American Chiropractic Association elects leaders, implements governance changes

March 4, 2018—The American Chiropractic Association’s (ACA) House of Delegates (HOD) elected a new leadership team on March 2 at its annual meeting in Washington, D.C. With the election of the new officers, who comprise the Board of Governors (BOG), ACA also implements historic governance changes intended to position the association for the future and engage a new generation of leaders.

The newly elected BOG is composed of five members of the association. The group will elect one of its members to serve as the new ACA president at an upcoming meeting. The BOG includes:

• Karen Konarski-Hart, DC, of Little Rock, Ark. Konarski-Hart served previously as ACA vice president. In addition to her private practice, she has been a proponent of public health throughout her career. She has extensive experience as an EMT/first responder and has championed efforts to have chiropractors certified for federal disaster response teams.

• Robert Jones, DC, of Albuquerque, N.M. Jones served previously on the BOG and is immediate past president of the New Mexico Chiropractic Association. He brings a deep understanding of integrative practice to the association, having worked in several integrated primary care clinics over the course of his career.

• Michele Maiers, DC, PhD, of Minneapolis, Minn. Maiers served previously on the BOG and is a professor at Northwestern Health Sciences University (NWHSU). She also serves as NWHSU executive director of research and innovation and is a principal at the school’s Center for Healthcare Innovation and Policy.

• Kathy Boulet, DC, of Lewiston, Maine. Boulet served previously as the ACA’s Maine delegate and is a past president of the Maine Chiropractic Association. She is a pioneer in hospital privileges for chiropractors and has previously served as a consultant in integrative medicine to Central Maine Medical Center.

• N. Ray Tuck Jr., DC, of Blacksburg, Va. Tuck served previously as BOG chairman and is a member of the Virginia Board of Medicine. He has held numerous positions at his local American Red Cross chapter and also serves on his county’s economic development council.

The new board also includes one member of the public who is not a chiropractor. This person will contribute a new and diverse perspective to the ACA:

• Steven C. Roberts of St. Louis, Mo. Roberts is a business entrepreneur who serves as president of The Roberts Companies, which features holdings in the fields of broadcasting, hotels and real estate. He serves on the boards of several publicly held companies, philanthropic organizations and nonprofits, including Logan University.

The new leadership team reflects governance changes that were approved by the HOD in 2017. Rather than elected governors from specific geographic locations, the new board members were elected based on their expertise and competencies. The changes are designed to make ACA a stronger and more successful organization by enabling it to more quickly act on new opportunities in the health care marketplace, leverage the expertise of its members more effectively and engage a new generation of leaders to guide the association for future success.

For photos of the new leadership team or from the HOD meeting, please email abernat@acatoday.org.

ACA’s annual meeting, the National Chiropractic Leadership Conference (NCLC), is the premier national conference for chiropractors, chiropractic assistants and chiropractic doctoral students. The event brings together the best of chiropractic, including current and future leaders, by exposing them to important professional briefings, cutting-edge education programs and opportunities to meet with elected officials and colleagues.