SAHM Committees
SAHM members are encouraged to volunteer for committees on which they would like to serve each year. New Committee members are appointed annually in the spring and are appointed by the President based on bylaws requirements, space available, the needs of the committee, applicant interest and expertise, and demographic balance.
The following committees conduct much of SAHM’s business week to week and year to year.
Ad-Hoc Committees of the Board
Chair: Secretary Treasurer, Devon Hensel, PhD, FSAHM
Chair: Immediate Past President, Manuel Ángel Oscós-Sánchez, MD
Chair: Director of Publications, Jonathan Ellen, MD
Learn more about the Publications Editorial Board
Chair: Director of Programs, Chinwe Efuribe, MD, MPH
Chair: Student-Trainee Representative, Colbey Ricklefs, MD
Learn more about the Student-Trainee Council
Standing Committees
Chair: Joanna Brown, MD, MPH
Senior Policy Fellow: Abigail English, JD
Charge of the Advocacy Committee
- Develop and execute actions to achieve advocacy related objectives and goals of SAHM’s aspirational plan.
- Identify annual priority issues for SAHM advocacy efforts in partnership with the SAHM Executive Committee, Board of Directors, committees, and other key SAHM stakeholders.
- Proactively and responsively advocate for innovative and effective policy, legislation, and practices, and increase advocacy activities and engagement with policymakers at local, regional, national, and global levels.
- Collaborate in advocacy work with state, regional, national, and global organizations.
- Develop and/or review requests from other organizations requesting SAHM to sign onto various policy or advocacy efforts, such as letters to members of Congress and the White House. Join in congressional testimony consistent with SAHM priorities and stated policies.
- Promote multi-sectoral and interdisciplinary advocacy efforts that include youth engagement.
Chair: Keisha Adams, MD, MPH
Charge of the Diversity Committee
- Develop and execute actions to achieve diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in all aspects of SAHM’s aspirational plan.
- Partner with key SAHM stakeholders to achieve diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in the advocacy, clinical, education, professional development, and research strategies of SAHM’s aspirational plan.
- Determine the recipient of the Renee R. Jenkins, MD Racial Justice and Health Equity Award.
Co-Chairs: Risa Turetsky, BSN, FNP, MPH and Barbara Bowsher, MD
Charge of the Education Committee
- Develop and execute actions to achieve the education related objectives and goals of SAHM’s aspirational plan.
- Increase and sustain the competency of a diverse, multidisciplinary adolescent and young adult healthcare professional workforce that meets the needs of the diverse global AYA population
- Implement innovative, collaborative educational strategies to promote culturally responsive, multi and interdisciplinary competency-based training for health care professionals who care for adolescents and young adults.
- Determine the recipient of the Lawrence Neinstein Award in Young Adult Health award.
Chair(s): TBA
Charge of the Multidisciplinary Membership Committee
- Develop and execute actions specific to growing membership in alignment with the advocacy, clinical, education, professional development, and research strategies of SAHM’s aspirational plan.
- Recruit SAHM members who address AYA health from multiple professional disciplines including, but not limited to, nursing, psychology, dietetics, social work, public health, and medicine.
- Promote and retain student/trainee membership in SAHM across all disciplines.
- Coordinate the matching of annual meeting registrants with senior SAHM members who volunteer as mentors.
- Develop, promote, facilitate, and implement networking, collaboration, and career development opportunities that incorporate values of equity, diversity, inclusion, and justice for diverse interdisciplinary AYA health and medicine professionals and others who serve AYA.
Co-Chairs: Henna Budhwani, PhD, MPH and Victoria Miller, PhD
Charge of the Research Committee
- Develop and execute actions to achieve the research related objectives and goals of SAHM’s aspirational plan.
- Advance the development, translation, and dissemination of research that promotes AYA health equity and social justice.
- Provide research training, collaboration opportunities, and professional development resources that are relevant to SAHM members.
- Advocate for funding for research that generates adolescent- and young-adult specific data on health outcomes, well-being, and measures of health equity and social justice.
Co-Chairs: Terrill Bravender, MD, MPH and Sarah Stoddard, PhD, RN, CNP, FSAHM, FAAN
Charge of the Workforce Committee
- Develop and execute actions to achieve AYA Health Workforce related objectives and goals of SAHM’s aspirational plan.
