Page 8 - March April 2017 FTM

NOTEWORTHY
2017 Preliminary Slate
Important Election Information The COAMFTE election will be electronic only and will be sent in early May. The general election and bylaws vote will be sent both via mail and electronically in late June. Please note that beginning in 2018, all elections will be held online only. If you need to make any changes to your email address, please contact central@aamft.org.
There were a total of 75 nominees for the various offices. The Elections Council thanks all those who were willing to serve. Additional nominations may be made by petition of five (5) percent of the voting members until June 1, at which date nominations shall be closed. Petitions containing the signatures of five (5) percent of the Student or Pre-Allied Mental Health Professional Members are required in order to nominate Student/Pre-Allied Mental Health Professional Member Director by petition. If additional nominations have not been received, the preliminary list of candidates will comprise the final ballot. No additional nominations (write-in) candidates are authorized for positions on the COAMFTE.
Secretary
Linda Oxford, MSSW Kourtney Vaillancourt, PhD
Board
Chris Fariello, PhD
Claudia Grauf-Grounds, PhD Adriatik Likcani, PhD Howard Turney, PhD
Student/Pre-Allied Mental Health Professional Member
Bryan Doster
M. Evan Thomas
Elections Council
Martha Morgan, PhD John Robbins, PhD Dana Stone, PhD Asha Sutton, PhD
COAMFTE
Elizabeth Fawcett, PhD Carol Messmore, PhD Bobbi Miller, PhD David Van Dyke, PhD
THREE QUESTIONS: FAMILY TEAM
Charles P. Lemieux, MA
YOU ARE AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF AAMFT’S FAMILY TEAM. CAN YOU SHARE HOW YOU BECAME INVOLVED WITH THIS PROGRAM?
I was sitting at my desk checking my email one morning and I noticed a message from the Department of Government and Corporate Affairs at AAMFT. In the email, AAMFT staff offered to fly me and other AAMFT Family TEAM members to Washington D.C. to advocate in Congress for legislation that would allow MFTs to be reimbursed by Medicare for their services. Right away, I picked up the phone, dialed AAMFT and asked, “What do I have to do to participate in this event?” And thus began
a fascinating new experience for me—as an advocate for legislation in the Congress of the United States on behalf of the membership of AAMFT.
WHAT WERE YOUR EXPERIENCES AT THE ADVOCACY EVENT?
Shortly after our arrival in D.C., we met at AAMFT headquarters in Alexandria, where we were briefed on what to expect during our meetings with members of Congress, and then trained for our assignments the following day. We were organized into four groups, with six appointments the next day with members of Congress and/or their staff. The assignments were organized geographically. As my team members were from Connecticut and New Jersey, we had appointments with the offices of Senators and Congressmen from those states. Our mission
was to advocate for Medicare
reimbursement for MFTs. We finished
our training and then dined together
in Alexandria with AAMFT staff. It
was great to spend time and get to
know other MFTs from all over the
country. The next morning, we
began to make our way to D.C.
and reviewed our plan along the
way. In our team of three, one
would be the lead in each meeting,
one would explain what MFTs are and
what makes us unique, and one would
present the “ask” for co-sponsorship of one of the two bills before Congress that would allow MFTs to be reimbursed by Medicare for services provided. We met with staff in waiting rooms, conference rooms and offices. It was an exhilarating experience to be involved in a give and take for the benefit of all of our members.
WHAT IS ONE “TAKE AWAY” YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH OTHERS?
The experience opened my eyes to the opportunity
to influence larger systems in a way that was exciting, challenging, and fun!
www.aamft.org/familyteam
6 FAMILY THERAPY MAGAZINE