Abby Abelson, MD, is the chair of the department of rheumatic and immunologic diseases of the Orthopaedic and Rheumatology Institute at Cleveland Clinic. She is also the director of education of the Center for Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bones Disease and the education program director for the department of rheumatic and immunologic diseases of Cleveland Clinic. In addition, she serves as a basic science course director and a physician advisor in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine.
Dr. Abelson’s most recent volunteer appointment was chair of the Committee on Rheumatology Training and Workforce Issues. She says she is looking forward “to serving the ACR as we face the challenges and opportunities that upcoming transitions in healthcare will bring. My tenure on the Committee on Rheumatology Training and Workforce Issues has exposed me to the inspiring educators in rheumatology and the changing needs of the diverse rheumatology workforce.”
Richard Furie, MD, is chief of the division of rheumatology and allergy-clinical immunology at the North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System and a professor of medicine at Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine. He directs the Program in Novel Therapeutics, the North Shore LIJ Health System’s clinical research program in musculoskeletal disease. Dr. Furie also directs the hospital’s Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Autoimmune Disease Treatment Center.
Dr. Furie has served on many committees of the ACR and recently completed his tenure as the chair of the Committee on Education. “Although it may sound trite, my hope is to give rather than to gain. Between my 30 years in rheumatology and my 15 years of volunteering with the ACR, my expectation is to use this experience to make valuable contributions to the ACR,” says Dr. Furie.
Paula Marchetta, MD, is the CEO and managing partner of Concorde Medical Group, PLLC, a 40-plus physician multispecialty group practice affiliated with New York University Langone Medical Center. Dr. Marchetta also maintains an active rheumatology practice and continues to teach at NYU, where she has a faculty appointment as clinical associate professor.
Dr. Marchetta has recently completed her term as a member on the ACR Committee on Finance. She says what she would like to gain from her experience as a board member “is simply the opportunity to make a contribution to a great organization. I feel truly honored to have been asked to serve on the board, and hope that I ‘can do for my country’ now, after all the years of professional support the ACR has provided for me.”
Rodolfo Molina, MD, began his private practice in San Antonio, Texas, after being honorably discharged in 1988 as a lt. colonel in the Air Force. Dr. Molina is the president and founder of the South Texas Association of Rheumatologists, president of Arthritis Associates, PA, in San Antonio, and a member of the Bexar County Socioeconomic and Legislative Committee.
For the last three years, Dr. Molina has served as chair of the Insurance Subcommittee, member of the Committee on Rheumatologic Care, and member of the Affiliate Society Council. Having served on many ACR committees and subcommittees, Dr. Molina says, “it is an honor to be asked to serve as a board member, where I can humbly share my experiences dealing with an ever-changing landscape of healthcare reform and add a voice from a clinical and practicing perspective. I hope to learn from my colleagues how to help move this organization forward.”
The ACR board of directors is composed of 19 voting members and two ex-officio members. Duties of the board include supervising, controlling, and directing the business and affairs of the ACR, its committees, and its publications; actively promoting the ACR’s purpose; and supervising the disbursement of its funds. To learn more about the ACR board of directors, visit www.rheumatology.org/about and click on “Leadership.”
