The Organizational Partnerships Committee Can Support Your Professional Goals

Kristin Schneider, PhD & the Organizational Partnerships Committee

With SBM’s restructuring, the Advocacy Council now includes the Organizational Partnerships Committee (OPC), formally known as the Scientific and Professional Liaison Council. The OPC is tasked with developing strategic relationships with external organizations like the American Heart Association, the Behavioral Medicine Research Council, the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, ecoAmerica, and the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, to highlight behavioral science and further advance public health nationally and internationally. External partners are critical to extending SBM’s impact and increasing awareness of behavioral medicine.

You might be thinking, that is great and important work, but what can the OPC do for me? The OPC often collaborates with our partners on submissions to SBM’s Annual Meeting, and on submissions to our partners’ conferences. Have you ever tried to get a symposium or panel submission to SBM together and been unable to find another SBM colleague who could participate? We can connect you to partners, who could help identify relevant experts from their membership. Ideally, reach out to us 2-3 months before SBM abstract submissions are due so that we have sufficient time to connect you with organizations. Looking for a SBM webinar presenter? We can use this same approach for identifying SBM webinar presenters.

Many of our partners have their own annual meetings and we often promote partner meeting via SBM’s weekly digest and social media posts. Interested in checking out one of our partner’s conferences and don’t know where to start? We can connect you with a member who can answer your questions.

The OPC benefits from our members’ wisdom and experience to help us identify likeminded organizations who can contribute to SBM’s mission. Are you a member of an organization that believes in using science to improve health? Is the organization looking for, or might they benefit from behavioral medicine expertise? The OPC can explore a partnership with that organization with the goal of creating synergy around shared areas of concern, and exponentially grow our reach and influence. Reach out to chair, Kristin Schneider (Kristin.schneider@rosalindfranklin.edu) for more information.

Looking to enhance your service at a national level? We are currently seeking new members to join the Organizational Partnerships committee. Participating on the OPC provides an opportunity to grow your professional network and extend your voice. If you are interested in serving on a SBM committee and are committed to relationship building on behalf of SBM, please reach out to committee chair Kristin Schneider (Kristin.schneider@rosalindfranklin.edu) for information on how you can become involved in the committee.