It is important to remind ourselves of our mission. Why does AWP exist? Reminding ourselves of this critical information from time to time should focus our efforts on what we need to do to move forward. When AWP was founded in 1983, it was designed to meet the following identified needs for
women psychiatrists:

1. national and international mentoring and professional development opportunities;
2. the recognition of women psychiatrists at every level of professional training;
3. promotion of leadership opportunities for women psychiatrists; and
4. to address important health needs for women patients. 

The overall mission of AWP is “to mobilize women psychiatrists to work together for quality mental health care of all persons, particularly women. To that end, some of my goals during my tenure as president include, but are not limited to the following:

1. Increase opportunities for networking among AWP members
2. Continue to update our website with the goal of the following:
   a. Increasing traffic and engagement by AWP members and community-at-large
   b. Making paying dues easy as well as receiving donations
3. Increase engagement of our past award winners to participate as well as contribute to our organization
4. Increase the recognition of our past award winners as well as achievements of current AWP members
5. Increase our outreach via social media
6. Increase our membership
7. Improve awareness of resources that may improve access to mental health services for physicians and physicians-in-training

Let’s stay connected on social media:

1. We previously had an AWP group on Facebook. Now, we have a formal page.
   https://www.facebook.com/womenpsychs
2. We have created a LinkedIn page.
   https://www.linkedin.com/company/association-of-women-psychiatrists
3. We have also aimed to increase our tweets on Twitter.
   https://twitter.com/womenpsychs

Please definitely follow us on these social media outlets and share information with others. From a networking standpoint, I’m particularly hoping that many of you will share what motivates you, your passions, your accomplishments, as well as your challenges with fellow AWP members. I truly want to hear directly from you. Please email me if you’re willing to be featured in social media and/or newsletter: warachalefaison@gmail.com
Thanks in advance for supporting AWP through your engagement, dues, and donations!

Warachal E. Faison, MD
warachalefaison@gmail.com