Creinin, Mitchell D

Darney, Philip D

Gilliam, Melissa

Nichols, Mark

Westhoff, Carolyn L

eScholarship - University of California

UC DavisUC Davis Previously Published WorksTitleTenth anniversary of the Society of Family Planning.Permalinkhttps://escholarship.org/uc/item/8hj3n1jsJournalContraception, 92(4)ISSN1879-0518AuthorsDarney, Philip DCreinin, Mitchell DNichols, Market al.Publication Date2015-10-10eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital LibraryUniversity of CaliforniaContraception 92 (2015) 279–281EditorialTenth anniversary of the Society of Family PlanningThis issue of the journal celebrates the 10th anniversary ofthe Society of Family Planning (SFP). The society has grownfrom 18 Founding members and 33 Charter members (allnamed below) at its founding in 2005 to 591 members in2015. How did we get here?The long-standing belief of two endocrinology leaders,Leon Speroff and Dan Mishell, was that the clinical scienceof contraception did not receive adequate attention by eitherthe Society for Gynecologic (now Reproductive) Investiga-tion or the American Society of Reproductive Medicine; thisconcern prompted a letter from Dr. Speroff to Uta Landy, theNational Director of the Fellowship in Family Planning, andPhilip Darney, the founder of the first fellowship at theUniversity of California, San Francisco, encouraging theestablishment of a new subspecialty society. Further, in2001, Leon Speroff encouraged Mitchell Creinin, AnitaNelson and Carolyn Westhoff to consider how to form anacademic society related to family planning. The ensuinglaunch of SFP resulted from the commitment and vision ofthe Fellowship in Family Planning and the FellowshipDirectors. This group first explored creating a liaison withexisting organizations but concluded by 2002 that we neededto create a separate, interdisciplinary society. Such a societycould give graduated fellows an opportunity to pursue theirresearch interests in abortion, for which there was scantfunding available, and contraception, funding for which wasdwindling from both private and public sources. Severalfellowship directors volunteered to start working on formingthe new society; members of the initial working committeewere Mitch Creinin, Philip Darney, Melissa Gilliam, JackSciarra and Carolyn Westhoff.A very brief history follows: In 2002, the Family PlanningFellowship officially endorsed moving forward with a newsociety that could become a home for the growing number ofFellowship graduates, and the Fellowship Directors agreedto serve as the founding members. Dr. Mitchell Creinin drewup the first blueprints for the society in 2003. The FellowshipDirectors and additional volunteers (in particular, Drs. PhilDarney, Teresa Depineres, Eleanor Drey, Michelle Fox,Melissa Gilliam, Bryna Harwood, Roxanne Jamshidi, JohnJain, Laura MacIsaac, Dan Mishell, Antonia Nicosia, DebNucatola, Jodi Steinauer, Mimi Zieman and Nikki Zite)worked to refine the plans for the new society, and Dr.http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.contraception.2015.08.0050010-7824/© 2015 Published by Elsevier Inc.Sharon Hillier, then President of the Infectious DiseaseSociety of Obstetrics and Gynecology, provided guidance. In2004, the Fellowship Directors adopted the first by-laws ofthe society and approved the first Board of Directors — thatfirst board included Phil Darney as president, MitchellCreinin as President-elect, Carolyn Westhoff as Secretaryand Jack Sciarra as Treasurer. Additional members of theinitial Board of Directors included Paul Blumenthal, MelissaGilliam, Marji Gold, Allan Rosenfield, Lee Shulman andMimi Zieman. The new Society had a logo and officers, butnot consistent funding or any staff. Because of its genesis inthe Fellowship, Uta Landy volunteered the manager of thefellowship at the National Office of the Fellowship in FamilyPlanning to be the initial SFP administrator, who woulddesign and maintain the SFP Web site (www.societyfp.org),solicit memberships and communicate with members aboutdues and meetings.The election of Jack Sciarra as the treasurer was critical tothe successful beginning of SFP — Jack solicited generousinitial donations from all of the founding and chartermembers; this early funding allowed Jack to open the firstSFP bank account, incorporate the society on January 14,2005, and obtain 501c3 status for the new society by June of2005. This work and his guidance on all matters wereessential to move the infant SFP forward. The founders’contributions got SFP started, but more support was needed.Some founders, led by Allan Rosenfield, did not wantsupport to come from the pharmaceutical industry. Allan wasable to arrange a generous contribution to SFP from thePackard Foundation, which further