SAVMA Partners with MCVMA in Support of #WakeUpVetMed Initiative

A SAVMA-sized thank you to the Multicultural Veterinary Medical Association for featuring our newest collaboration!  We are proud to support the MCVMA and #WakeUpVetMed as we strive for a more inclusive and diverse veterinary community.

"Next up in our series highlighting our inaugural #WakeUpVetMed supporters, is the category of student organizations! THANK YOU SAVMA for your committment to improving our profession and for continuing to step up, represent and advocate for all of your students no matter their background!  We will not stop pushing for a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive profession. If you'd like to also be an inaugural supporter in your sector or if your business, organization, or institution want to join our growing list of supporters, reach out to us at wakeupvetmed.org.

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What does supporting the WakeUpVetMed Initiative mean?

Formal endorsement of the WakeUpVetMed initiative indicates that your organization, business, association, community or academic institution supports the framework listed in the actionables document as a means for addressing systemic racism in veterinary medicine. While the initial call to action was addressed specifically to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the WakeUpVetMed endorsement is a broad call to action for the entire worldwide veterinary community to work collaboratively in creating transformational and lasting change in the lens of diversity, equity and inclusion."

 

A Bare Bones Feature

 
A feature within the SAVMANews highlighting just what your national SAVMA team, executive board and delegates, are doing for you. Each edition showcases a SAVMA officer and what all their job entails. This featured officer this month is Lincoln Memorial University’s senior delegate, Aaron Maness.
Anthony Pizzelanti from the University of Pennsylvania was the designer behind the Bare Bones logo. 

All SAVMA delegates sit on a committee within the House of Delegates (HOD). Aaron is a member of the Government Affairs Committee(GAC). Within the GAC, he is the liaison to the Legislative Action Committee(LAC) of the AVMA. A lot of acronyms, I know. The general purpose of the LAC is to make sure that veterinarians and the veterinary community are properly represented in the federal government’s legislature. As liaison, he gets to listen and weigh in on the LAC’s monthly conference calls about new and current legislation involving the veterinary community. The LAC helps to advise the AVMA on what stance to take on new legislature and how to appropriately lobby for our profession. He travels to D.C in the spring to meet with the LAC and discuss issues concerning SAVMA, the AVMA, and more importantly the veterinary community. He has learned so much from holding this position in the HOD and is always grateful for the knowledge he has gained. It has taught him the importance of advocating for our profession because nobody else will. With that being said, please represent your profession any chance you get and get involved with your government!

Find out the many ways you can get involved in government and advocacy in both local and national issues here.  

The SAVMA House of Delegates DOIN' WORK

Click to enlarge