Mark Andrejeski, Longtime ACR Executive Vice President, Retiring

Mark Andrejeski, Theresa Fitzgerald, David Wofsy, MD, Peggy Crow, MD, and Neal Birnbaum, MD

In March 1987, Mark Andrejeski moved from Columbus, Ohio, to Atlanta to lead a brand-new organization: the American Rheumatism Association (ARA). The professional association of rheumatologists had separated from the Arthritis Foundation 15 months earlier.

“Initially, I was just trying to make sure the organization survived,” says Mr. Andrejeski, who studied business management and economics in college. After graduation in 1973, he worked in educational programming and fundraising for the American Heart Association, known for its high-profile public education programs. The ARA had a decidedly lower profile.

“I didn’t know what the American Rheumatism Association did when first contacted about the job,” Mr. Andrejeski says. “Rheumatology was relatively unknown back then. One of the first membership surveys we did told us that increasing awareness of what a rheumatologist does was a high priority.”