By Becky Bruce

New CEO and COO Announced

The Amputee Coalition is pleased to announce that, effective March 15, 2002, Paddy Rossbach, RN, was appointed President and CEO; and Patricia Isenberg, MS, assumed the role of Chief Operating Officer (COO).

Paddy Rossbach, who was designated interim President & CEO after the resignation of John Miller in September 2001, was unanimously appointed to the position of President & CEO by the Amputee Coalition Board of Directors because of her experience and proven track record in the field of limb loss. A registered nurse and an amputee, Paddy has been involved in the education and training of people living with limb loss since 1984-most notably in the area of sports and recreational activities for young amputees. Paddy will maintain her legal residence in Connecticut, and as a national spokesperson for the organization's mission and goals, will be responsible for the overall management of the organization. In accepting the position, Paddy said, "We're in for some very exciting times and we're particularly enthusiastic about the new membership drive. I am delighted that Pat Isenberg has accepted the position of COO."

Pat Isenberg, formerly Amputee Coalition's Program Manager for Training & Outreach, holds Master of Science degrees in Education and Psychology and brings more than 26 years of experience in nonprofit management to the COO position, Based at the Knoxville office, she will be responsible for assuring the effective day-to-day operation of the Amputee Coalition's national headquarters, including its financial stability and its various programs. Pat had this to say regarding her new role as COO: "I am honored and excited by this opportunity. I appreciate Paddy's support and confidence and look forward to enhancing relationships with support groups throughout the country."

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Anaheim - Support Group leaders' Workshop

Once again, a support group leaders' workshop will be held in Anaheim at the Amputee Coalition annual meeting on July 18, 2002. This year the workshop will be divided into three main topics. The topics and times are as follows:

•  9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Session 1: Organizational Issues
•  12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Lunch
•  1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Session 2: How To Use Local Resources
•  3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Session 3: What Amputee Coalition Can Do For You

Each session will be divided into two groups. One group will be for beginners--those who are new to support group facilitation and have recently started local amputee support groups--and a second group for those who are seeking advanced information related to the session topics. We hope that by tailoring the sessions to the needs of attendees, we can provide useful information that can be more readily applied to your group and its members.

The Amputee Coalition will be sending a letter to all member support groups to give them an opportunity to nominate presenters who have experience in the three session topics listed. If you or any members of your group would like to present at this workshop, in either the advanced or beginner sessions, please fill out the form that will accompany the letter and mail it back to the Amputee Coalition office by the specified date. The letters will be mailed out by April 5, 2002.

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Regional Rep Chat
Meet your Regional Representative

Finding your regional representative in a sea of annual meeting attendees can be easier said than done. Every year there are those who hoped to meet their representative but never could find the opportunity or the right name on a badge. This year, the Amputee Coalition is planning a "Regional Rep Chat " on Sunday, July 21, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. We're going to corral all the representatives into one room and give any of you who need a few minutes to chat with your representative an easy way to do so. No more wandering around checking name badges, asking others if they've seen your representative, or sitting patiently in the lobby hoping to be lucky enough to have them sit down next to you!

The "Regional Rep Chat " will be listed in the conference program with the time and room location. All you need to do is show up! For those of you who would like to leave a message for your representative during the annual meeting, there will be a message board located near the Amputee Coalition registration desk for doing just that. Each representative will have a clearly marked envelope on the board for you to put your message in. We've tried to make it foolproof and easy for you to meet your representative. Leave the eye straining badge reading to others. Be there Sunday afternoon from 3:00 to 5:00, introduce yourself and your group to your regional representative, and enjoy the opportunity to get to know each other.

One of our readers, Elisabeth Szanto, sent us a topic suggestion with some pretty specific questions about prosthesis materials and socket design. Since The Communicator is not a technical publication we can't address her specific questions here but we can suggest that she--and any other readers who are interested--go to the Amputee Coalition's "NLLIC Library Catalog" where scores of articles on the subject of prosthetics can be found.