- Substantially increase the number of diverse AYA health and medicine professionals to reflect the cultural diversity of the global AYA population.
- Create a comprehensive strategy at all education levels to increase awareness of, interest in, and recruitment to adolescent health and medicine careers among young people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
- Bolster interest in adolescent specialty care pathways across all disciplines using a marketing and branding approach that targets young people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
- Create and implement advocacy strategies to increase the number of AYA health and medicine professionals from diverse cultural backgrounds.
Co-Chairs: Lily Ann Divino, LCSW, MPH and Nicholas Szoko, MD
Charge of the Youth Engagement Committee
- Develop and execute actions to achieve youth engagement in all aspects of SAHM’s aspirational plan.
- Partner with key SAHM stakeholders to achieve youth engagement in the advocacy, clinical, education, professional development, and research strategies of SAHM’s aspirational plan.
- Develop a feasible, sustainable, and organized approach to engaging youth and the ability to harness and facilitate the use of this specialized knowledge, skill, and talent during the implementation of the Aspirational Plan.
Health Committees
Chair: Maya Kumar, MD
Charge of the Eating Disorders Committee
- the committee’s content expertise develop and execute actions to include the committees content expertise to achieve the goals and objectives of SAHM’s aspirational plan.
- Work independently or in partnership with key SAHM stakeholders to integrate the committee’s content expertise into advocacy, clinical, education, professional development, and research strategies.
- Review, revise and /or create appropriate position papers on relevant topics for SAHM.
- Respond to inquiries from the public and the press in collaboration with the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors and the Advocacy Committee.
- Advise the Executive Committee, Board of Directors, and Standing Committees on opportunities to message and disseminate expertise to promote AYA health.
Co-Chair: Heather Austin, PhD and Mandakini Sadhir, M.B.B.S, FAAP
Charge of the Mental Health Committee
- the committee’s content expertise develop and execute actions to include the committees content expertise to achieve the goals and objectives of SAHM’s aspirational plan.
- Work independently or in partnership with key SAHM stakeholders to integrate the committee’s content expertise into advocacy, clinical, education, professional development, and research strategies.
- Review, revise and /or create appropriate position papers on relevant topics for SAHM.
- Respond to inquiries from the public and the press in collaboration with the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors and the Advocacy Committee.
- Advise the Executive Committee, Board of Directors, and Standing Committees on opportunities to message and disseminate expertise to promote AYA health.
Co-Chair: Celia Framson, MPH, RD, CSP and TBA
Charge of the Nutrition Committee
- the committee’s content expertise develop and execute actions to include the committees content expertise to achieve the goals and objectives of SAHM’s aspirational plan.
- Work independently or in partnership with key SAHM stakeholders to integrate the committee’s content expertise into advocacy, clinical, education, professional development, and research strategies.
- Review, revise and /or create appropriate position papers on relevant topics for SAHM.
- Respond to inquiries from the public and the press in collaboration with the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors and the Advocacy Committee.
- Advise the Executive Committee, Board of Directors, and Standing Committees on opportunities to message and disseminate expertise to promote AYA health.
Chair: May Lau, MD, MPH, FSAHM
Charge of the Reproductive Health Committee
- the committee’s content expertise develop and execute actions to include the committees content expertise to achieve the goals and objectives of SAHM’s aspirational plan.
- Work independently or in partnership with key SAHM stakeholders to integrate the committee’s content expertise into advocacy, clinical, education, professional development, and research strategies.
- Review, revise and /or create appropriate position papers on relevant topics for SAHM.
- Respond to inquiries from the public and the press in collaboration with the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors and the Advocacy Committee.
- Advise the Executive Committee, Board of Directors, and Standing Committees on opportunities to message and disseminate expertise to promote AYA health.
Chair: Joseph Waters, MD
Charge of the Sexual and Gender Diverse Health Committee
- the committee’s content expertise develop and execute actions to include the committees content expertise to achieve the goals and objectives of SAHM’s aspirational plan.
- Work independently or in partnership with key SAHM stakeholders to integrate the committee’s content expertise into advocacy, clinical, education, professional development, and research strategies.
