The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) recently hired Chris Neumann as its new Vice President of Learning and Education, and Kirsta Suggs as its first Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). ASTRO is the world’s largest radiation oncology society, with nearly 10,000 members who are physicians, nurses, biologists, physicists, radiation therapists, dosimetrists and other health-care professionals who specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies.
As the head of ASTRO’s education division, Mr. Neumann leads the medical society’s educational programming, including the nation’s largest meeting dedicated to radiation oncology and the ASTRO Academy, an online library of virtual courses, webinars, and continuing medical education resources. In addition, he oversees efforts to expand and diversify ASTRO’s education offerings, such as increasing access to learning opportunities by providing more live virtual activities and custom-curated OnDemand content.
Mr. Neumann has extensive experience leading education initiatives for medical societies, including tenures as Director of Education at the American Roentgen Ray Society and the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy. In those roles, he oversaw the development, implementation, and evaluation of national medical conferences and online education programs. Prior to that, he served as Interim Executive Director of the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation (now SHAPE America).
“Chris brings to ASTRO critical understanding of the rapidly changing educational landscape for medical professionals,” said ASTRO Chief Executive Officer Laura Thevenot. “He has already implemented enhancements to our upcoming Annual Meeting, such as live-streaming every session for virtual attendees and including on-demand access to all meeting content with every registration.”
Director of DEI
Ms. Suggs is ASTRO’s first DEI Director. She leads the development and implementation of a range of programs and initiatives across the society, including strategies to engage and retain a diverse membership that better represents the patient communities that radiation oncologists serve, as well as efforts to mitigate heath equity disparities for people with cancer and other priority DEI topics that are identified as part of an upcoming cultural audit. Ms. Suggs also oversees ASTRO’s early-career development programs including its Aspiring Scientists and Physicians Program, Minority Summer Fellowship, and Leadership Protégé Pipeline. She is the primary staff liaison to ASTRO’s recently established Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Council.
Before joining ASTRO, Ms. Suggs spent 2 decades as a key contributor to the strategic direction of the Endocrine Society’s DEI efforts, including 15 years focused on establishing career development and DEI initiatives. Ms. Suggs developed the society’s flagship leadership development training programs to expand endocrinology’s pipeline of underrepresented minority scientist and physician leaders, and she also developed educational programming around health disparities and other DEI issues.
“Kirsta brings to ASTRO a rich background in building pathways to support individuals from underrepresented minority communities in medicine and science,” said Ms. Thevenot.
