SWSO members can actively engage to foster regional, national and global advocacy for our profession by serving as a Component Advocacy Liaison (CAL)

As constituents of the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO), the SWSO strives to support our allied affiliation. We share core values, of which together, serve to advance the art and science of orthodontics through education, advocacy and research. By means of our shared initiatives, we as Orthodontic specialists and members of both, the SWSO and the AAO, actively engage to foster regional, national and global advocacy for our profession. This is why the AAO has now introduced its National Advocacy Network, or NAN.

The National Advocacy Network (NAN), established by the Council of Government Affairs (COGA) in the fall of 2022, aims to maximize AAO member grassroots influence across the United States and Canada, for offense and defense relating to AAO advocacy priorities. In other words, the NAN will work to enhance the Orthodontic specialty and protect health and safety via the advocacy efforts inclusive of data-driven policy the AAO can support.

The NAN plays a vital role in facilitating the exchange of transformative information within our profession to government officials and key decision-makers, which in turn, promotes increased awareness and development to the orthodontic specialty. This collaboration, which the NAN allows for, will ultimately add scale to the AAO’s and SWSO’s shared mission of furthering education, advocacy, opportunities and research within our community.

Currently, the AAO is seeking leaders willing to represent the national Orthodontic community as key points of contact for NAN. If you are interested in joining, please reach out to AAO’s Grassroots and Digital Advocacy Specialist, Kim VanVeen, by sending an email to KVanVeen@aaortho.org. Candidates will be considered and selected for service beginning early 2023.