funded the account Jackhad started. Dr. Robert Miller’s evaluation of the Fellowshipin Family Planning recommended establishing competitivepostfellowship research funding. Subsequent funding ob-tained for research and for SFP administrative supportensued, making it possible to hire Pat Anderson as the firstfull-time SFP administrator with office space at SanFrancisco General Hospital. Pat created SFP’s first researchreview panels and a funding system. After funding forresearch became available, SFP membership grew rapidly. InSeptember 2005, SFP held its first annual meeting as aconcurrent meeting with the Association of ReproductiveHealth Professionals (ARHP) and the Planned ParenthoodFederation of America (PPFA) National Medical Committee.E-mail address: westhoff@gmail.com280 Editorial / Contraception 92 (2015) 279–281SFP remains grateful to Wayne Shields, the ARHPExecutive Director, for welcoming and hosting SFP duringits first years. Also, in 2005, Contraception became theofficial journal of the society. Obviously, 2005 was anamazing year.In 2008, SFP moved into its own headquarters inPhiladelphia, and Susan Higginbotham became the Execu-tive Director, a role in which she continues today, surpassingall our expectations as a champion for the growth andeffectiveness of the society. Susan leads a small staff,including Marlo Polonsky, Sarom Sot and Lauren Bruce,who do extraordinary work for SFP and its members. Whilethe initial momentum for society membership cameprimarily from the Fellowship in Family Planning graduates,SFP has realized its initial vision of becoming aninterdisciplinary organization with a growing number offellows among social scientists and other specialties. Therelationship of SFP with the Fellowship remains close as theFellowship funds membership and attendance at theSociety’s annual meeting (the North American Forum onFamily Planning) for current fellows, SFP and the Fellow-ship share research priorities, and SFP funds the research ofgraduated fellows; thus, together, SFP and the Fellowshippromote academic advancement and leadership in the fieldof family planning.Admission to full Fellowship in SFP requires academicproductivity as evidenced by relevant peer-reviewed publi-cations and presentation of research at the annual meeting.The Society’s mission is to advance science in familyplanning, including contraception and abortion, by fundingresearch and promoting the expansion and dissemination offamily planning knowledge. SFP also seeks to cultivate acollaborative and supportive environment to foster scholarlyactivity and leadership in the areas of reproductive health andfamily planning. While competitive research funding beganearly, in 2011, the Board created the SFP Research Fund asthe organization that focuses solely on grant making. Theresearch mission is central to SFP, and thanks to generousdonations, SFP awarded nearly $3 million in its recent, ninthresearch funding cycle earlier this year, with substantialadditional funding awarded for Fellowship research andnew research initiatives. In this issue of the journal, we listpublications that have resulted from past SFP-fundedresearch to give readers an idea of the scope of this work,and the SFP Web site includes more information aboutrecent grant awards. The initial SFP grant programincluded a few small (less than $15,000) and large (upto $120,000) grants; the program today includes more ofthese individual awards plus multisite projects, mentorshipsupport, pilot awards and junior investigator awards, andSFP manages the research grants program for the currentFellows in Family Planning. This year, SFP has furtherexpanded the grants program and provided its very firstawards in community-based participatory research andalso new interdisciplinary innovation grants. In an articlein this issue, Susan Higginbotham describes the formalprocess undertaken in 2014 to define research priorities toguide the SFP grant-making process.SFP fosters the dissemination of family planningknowledge through clinical guidelines published periodical-ly in this journal and publically available on its Web site, andthrough its annual meeting. SFP has published 15 evidence-based clinical guidelines in the past decade, all of which areavailable in Contraception by open access. Notably, therecent guidelines on medical abortion were created as jointguidelines and joint publications with the American Collegeof Obstetricians and Gynecologists.The Society’s annual meeting grew apace with theorganization itself, and in 2011, SFP co-founded the newNorth American Forum on Family Planning annualmeeting in partnership with the PPFA National MedicalCommittee. The Forum is now seeking ways to partneragain with ARHP and will welcome ARHP