Kevin Wilson, MD, FAAOA
President Elect Candidate

It would be an honor to serve as your AAOA President. I have really enjoyed my involvement in the AAOA since joining 15 years ago. I got involved with the organization as an early academic faculty member and have served in various volunteer positions, including on different committees, as a Fellow examiner, as faculty at the AAOA basic course, as a board member, and teaching several courses at the annual meeting. I have most recently been serving on the Executive Committee as Secretary and have successfully worked with our CEO and staff to increase membership, particularly resident membership, over the past year. I have practiced in both the academic and private setting and so have some understanding of the challenges and opportunities that face our members. As your president, I will continue working with other members and leaders to increase recruitment and retention of members, improve our educational offerings, and provide measurable value to our membership. I appreciate the opportunity to continue serving you.

Robert Puchalski, MD, FAAOA
Treasurer Candidate

It is a great honor to be nominated for the position of AAOA Treasurer. I am pursuing this leadership position because I feel I can make a positive impact in this organization and our specialty. I am a private practice Otolaryngologist who is married to a pediatric emergency medicine physician. We met while in medical school at Washington University. We live in Charlotte, North Carolina, where my wife practices and teaches at Levine Children’s Hospital. We have four children, three of which are off to college. I have been an active member of the AAOA since joining as a resident member over two decades ago. Throughout this time, I have served in various capacities for the organization including participating in a task force to create practice guidelines and administering the Fellowship exam. I have also served on the Board of the AAOA as a Member at Large and also as the Chair of the Socioeconomic Committee. I have represented the AAO-HNS as a Delegate to the AMA for 15 years and served as the chairman of both the delegation and the Otolaryngology Section Council. I am grateful for these opportunities and feel privileged to be part of such a successful organization. With your support, I would like to advance the interests of the AAOA to the best of my ability. I pledge that I will dedicate the time and energy necessary to represent the interests of all our members and the patients that we serve.

Christopher Brook, MD, FAAOA
Director of Educational Assessment Candidate

Thank you!

Christie DeMason, MD, FAAOA
Socioeconomic Chair Candidate

It is an honor to be nominated for the chair position of the Socioeconomic committee. I am a General Otolaryngologist in North Carolina where I have a focus on allergy and sleep surgery. Over the last few years, I have had the honor to work with the AAOA in many different ways. I have served on the Patient and Professional Relations committee and the Annual Meeting Education subcommittee. I have been an examiner for the fellowship examination as well as currently serve as one of the members at large on the AAOA board. AAOA is such a wonderful community to be a part of and I would love the opportunity to serve as the Socioeconomic chair and continue to advocate for the AAOA. Thank you for considering me for the position.

Haidy Marzouk, MD, FAAOA
Patient & Professional Relations Chair Candidate

With much gratitude, I accept the nomination to take on the role of Chairperson of the Patient and Professional Relations Committee.  This committee primarily serves the members of the organization creating high value content for distribution through multiple platforms.  This includes content such as blogs, podcasts, and practice questions for trainees, online panel discussions, etc.  I have served on this committee for a few years, participating in and preparing multiple types of content.  Since becoming a fellow of the AAOA in 2018, I have also helped with endeavors within the organization including education assessment and annual meeting planning, among others.  I am deeply committed to the practice of otolaryngologic allergy in my general ENT practice and seek to see it thrive among otolaryngologists and in ENT resident training.  I am honored to have an opportunity to continue this great work seeking to further engage our members in a bilateral relationship responding to their needs and further enlarging the organization’s footprint.

Craig Folsom, MD, FAAOA
Board member at Large 2024-2027 Candidate

It is an honor to be nominated for the position of AAOA Board Member at Large. I am heavily committed to the practice of Otolaryngic allergy. This desire began with my exposure to the AAOA and the basic course as a junior resident. Once my interest was piqued, I completed the fellowship in 2020. I provided didactic teaching in Otolaryngic Allergy to my residents while serving as Assistant Residency Program Director in the United States Navy. Since transitioning to private practice, I have heavily incorporated allergy into my practice in south Florida and have found the value of AAOA and its fellowship to be instrumental. Since completing the fellowship, I have had the pleasure to be invited to serve on the AAOA Finance Committee and AAOA Investing Committee since 2021. Additionally, I have an interest in innovation
in medicine. While pursuing this passion, I developed an AAOAApp which aims to increase content delivery to a broad range of members and serve as a resource in the clinical setting to augment the practice of Otolaryngic allergy. I look forward to having continued involvement in the AAOA family and would love the opportunity to join the Board in this capacity. Thank you for your consideration.

