Date: Monday, December 23, 2024
Category: Member News
Season’s Greetings!
As we head into 2025, I’d like to take a moment to savor several of RESNA’s accomplishments over the past year. Among many 2024 highlights:
- RESNA welcomed 457 new members to our community. At its core, RESNA is about connecting assistive technology professionals to share their expertise, so it’s exciting to welcome new voices who will be invigorating our collective conversations.
- We launched 3 types of events that brought our community together in distinctive ways, including 9 IACET CEU webinars, 3 Tech Tuesdays, and 8 Certification Pop-Ups – all of which were new initiatives for us in 2024.
- In addition, RESNA hosted 3 major annual events: the Student Design Challenge, the Developers’ Showcase, and the Colin McLaurin lecture, which featured Ed Steinfeld’s engaging talk on The Evolution of Universal Design.
- All events combined attracted 1,581 attendees, an impressive testament to our vibrant and engaged RESNA network.
- Our certification programs had a remarkable year, welcoming 286 new ATPs and 19 new SMS certificants.
- Behind the scenes, RESNA members contributed 125 volunteer hours to accomplish key maintenance tasks for the ATP and SMS certifications, which included updating the ATP practice exam, conducting item reviews, and hosting standard-setting and form review activities.
- RESNA’s Standards Committee on Assistive Technology for Air Travel published another section of their planned Volume 1. AT-1 Section 3 specifies requirements and test methods for the efficient and safe handling and storage of many different types of mobility devices for passengers who travel with mobility devices on commercial aircraft.
The list goes on and on! My thanks and profound gratitude go out to all the dedicated members, volunteer leaders, and RESNA staff. Your ongoing efforts enable RESNA to thrive across our many programs.
Looking ahead to 2025:
- We are on track to release a new position paper on Adaptive Bicycling, and updates to 3 other position papers!
- Mark your calendar for the RESNA Annual Conference at RehabWeek 2025, which will be held on May 12-16 in Chicago. For me, one of the conference highlights will no doubt be the 2025 Colin McLaurin Lecture by Jean Minkel, one of the most accomplished and respected voices in our field. I can’t wait!
- RESNA’s webinar program will be back, with 5 new webinars planned for 2025.
In the meantime, I hope you have a joyous holiday season filled with happiness and time with your loved ones. Thank you for being part of the RESNA community!
Jim Lenker, PhD, OT/L, FAOTA, RESNA Fellow
RESNA President