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Houston Eating Disorders Specialists

Houston Eating Disorders Specialists

Promoting effective treatment of eating disorders, provide community and professional education, and to raise awareness and understanding of these illnesses

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Letter from the President

November 13, 2013 by Houston Eating Disorders Specialists

Also in this issue:

[catlist name=fall-2013 numberposts=-1]

Hello Colleagues,

HEDS turned 4 years old in June! What a perfect time to reflect on our fantastic year full of growth and new experiences.

Our 2012 professional meetings provided a wonderful venue for training while catching up with friends and enjoying delicious food. Thanks to our Vice President, Michelle Crow Fee, for organizing six bi-monthly meetings. One of my favorite meetings featured our very own Melissa Cook, LPC, who presented on Validation, including excerpts from her book The Power of Validation.

With the enormous help of our new Communications Chair, Jill Sechi, the HEDS website was totally revamped and now has capacity for payments, event registration, membership applications and much more. The results are beautiful, professional, and efficient. Check it out if you haven’t already at www.houstoneds.org.

Mara Gittess has continued her tireless work as Advocacy Chair, most recently organizing HEDS’ efforts to lobby for HB3227. Thanks, Mara, for keeping us informed and inspired to advocate for EDs! Ever busy, Mara also developed and produced our first newsletter.

Thanks to the hard work of Michelle Fee, we finally completed the arduous process of becoming a non-profit organization. Isn’t it nice to be tax exempt?

Also thanks to our Secretary, Deb Michel, for keeping us on track by preparing agendas and taking minutes for every meeting. Terry Fassihi did a fantastic job keeping us in the black and current with our bills as our Treasurer.

We kicked off 2013 with our first HEDS Conference: The Journey of Hope. The conference was a huge success with about 100 professionals and 50 community members in attendance. Our excellent speakers were a perfect mix of local and national experts. Thanks to all of you who served on the Conference Committee or volunteered, especially Michelle Crow Fee, Amanda Buller, Linda Chase, Melissa Cook,  Terry Fassihi,  Andrea Gaspard,  Mara Gittess,  Debbie Grammas,  Christina Kontos,  Marcia Laviage,  Deb Michel,  Jill Sechi,  Judi Turner and Nancy Wilson.

In 2013, Amanda Buller  took on the daunting role of Education Committee Chair and began organizing our educational events, and Debbie Grammas  has agreed to pitch in and help her. This is perfect timing for Michelle Fee  who would rather be busy with the arrival of her beautiful first child Doran. Lara Allen  stepped up to help organize and oversee the Membership Committee. Deb Michel  has taken on the challenge of our newsletter.

Introduction of New Leadership

I can honestly say that serving as President of HEDS for the last three years has been one of the most meaningful, growth-producing experiences ever in my professional career. I stand amazed and grateful for the privilege of witnessing our hard work and effort manifest into such a strong, professional group. And now it is time for the changing of the guard. As I step into the role of Past President, I am thrilled to announce Terry Fassihi as the new President of HEDS. Our new Leadership Team includes Michelle Fee as President Elect, Deb Michel as Treasurer and Newsletter Chair, Mara Gittess as Secretary and Advocacy Chair, Lara Allen as Membership Chair, Amanda Buller and Debbie Grammas as Education Co-Chairs, and Jill Sechi as Communications Chair.

Remember, the Leadership Team can use all the help we can get, and besides, we have so much fun! We encourage any of you who would like to join the HEDS Leadership Team to give us a call. I am excited about the future of HEDS as we continue to work together to promote better understanding and treatment of eating disorders in our community. I’ll see you at our next meeting!

Sincerely,

Jana Rosenbaum, Past President, HEDS

Filed Under: Fall 2013, Newsletter

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