Nalin Patel, MD, FAAOA
Board Member at Large 2024-2027 Candidate

Arvin Rao, MD, FAAOA
Board Member at Large 2024-2027 Candidate

Dole Baker, MD, FAAOA
Secretary Candidate

It is an honor to be nominated as Secretary of the AAOA. I am in South Carolina in private practice as a General Otolaryngologist and Facial Plastic Surgeon and have been an active Otolaryngic Allergist since becoming a fellow of the AAOA over 20 years ago.

I have had the privilege of serving the AAOA membership and organization since 2007 in a wide variety of roles—Treasurer, Socioeconomic Chair and Board Member and also a Board Member at Large; a member of the Finance Committee, Patient and Professional Relations Committee, Audit Committee, and as the BOG representative to the AAO-HNS.

As Secretary, I will work with the AAOA leadership and staff to ensure the AAOA continues to be a financially stable organization. This past year, as Treasurer, we were able to implement our new affinity program. Part of this new program is the formation of a partnership enabling our membership to partake in savings through a Group Purchasing Organization with US ENT. Along with the Board, as Secretary, I will continue to explore and pursue additional revenue channels to best position the AAOA for continued growth and stability for the future.
It will be my privilege to serve the AAOA membership in this capacity.

Robert Stachler, MD, FAAOA
Coordinator of Education Candidate

I am honored to be nominated this year for the position of Educational Coordinator. This will be my fourth year in the position. We have accomplished a great deal in the last three years. We have developed a large pool of faculty that gives us many options for fresh and newer content in the future. We have had 3 successful years of hybrid presentations and meetings (Basic, Advanced, and Annual). Our meetings have been well attended and received by the membership. I must thank the wonderful Educational Committee, the annual meeting planning committee, and all of the staff: Jami Lucas, Claudia , Kate, and Marina, that have been pivotal in our success thus far. We are revamping the Advanced and Annual Meeting content, to prevent overlap of material and a rotating Advanced content on a 3 to 4 year cycle. I would like to thank Keith Sale for his help in organizing the meetings and content for revising the educational programming for tour society . I also thank him for helping us prepare the plan for our proposal to the board.

We also have our review by the ACCME this year, which we have been working on diligently. There is clearly more that I am interested in accomplishing in the near future. I pledge to continue to provide newer and innovative educational experiences to our members. I will continue to re-evaluate and modify our educational content to ensure it is fresh and cutting -edge information. I thank you for giving me this opportunity to serve you as your Educational Coordinator for the 2024-2025 educational year. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me by emailing me at office@StachlerENT.com.

Farrah Siddiqui, MD, FAAOA
Director of Educational Programs Candidate

I would like to thank the Nomination Committee for nominating me  for the position of Director of Educational Programs, once again focusing on AAOA’s important educational mission. This nomination definitely shows that my hard work has made a difference. I am very grateful for the wonderful faculty, fellows, members and AAOA staff who have been involved every step of the way in all the Committees, Task Forces and Courses. I strive to continue engaging more learners by delivering even more creative formatting, thoughtful programs and user-friendly online resources. This past year, I played an important role in planning and teaching as Co-director for the Basic Course, along with participating in the Education Committee, Education Assessment Committee and AAOA Membership Taskforce.  We endeavor to change AAOA’s educational offerings especially with reformatting the Advanced Course.  We have also updated materials in the Basic Course to keep content fresh and relevant.  We have increased panel discussions at the Annual Meeting and have introduced ethical topics on diversity and cultural sensitivity.  We continue to recruit new and motivated faculty as well as members.   We have further worked on improving resident and new member participation as well as education.  We continue to update the material in the Educational Stacks and Fellow Exam as well.

