Happy New Year!
As we lean into 2024, the staff and volunteers of the Amputee Coalition are setting the stage for exciting progress. Only a year ago, I was just saying hello and our board of directors had just approved a new vision and mission for the Amputee Coalition, along with a set of values that have been guiding us through the last 12 months.
With a mission to support, educate and advocate for people who have limb loss and/or limb difference, envisioning a world in which everyone thrives in the way they choose, the Amputee Coalition is the only national nonprofit organization dedicated to such service.
As a national nonprofit organization, the Coalition is led by a board of directors that sets the strategy direction for the organization and provides fiduciary oversight. The board annually reviews its composition, ensuring 50% or more of its members are living with limb loss and/or limb difference, the talents, skills and life experiences of the members are complementary and aligned with the needs of the organization, and that board members are effectively rotating on and off the board and in and out of key leadership positions. This provides relevant and timely leadership.
This year, we have a new board chair and four new board members. The board chair is my direct supervisor and leads the work of the board. A warm and gracious welcome to Bill Perno, our new board chair.
Bill attended our Town Hall meeting in December, and you will see more of him in future meetings too. Bill is entering his seventh year of service with the Coalition, and he commands expertise in healthcare strategy, healthcare payment innovation, and operational management. Other members of the executive committee are Treasurer R. Carter Wood III, CPA, chief financial officer for Copper River Shared Services; and Secretary David S. Sanders, partner at Foley & Lardner LLP.
The board of directors also welcomes four new members: Dr. Foluso Fakorede, chief executive officer, Cardiovascular Solutions of Central Mississippi and Fusion Vascular; Ron Barabas, director, legal counsel – Sports for Warner Bros. Discovery: Dr. Danielle Melton, director of amputation medicine & rehabilitation at the University of Colorado School of Medicine; and Michael Fillauer, CPO, president and chief executive officer, Fillauer Cos. Inc., a fourthgeneration family member involved in orthotics and prosthetics.
Continuing members include immediate past Chair John Register, a two-time Paralympian and Paralympic Games silver medalist and chief executive officer of Inspired Communications International; and Carrie Davis, vice president of patient and employee experience for Hanger Clinic.
In addition to the changes to the board of directors, we also finished 2023 with some staff transitions, featuring a new Support Services Department housing all of our direct services, a new Communications and Partnerships Department with fresh leadership, and tweaks throughout the rest of our organizational chart to ensure we can respond dynamically and effectively in 2024 and beyond through partnership, growing fundraising and expanding programs and services.
As you enjoy this issue of inMotion, also know that these new staffing changes and further improvements to inMotion will be coming beginning in the March/April edition. As we know better, we will continue to do better. That’s our commitment to you; it’s our commitment to service. Thank you for your support!
Cass Isidro,
Amputee Coalition
President and CEO