From the President's Desk

AASECT is proud of its level of responsiveness to — and consideration of — our members. As the board works to make AASECT more inclusive and more professional, we also make sure to listen to you. 

Recently, after feedback from many about upcoming certification renewal changes, the board revisited some policies and we are pleased to announce that you will shortly be receiving an eBlast explaining the upcoming certification renewal policies, as well as changes to the regional and local CE "Meet and Greet" policies. I think you will be happy about the changes, which reflect our focus on quality programs and trainings. We understand how important these programs are to community and fellowship within AASECT. 

The board of AASECT continues to comb through and update all policies and procedures, an ongoing, daunting task! Recommendations from the Bylaws Committee will shortly be going to the board and, once approved, will be forwarded to you for your vote. Again, we are trying to simply, clarify, and make the policies and procedures as coherent as possible. 

Currently, we are also working on a quality assurance initiative for SARs (sexual attitude reassessment workshops). We want to make sure that any given SAR is an optimal learning experience for attendees, as well as an opportunity for self-reflection and a challenge to our current beliefs about the sexualities. 

We also are continuing to work on improving the new AASECT website functionality, and attending to all glitches. Please be patient with us as we do our best to bring you the best!

While we've been spending a lot of time on improvements to our website and to our educational offerings, we've also been working hard to organize several exciting events.

After the incredible success of the Winter Institute, Susan Stiritz, Institute Director, along with Konnie McCaffree, incoming AASECT President, and Joan Sughrue, Professional Education Steering Committee Chair, are actively planning for the Summer Institute (SI), to be held for the second year at America’s number one rated School for Social Work — the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University, St. Louis, MO. The theme of the SI is, "Is Sex Good for Adolescence?" and runs from Monday, July 21 – Thursday, July 24. The faculty for this dynamic educational offering will include Sheri Winston, Joyce McFadden, Bill Taverner, DeShannon Bowens, Ritch Savin-Williams, Konnie McCaffree, and Susan Stiritz, as well as others. This training will count for 30 CE hours for all AASECT certification categories. Come meet us in St. Louis!

But before that... have you registered yet for AASECTs 46th Annual Conference at the Portola Hotel and Spa in beautiful Monterey, California? 

Come join your professional peers and some of the most well-known sexuality experts in the world at THE sexology conference of the year! Hotel rooms are going fast, so please reserve yours ASAP. There will be some fun announcements in the next newsletter regarding extra-curricular activities at and around the conference. Watch for it!

Finally, please make sure you have renewed your membership with AASECT! April is the cut-off for renewals, so "run, don’t walk" with your credit card (or check) to the website, or call the main office to renew now. Don't lose all of the expertise you have available in the members-only professional listserv, the educational opportunities of the conferences and institutes, or access to the always informative Contemporary Sexuality (plus the continuous updates that are now offered at our new blog, AASECT Express).

As AASECT becomes more and more connected with our global partners, we will be including updates and information from several international sources. Look for those in coming Contemporary Sexuality columns.

Thank you all for your continued membership in AASECT, and for your dedication to the wonderful field of sexual health!

Happy Spring,
Michele
msugglcsw@gmail.com