Vera H. Rigolin, MD, FASE

It is amazing to think how quickly things change – For example, 20 years ago, we were amazed at the miniaturized phone called the flip phone. Now, in addition to talking on the phone, we can text, check email, do our banking, pay for our coffee and take pictures all with this one small “smart” device.

June is a time for many changes. Spring is in the air. The earth comes to life again after a long period of dormancy. For those of us in academic medicine, June is the month we say goodbye to our senior trainees and prepare for the new group to join on July 1. June is also a time for change in the ASE as one president completes his/her term and the other begins. I have the incredible honor to be ASE’s 28 ^th president beginning this June. I first wish to thank Dr. Allan L. Klein for his outstanding term as president. It is leaders like Allan that help make our society great. As I transition from president-elect to president, I still need to pinch myself as a reminder that this is really happening. I would never have imagined 22 years ago when I was changing my role from fellow to attending that I would eventually become president of this vibrant society.

In 1995 when I finished by cardiology fellowship at Duke University, the state of the ASE was as follows:

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  ASE’s president changed from Dr. Julius Gardin to Dr. Alan Pearlman

  
  
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  Membership consisted of 4,887 members; 60% physicians and 40% sonographers

  
  
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  The Scientific Sessions in 1995 was held in Toronto and hosted 1,843 attendees and this was the only live course ASE held

  
  
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  JASE was a bimonthly publication

  
  
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  The organization changed its bylaws to organize an “Intraoperative Council”

  
  
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  The Board charged the organization with “developing a physician’s self-assessment exam” and charged this to the ASEeXAM Parent Committee to begin the process

  
  
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  ASE did not yet have a website or any guideline posters; its small product line included a VHS tape for a “video self-test for two-dimensional, Doppler and transesophageal”

  
  
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  ASE’s Executive Director was Sharon Perry and ASE had five full-time staff

Today, ASE is a vastly different organization with over 17,000 members from all over the world. In addition to our Annual Scientific Sessions, we host live educational conferences in Boston, Florida, Hawaii, and Arizona (moving soon to San Diego, CA) and co-sponsor numerous local conferences around the country. ASE has expanded its international presence by co-sponsoring the Echo ASE ASEAN meeting and the World Summit on Echocardiography meeting. ASE also offers numerous online educational opportunities through ASEUniversity.org as well as other educational products. ASE has enjoyed this incredible trajectory due to strong leadership and sound business decisions and by embracing change. We cannot rest on our laurels, however. The world continues to change at a dizzying pace. How is ASE keeping up? Read on to learn about a few of the exciting changes that will keep ASE in the forefront for the future: