Dear Members,
It has been a great pleasure to serve as your president for the past 7 months. The theme of my presidency is "energy and team," which has been a perfect recipe for accomplishing all the initiatives that I set forth for the year. We have a renewed sense of teamwork and accountability infused with enthusiasm and excitement to serve our society and specialty.
Although we are in the early stages of reaching our goal of reestablishing The Aesthetic Society as the premiere leader in the aesthetic space, I am proud to report that the vitality of our team of dedicated volunteer leaders and staff have generated the momentum to accomplish many of our goals. We are building a strong foundation for all the pillars shaping our society: education, membership, and industry partnerships. To do so, we had reimagined how we conduct business both internally within The Society as well as externally. We then began adapting to a new aesthetic ecosystem to help accomplish our goals.
Everything we do is for our members and membership growth has been one of my main focuses. We have worked hard to improve the value proposition of becoming a member of our prestigious society. During my extensive national and international travels (with the most recent trips to Montreal and Shanghai), I have learned the importance of the role that our society has played historically, which must continue. We have improved the membership application process by providing 4 deadlines per year and expanding global outreach to our international colleagues resulting in a total of 36 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) global partners. Together with our MOU partners, we can improve the global education of aesthetic surgery.
The energy has brought momentum and with that has come a tremendous growth in both domestic and international ranks. In addition, a recurring observation in all my international travels has been the demand to access our education by the international residents. I am so proud to announce that our Board recently approved the new International MOU Residents and Fellows Program. The outpouring of excitement among our MOU partners has been monumental.
Another membership gap has been for non-MD contributors in the aesthetic market. One of the biggest gaps in the aesthetic market is the lack of leadership in the nonsurgical segment. Hence, why we created the Allied Pro category of membership in The Aesthetic Society. The purpose of this category is to serve all non-MDs who are involved in the delivery of aesthetic care from the front office personnel to the back office and all those working in a medical spa. AlliedPro provides a sense of confidence, credibility, and community for these members, allowing them to receive their education from the most trusted source of education, which is a great story to share with patients and consumers. I encourage all of you to join me by signing up your AlliedPro members to this prestigious membership category in our society.
Education is our main mission, and we must always evolve how we do it. It has, therefore been one of my main initiatives for the year. It all started with "reimagining" education and its delivery. We recently launched the Aesthetic Society Academy that serves as a great educational digital platform for both the surgeons and non-surgeons. Through the Academy, the "reimagined" education program is taking shape, and 3 categories of webinars have been developed to cater to: our MOU global partners (GEMS series), all surgeons (Saturday Master Class series), and Allied Pro members (Blueprints series). They will provide both surgical and nonsurgical content to enhance learning from key opinion leaders.
I am also excited to talk about our beloved annual aesthetic meeting: The Aesthetic MEET. It will continue the theme of reimagination for the year. Think of it as the evolution of our annual gathering, a reimagined experience that embodies our commitment to innovation and inclusivity. It's still the heart and soul of our educational calendar, but with a fresh, contemporary twist.
In addition, last month's announcement inviting colleagues from Facial Plastic Surgery (AAFPRS), Oculoplastic Surgery (ASOPRS), and Dermatology (ASDS) to attend our annual meeting in Austin, TX has been received with tremendous excitement and interest in attendance. Expect top-tier educational content with diverse faculty, an enhanced marketplace with our vendor partners fused with an elevated and vibrant atmosphere. Let's continue our momentum of "team and energy" and take it to Austin, Texas at The Aesthetic MEET March 20- 23, 2025.
THE AESTHETIC MEET 2025 REGISTRATION
As a society and throughout our history, we have faced many challenges, but each time we have turned difficulties into opportunities. I am proud to report that with a culture of innovation and adaptability we have once again answered the call.
However, as with all campaigns, our success in re-establishing ourselves as the premiere leader in the aesthetic market comes from our collective ground up effort. Please join me to propel this momentum forward. I have asked our volunteer leaders to sponsor two new members and sign up their office and medical spa members for Allied Pro membership and I ask the same of you. I hope you can all join me in Austin to celebrate the accomplishments of the year with a toast. I wish you all happiness and health. Together we are stronger.
Happy Holidays.
Your President,
Kiya Movassaghi, MD, DMD, FACS
The Aesthetic Society President