As AAOA’s Director of Educational Programs, I hope to continue and improve my educational efforts at the AAOA this upcoming year. Having served as an item writer and oral examiner for both the AAOA and ABOHNS, I realize the important role the AAOA serves in the education of our residents, fellows, graduating otolaryngologists, as well as practicing Otolaryngic allergists and their staff.  I have been fortunate to be a part of our evolution to engage our audience in live, virtual and hybrid educational platforms.   These newer formats allow the AAOA to reach out to more people throughout the year, giving our learners the choice to pick what works best for them as well as the flexibility to study at their own pace.

Mike Platt, MD, MSc, FAAOA
Audit Committee Candidate

Thank you!

Wesley VanderArk, MD, FAAOA
AMA Physician Delegate Candidate

It is again an honor to be nominated for the position of AMA delegate for the AAOA. I have been active with the AAOA since joining the AAOA as a resident and attending my first Basic course in 1996 and eventually becoming a fellow in the organization a few years after that.  I have continued as an active member of the association serving in a number of different capacities as a member of the Patient and Professional Relations and Socioeconomic Committees, Chair of the Patient and Professional Relations Committee, American Medical Association Alternate Delegate, Delegate to the AMA, Secretary, and President of the organization.  I have had the opportunity to participate in a number of leadership and academic positions within the organization and now most of my involvement is in advocacy efforts for the organization.  Involvement with the AMA allows our organization to have a voice and effect change on Capitol Hill in an effort to protect and preserve the ability of our members to continue practicing Otolaryngic Allergy.  Our AMA involvement in the past, while working with sister organizations, has been instrumental to maintain vial mixing reimbursement and also affect more favorable language with USP 797 revisions.  Your membership in the AMA allows us to continue to be part of the AMA in order to affect that change, so I urge you also to become a member of the AMA for us to keep that opportunity alive for our organization.   I am grateful to have been a part of these efforts through the AMA in the past, and honored to be nominated again as the AMA delegate for the AOAA.  I appreciate your support in this election.

Alpen Patel, MD, FAAOA
AMA Alternate Delegate Candidate

It is a great honor to be once again nominated for the AAOA AMA Alternate Delegate. I have been an active member of the AAOA since I joined as a resident member 25 years ago. During this time, I have served in various capacities for the organization. I have participated in several AAOA Academic Workshops, instructed at the Annual Meeting as well as at the Basic & Advanced Courses, administered the Fellowship exam, represented this organization as well as AAO-HNS at the AMA, lectured at various AAOA Symposia and Courses, and served as Board Member-at Large, Socioeconomic Chair, & Treasurer as well as on the Research, Nominating, Corporate Development, Compensation, Finance, & Investment Committees. In addition, I had the privilege to serve as President of the AAOA. I am grateful for these opportunities, and I am fortunate to be part of such a successful organization. With your support, I would like to represent the AAOA membership to the best of my ability.

Scott Fortune, MD, FAAOA
Board Member at Large 2024-2027 Candidate

I became a Fellow of The American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy when I passed the Board examination in the remnants of Hurricane Frances in September 2004 after having been a member of the organization for several years before finishing residency in 1999. Otolaryngic Allergy has been a key component of my practice and recently I’ve had the chance to give back to the Organization by participating as a Basic Course Faculty member for 2023 and 2024. In the latter aspect of my Otolaryngology practice, I’ve gotten involved in multiple Otolaryngology Societies with a variety of roles including Rhinology and Allergy Education Committee, Legislative Affairs Committee, and Nominating Committee with the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, the Live Events Committee for the American Rhinologic Society, and as an Alternate Delegate to the Annual AMA Meeting for the American Rhinologic Society. The experiences I’ve had in these roles provides a broad foundation for me to fulfill the position of Board Member At Large for the American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy. I am grateful to be on the education team and honored to be nominated for this position. I hope you will allow me to put my experience and energy to work for the good of the AAOA. I am ready to serve the society that has done so much for me during my career in Otolaryngology and Otolaryngic Allergy.