Jane Rheineck, AADA President
Hello and welcome! As your 2010-2011 AADA president, I would like first to introduce you to your new AADA board. Summer Reiner of course is now our immediate past president and will continue her dedication in that capacity. Gary McClain now takes on the role of president-elect. Pat Goodspeed continues her fine work as treasurer, Bob Dobmeier steps in as secretary, and Pam Monk and Marie Bracki continue to represent our two member- at-large positions. Both Pam and Marie have worked on membership issues and collaboration with the state/ region branches respectively. Our new Governing Council representative is Catherine Roland. Catherine has been a member of the American Counseling Association for over 30 years. As a long standing member of AADA (almost 20 years) and a past president of AADA, she brings a wealth of knowledge and history to the table and will be an outstanding representative for AADA!
We recently kicked off our new year with our annual summer conference and executive board meeting in New York City. I have to say, the conference was absolutely wonderful and a success. We had presenters from all over the country and the feedback was extremely positive; ranging from the quality of workshops to the location where presenters and attendees were able to take advantage of all the fun and unique experiences that make NYC one the most exciting cities in the world! My primary goal as president is to integrate and infuse diversity into adult development and aging. The conference theme; Advocacy and the Underserved: Developmental Issues of Sexual Orientation, Race, Gender, and Age certainly represents that and I feel we were successful in that task.
As with any new year and the “changing of the guard”, opportunities exist to serve AADA on various committees. I am hoping that there are several of you out there who are interested! We have a variety of committees and even if you have little or no experience that doesn’t matter. We have many experienced members who can mentor you. If you are interested please contact me at jrheineck@niu.edu.
This year presents many challenges. The economy has taken a toll on many of us in a variety of ways and because of this, we have to work that much harder to continue and expand the mission of AADA. I am excited about this challenge and look forward in continuing and expanding on the great work set by our previous presidents.