGO is to be at the vanguard of these issues, investing in you – our members – with programs and resources to help you thrive in your clinical practices and careers and improve the lives of your patients.
During the coming months, I’ll share the many ways the SGO invests in our members and innovates programs and initiatives to move our field forward. These include:
- The State of the Society Survey (SOSS), a best-in-class questionnaire administered every five years to gynecologic oncology providers to understand current clinical and surgical patterns of care, contemporary practice management issues, and career trends impacting our membership. I thank our SOSS Steering Committee, chaired by Barbara Goff, MD, and David Kushner, MD, our advanced practice provider (APP) leadership, Kathryn Lyle, WHNP-BC, NP-C, and Nicole Dreibelbis, WHNP-BC, MSN, and our SGO staff, Jessica Oldham and Katie Martino, MPH, CPH, for collaborating on this exceptional survey. There has never been a more important time to participate in the SOSS than now, and I encourage all full, APP, and international members to do so by July 26. Check your inbox for a message from “SGO State of the Society Survey.” Everyone who completes the survey will receive a complimentary copy of the final report! If you have not received your survey invitation, please email Katie Martino.
- Innovative career development programs with more opportunities for mentorship, networking, and professional growth than ever:
- New surgical, career development, and board examination prep courses to support our members’ clinical and professional needs throughout their careers. Stay tuned for more information from our stellar SGO Education Committee, led by Stephanie Sullivan, MD, Christa Nagel, MD, and Carolyn Lefkowits, MD, MPH, MS!
- The BRIDGES 2.0 Research Initiative, an exciting two-year SGO and GOG Foundation (GOG-F) collaboration, with support from Ginger J. Gardner, MD, and the Foundation for Women’s Cancer (FWC), will train the next generation of clinical trialists in our field. I’m fortunate to co-lead this program with Sarah Adams, MD, and GOG-F President Thomas Herzog, MD, alongside SGO staff member Tanya Colomb and the GOG-F Executive Director of Business Development Jenna Cummins, CMP. The program launches on July 27, 2024, and the next cohort of BRIDGES 2.0 Scholars and mentors will be announced this month!
- The Leadership, Engagement, and Action in Diversity (LEAD) 2.0 Program, a pioneering longitudinal mentored pathway initiative established by the SGO’s Diversity, Inclusion, and Health Equity Committee, and led by Charlotte Gamble, MD, MPH, Margaret Liotta, DO, and Travis Sims, MD, MPH, with SGO staff member Enishia Valentine-Davis, MPA. Program applications are now open.
- Providing unsurpassed education, including:
- The popular SGO on the Go podcast channel, developed by the SGO Education Committee in collaboration with SGO staff members Lynette Kelley, MBA, Erin O’Connell, MS, Tanya Colomb, and Betheon Whyte, provides state-of-the-art clinical microlearning for busy oncology providers. Check out the latest installment – a series (part one, two, and three) led by Tracilynn Hall, MD, and expert panelists on incorporating trastuzumab deruxtecan into practice.
- Impactful webinars and clinical practice resources to optimize your practice, including the recent Basics of Gynecologic Oncology Coding webinar, led by David Holtz, MD, Chair of the SGO Coding and Reimbursement Subcommittee.
- The unparalleled SGO Allied Health Professionals, Winter, and Annual Meetings. I wish to extend a huge thank you to the many SGO volunteer and staff leaders who collectively spent thousands of hours on the 2023-2024 marquee meetings, which all smashed records and were chock full of ground-breaking science, impactful education, and meaningful networking opportunities. Check out the IMPACT Report for the exceptional 2024 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer.
Finally, as SGO President, I’m incredibly fortunate to partner daily with talented, dedicated SGO professional staff and volunteer leaders. I wish to congratulate and thank our former Chief of Industry Relations and Business Development, Teri Jordan, CMP, CAE, on her recent retirement and many years of dedicated service to the SGO, and to extend my sincere gratitude to our talented Interim CEO, Tim Johnstone, MBA, who has worked tirelessly to advance the missions of our Society and Foundation over the last year.
Our outstanding SGO/FWC CEO Search Committee, which I’m privileged to co-lead with FWC Chair Dr. Gardner, are excited to announce our new CEO to the SGO membership very soon! Stay tuned!
Thank you for your continued dedication to our Society. I look forward to Multiplying Our IMPACT together this year and would love to hear from you. Please feel free to reach out anytime with ideas or feedback to amanda.fader@sgo.org.
With sincere gratitude,
Amanda Nickles Fader, MD
SGO President