- Review, revise and /or create appropriate position papers on relevant topics for SAHM.
- Respond to inquiries from the public and the press in collaboration with the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors and the Advocacy Committee.
- Advise the Executive Committee, Board of Directors, and Standing Committees on opportunities to message and disseminate expertise to promote AYA health.
Chair: Neerav Desai, MD
Charge of the STI/HIV/AIDS Committee
- the committee’s content expertise develop and execute actions to include the committees content expertise to achieve the goals and objectives of SAHM’s aspirational plan.
- Work independently or in partnership with key SAHM stakeholders to integrate the committee’s content expertise into advocacy, clinical, education, professional development, and research strategies.
- Review, revise and /or create appropriate position papers on relevant topics for SAHM.
- Respond to inquiries from the public and the press in collaboration with the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors and the Advocacy Committee.
- Advise the Executive Committee, Board of Directors, and Standing Committees on opportunities to message and disseminate expertise to promote AYA health.
Co-Chairs: Brittany Badal, MD
Charge of the Substance Use Committee
- the committee’s content expertise develop and execute actions to include the committees content expertise to achieve the goals and objectives of SAHM’s aspirational plan.
- Work independently or in partnership with key SAHM stakeholders to integrate the committee’s content expertise into advocacy, clinical, education, professional development, and research strategies.
- Review, revise and /or create appropriate position papers on relevant topics for SAHM.
- Respond to inquiries from the public and the press in collaboration with the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors and the Advocacy Committee.
- Advise the Executive Committee, Board of Directors, and Standing Committees on opportunities to message and disseminate expertise to promote AYA health.
Chair: Liana Clark, MD, MS
Charge of the Vaccinations Committee
- the committee’s content expertise develop and execute actions to include the committees content expertise to achieve the goals and objectives of SAHM’s aspirational plan.
- Work independently or in partnership with key SAHM stakeholders to integrate the committee’s content expertise into advocacy, clinical, education, professional development, and research strategies.
- Review, revise and /or create appropriate position papers on relevant topics for SAHM.
- Respond to inquiries from the public and the press in collaboration with the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors and the Advocacy Committee.
- Advise the Executive Committee, Board of Directors, and Standing Committees on opportunities to message and disseminate expertise to promote AYA health.
Co-Chairs: Katelin Blackburn, MD and Felicia Scott-Wellington, MD
Charge of the Violence Prevention Committee
- the committee’s content expertise develop and execute actions to include the committees content expertise to achieve the goals and objectives of SAHM’s aspirational plan.
- Work independently or in partnership with key SAHM stakeholders to integrate the committee’s content expertise into advocacy, clinical, education, professional development, and research strategies.
- Review, revise and /or create appropriate position papers on relevant topics for SAHM.
- Respond to inquiries from the public and the press in collaboration with the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors and the Advocacy Committee.
- Advise the Executive Committee, Board of Directors, and Standing Committees on opportunities to message and disseminate expertise to promote AYA health.
Awards and Services Committee
Chair: TBA
Charge of the Awards Review – Career Committee
- Determine the recipients of the Outstanding Achievement in Adolescent Medicine Award and the Student and Fellow-in-Training Career Development Awards.
- Work with other committee members, SAHM leadership and relevant stakeholders to ensure a fair and transparent process.
Chair: TBA
Charge of the Awards Review – Research Committee
- Determine the recipient of the SAHM/Iris F. Litt Visiting Professor in Adolescent Health Research (both the site and the professor), the New Investigator and DuRant Award and recipients and finalists.
- Work with other committee members, SAHM leadership and relevant stakeholders to ensure a fair and transparent process.
Chair: TBA
Charge of the Awards Review – Service Committee
- Determine the recipient of the Millar Award for Innovative Approaches to Adolescent Health Care and the recipient of the SAHM/Adele D. Hofmann Visiting Professor in Adolescent Medicine and Health (both the site and the professor).
- Work with other committee members, SAHM leadership and relevant stakeholders to ensure a fair and transparent process.
Chair: Edward McCabe, DO, MPH, FSAHM
Charge of the FSAHM Review Committee – (FSAHM status is required to serve)
- Evaluate submitted materials and assess each applicants qualifications, experience, and alignment with SAHM’s goals.