I would consider it privilege to serve on the Nomination and Awards Committee. Early in my professional career COMSEP provided a phenomenal foundation of professional collaboration and comradery. After being “volun-told” to join the Conga line at my first COMSEP National meeting, I quickly learned that this organization is characterized by a true spirit of joy and passion which transfers to both our educational pursuits and in our care for one another. It has been a gift to build relationships as a member of this organization over the course of a decade. I continue engage heavily with the Research and Scholarship Collaborative and continue to benefit from the inspiring opportunities to join my COMSEP peers/peeps as we create and implement educational workshops, often sponsored by the Research and Scholarship Taskforce/Collaborative.
We are amid a unique moment in our lives as pediatric educators/administrators. My hope is that our membership will continue to refine our efforts as we seek to support and promote the core values of our organization. I see opportunities to serve on the committee as we strive to elevate the kind of leaders and award recipients that are worthy of celebration. As we look toward embracing our core values of teamwork, professionalism, and humanism, I envision opportunities for the Nominations and Award committee to further promote those individuals who most embody these guiding principles. Furthermore, this committee has a role in giving attention to the diversity of those being recognized which will ultimately allow us to thrive as a membership. I look forward to helping this committee balance some of the traditions of our nomination processes while embracing the opportunities to reimagine how we can best identify and bring forward future leaders and those unsung heroes who are worthy of public recognition.
Hello friends.
My name is Maya Neeley and I am so happy to have been nominated to the Nominations and Awards Committee. I am a Pediatric Hospitalist at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, the Associate Director of our Pediatrics clerkship, and a college mentor within the medical school, supporting students’ professional identity development and wellness. My clinical interests revolve around improving communication and conveying empathy at the bedside. My educational interests are focused on enhancing mentor/mentee relationships, helping the struggling learner, and creating an optimal learning environment.
I currently serve COMSEP on both the Wellness Collaborative and the DEI Action Team. Through these endeavors and workshop presentations at the annual meetings, I have been grateful for all that I have learned working in partnership with others in sharing ideas, experiences, and feedback.
One of my favorite parts of work and life is celebrating and supporting others. A question I have been sitting with for a long time is how do we better raise each other up? How do we ensure that every COMSEP member feels engaged as a valuable part of this group, and help position them for greater success?
As a member of the Nominations and Awards Committee, I hope to be thoughtful and deliberate about finding ways to do both; encouraging people of different backgrounds and life experiences to bring unique ideas to our organization and honoring people who lead in our endeavors of teaching, scholarship, and administration within pediatric clerkship education. COMSEP has become my academic home and my favorite aspect is the collaborative spirit and welcoming kindness that I saw from my very first meeting. In my role on this committee I hope to continue in that tradition.
Thank you for your consideration!