and itsmembers to the 2015 meeting. In this issue of the journal,you will find a record-breaking number of abstracts to bepresented in November at the Forum. Beyond the grantsprogram and the Forum, a treasured activity of SFP isawarding achievement in this field with three awards: (a) theLifetime Achievement Award, (b) the Allen RosenfieldAward for contributions focusing on international familyplanning and (3) for mentorship, the Robert Hatcher Award;we list past awardees below.In summary, since 2005, SFP has grown from a fewdedicated individuals into a robust organization that includesamong its fellows individuals from many clinical specialtiesand academic disciplines. Much gratitude to the foundersand to the many individuals who continue to donate so manyhours as board members, as committee members and ashardworking grant reviewers (an acknowledgement ofcurrent grant reviewers appears in the August issue ofContraception). Our great gratitude also goes to all thedonors, large and small, who continue to make the workpossible. At this anniversary, we are all amazed at and proudof the great progress of SFP’s first decade. We are delightedto be a part of this organization; SFP fellows are allcommitted to academic pursuits in family planning toimprove the health and the health care of our patients.Congratulations to all SFP members and SFP staff forachieving these many accomplishments.Philip Darney(SFP President 2005–2007)Mitchell D. Creinin(SFP President 2007–2009)Mark Nichols(SFP President 2009–2011)Melissa Gilliam(SFP President 2011–2013)Carolyn L. Westhoff(SFP President 2013–2015)281Editorial / Contraception 92 (2015) 279–281Founding and Charter members of SFPCharter membersAbbey Berenson E. Steve LichtenbergMiriam Cremer Laura MacIsaacAnne Davis Trent MacKayEleanor Drey Catherine MaternowskaAlison Edelman Karen MeckstrothEve Espey Leslie MillerLarry Finer Amita MurthyGwen Gentile Tony OgburnAlisa Goldberg Maureen PaulDavid Grimes Jeff PeipertJeff Jensen Joe SpeidelDeborah Kacanek Michael ThomasAndrew Kaunitz James TrussellLisa Keder Livia WanRadha Lewis Nikki ZiteFounding membersPaul Blumenthal Daniel Mishell, Jr.Lynn Borgatta Mark NicholsMitchell Creinin Eric SchaffPhilip Darney Allan RosenfieldMelissa Gilliam John SciarraMarji Gold Lee ShulmanCassing Hammond Phil StubblefieldBryna Harwood Carolyn WesthoffJohn Jain Mimi ZiemanSociety of Family Planning Lifetime AchievementAward, established in 2005 to recognize scholarship overthe majority of a career promoting the advancement ofclinical or social science within family planning2015: Stanley K. Henshaw, Ph.D.2014: Horacio Croxatto, M.D.2013: Carole Joffe, Ph.D.2012: Anna Glasier, M.D.2011: Philip Darney, MD, M.Sc.2010: Carolyn L. Westhoff, M.D., M.Sc.2009: Jacqui (Jacqueline) Darroch, Ph.D.2008: Sheldon Segal, Ph.D.2007: Daniel R. Mishell, Jr., M.D.2006 Leon Speroff, M.D.2005: David Grimes, M.D.Allan Rosenfield Award for Lifetime Contributions toInternational Family Planning, established in 2007 to payhomage to the exceptional research, authority and dedicationof the award’s first recipient, SFP founding board memberDr. Allan Rosenfield.2015: Willard Cates, Jr., M.D., M.P.H.2014: John J. Sciarra, M.D., Ph.D.2013: Paul Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.H.2012: Rebecca Gomperts, M.D., M.P.P.2011: Aníbal Faúndes, M.D., Ph.D.2010: Herbert B. Peterson, M.D.2009: J. Joseph Speidel, M.D., M.P.H.2008: Paul Van Look, M.D., Ph.D.2007: Allan Rosenfield, M.D.Robert A. Hatcher Family Planning Mentor Award,established in 2013 in recognition of the extraordinary role ineducating and mentoring family planning health providersplayed by the award’s first recipient, Dr. Robert A. Hatcher.2015: Mark D. Nichols, M.D.2014: Marji Gold, M.D.2013: Robert A. Hatcher, M.D., M.P.H.Society of Family Planning, current and past members ofthe Board of DirectorsDanielle Bessett, 2013–presentPaul Blumenthal, 2005–2007Sonya Borrero, 2013–presentMitchell D. Creinin, 2005–2011Carrie Cwiak, 2011–presentPhilip D. Darney, 2005–2010Eve Espey, 2008–presentLawrence Finer, 2008–2014Melissa Gilliam, 2005–2015Marji Gold, 2005–2011Bryna Harwood, 2008–2013Susan Higginbotham, ex-officio, 2008–presentDavid Hubacher, 2014–presentMichelle Isley, 2010–2014Anu Kumar, 2014–presentTessa Madden, 2008–2015Mark Nichols, 2008–2013Maureen Paul, 2012–presentTina Raine-Bennett, 2014–presentAllan Rosenfield, 2005–2008John J. Sciarra, 2005–2011Lee P. Shulman, 2005–2008Stephanie Teal, 2009–presentJames Trussell, 2007–2015Tracy Weitz, 2011–2013Carolyn L. Westhoff, 2005–2008, 2011–presentBeverly Winikoff, 2009–2014Miriam Zieman, 2005–2008Nikki Zite, 2007–2015

Tenth anniversary of the Society of Family Planning.

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