Welcome to The Great Lakes Association of Orthodontists!
The Great Lakes Association of Orthodontists (GLAO) is a constituent of the American Association of Orthodontists. The GLAO advocates on behalf of its members and promotes the value and advancement of the Specialty of Orthodontics. Component organizations of the GLAO include: Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Ontario (Canada), and Pennsylvania (west of the Alleghenies).
A Message from The GLAO President...
Orthodontists who are not engaged with their constituents or
the AAO sometimes feel that there is a disconnect between “THE AAO” and what
the members desire. In actuality, constituents and their parent organization,
the AAO, are member driven. We, the members, decide what is best for our
organization of orthodontists. So, it is frustrating for me to hear “Why
doesn’t or why isn’t the AAO do/doing _____” when that orthodontist is just not
aware of what is happening in their organization and instead of seeking to
understand, only judges what has been done. As I reflect on the almost 10 years
of working with the GLAO and the AAO in various roles, I have a fair
understanding of how things work in these two organizations. My first thought
for this article was to explain how a GLAO member’s idea travels from
inspiration to implementation, but I found that four long paragraphs later I
was still not finished. You will be thankful that I changed gears and did not
subject you to that very lengthy explanation. Instead, I would like to explain
the depth of work that goes into making decisions for our members.
The AAO House of Delegates (HOD) is the governing body of
the AAO and meets at least annually. There are a total of 64 delegates that
vote on resolutions, which are carefully worded, scrutinized and amended. The
proportion of delegates for each constituent is determined on the number of
members in each constituent. Basically, what the HOD decides is the way things
go in the AAO. The Board of Trustees is tasked to make sure that happens and to
make decisions and recommendations as needed in between meetings of the House
of Delegates. What every member needs to know is that every new or old idea,
called resolutions, goes through tremendous scrutiny. Evidence and expert opinions
from Councils, Task Forces, AAO staff or experts are presented. The legal
aspects are reviewed. Each constituent weighs in on their recommendations
regarding the resolutions. Constituents talk to each other and look for support
on how they think the resolution should be accepted, modified or rejected. Any AAO
member can come to the reference committees in person or online and say what
they think about a resolution before any vote takes place in the HOD. Resolutions
are encouraged to be presented early enough so that the constituents and
members can review them and give their advice to their delegates before the
HOD. Each resolution is reviewed by hundreds of orthodontists before a decision
is made. The HOD is the we in the AAO, not some nebulous entity which is out of
touch with its members.
Each constituent is represented on every AAO Council, most Task
Forces and committees. These members go back to their constituents and report
back on the developments of these entities. The GLAO encourages participation
and puts out notices and requests for members to apply for positions as a
delegate or council member or Trustee. In
the GLAO, delegates and Trustees are elected by the GLAO membership. Council
members are elected by the Board of Directors which is composed of the officers
and the directors from each state of the GLAO region. To encourage member
participation, the GLAO hosts coffee chats 3-4 time a year to allow for members
input and suggestions to take back to the GLAO Board. If you really are
interested in the direction of the AAO, apply to the GLAO and be part of the decision-making
process.
There are many ways to engage in our organizations, make
your voice heard and feel part of your professional organization. Go to the
GLAO or AAO websites for more information, reach out to GLAO officers and
delegates, go to GLAO meetings and seek out active members, introduce yourself
to AAO officers, go to the AAO meetings and introduce yourself to delegates,
officers, and anyone else you can think of. They are orthodontists just like
you who care about the profession of orthodontists and their colleagues. You
have more in common with them than you think. We, as leaders, know that we will
need to be replaced at some point to keep moving into the future for our
profession. Give us the honor of passing the baton to you, the next leaders of
our organization.
Dr. Valerie Martone ([email protected])
2021-2022 GLAO President