About OTIS

Chair:
Mara Gaudette

Duties:
The Abstract Committee evaluates all abstracts submitted for poster and platform presentation at the OTIS annual meeting and selects abstracts to be presented. The abstract selection process is held each year in the Spring before the annual meeting in June.

Co-Chairs:
Lauren Kozlowski
Christy Pratt

Duties:
The Education Committee is responsible for selecting topics and speakers for webinars throughout the year and the Lunchbox Session at the Annual Meeting. They also coordinate and send out a quarterly Research Newsletter.

Co-Chairs:
Lauren Kozlowski
Beth Kiernan

Duties:
The Fundraising Committee works to identify and pursue avenues which will help to financially support the work of OTIS/MotherToBaby.

Co-Chairs:
Claire Coles
Anna Pupco

Duties:
The Meeting Planning Committee will be named in the Spring of each year, for the following year’s meeting. The Executive Director serves as Chair of the Meeting Planning Committee, and will be responsible for coordinating the planning activities, providing continuity and procedural support, and working with the other members of the committee on the meeting program. Additional members of the committee will include but not be limited to OTIS representatives who may be located near the meeting site. The Meeting Planning Committee will also have responsibility for soliciting meeting sponsorships and may designate meeting planning committee members to pursue these sponsorships.

Co-Chairs:
Lori Wolfe
Ashleigh Blomfield Villarba

Marketing Duties:
The Marketing Committee works to actively market and promote OTIS to target audiences and potential partners.

Website Duties:
The Website Committee is responsible for reviewing all new updates or additions to the OTIS website and approving these before submission to the webmaster for uploading. The Website Committee also reviews the content, appearance, functionality, and appeal of the website and recommending upgrades or revisions to the Board of Directors. The Website Committee will also monitor web activity through the webmaster and provide statistics on number of hits with the semi-annual committee report.  The Website Committee will also monitor and approve listserv requests and monitor and respond to emails sent to webmaster@mothertobaby.org.

Co-Chairs:
Myla Ashfaq
Reka Muller

Duties:
The Membership Committee maintains criteria for OTIS individual membership and participation in the OTIS National Routing System for TIS. The Membership Committee facilitates communication between individual TIS and OTIS as an organization.

Chair:
Sarah Običan

Duties:
The Nominations Committee is responsible each Fall for soliciting nominations for positions that will become vacant on the Board of Directors for the upcoming year. Nominations of suitable candidates are submitted for a vote to the membership in the Spring of the year of the election. The Elections Committee calls for the vote, receives and qualifies ballots, and announces results to the Board of Directors and the membership.

Co-Chairs:
Beth Conover
Tony Scialli  

Duties:
The Public Affairs Committee is responsible for selecting public health or current event topics that are of relevance to the mission of OTIS, and outlining the committee’s stance or recommendations on these topics either through published position papers, or other media. The Public Affairs Committee may also encourage or support research projects or other activities that address these public health concerns.

Chair:
Rogelio Perez-D/Gregorio  

Duties:
The Occupational and Environmental Committee is a subcommittee of the Education Committee.  Their aim is to assist in creating educational fact sheets regarding occupational and occupational exposures. 

Co-Chairs:
Robert Felix
Debra Kennedy

Duties:
The Research Committee is responsible for searching for and proposing funded research opportunities and providing input for research opportunities as subject matter experts. They will also collaborate to write position papers when deemed appropriate.

The Research Committee organizes and conducts two annual meetings for the Research Committee and Research Coordinators, one during the annual scientific meeting in June, and one freestanding meeting in January.

Lactation Research Committee:
The Lactation Research committee is another subcommittee of the Research Committee that was formed from volunteers at the Mid-Year Research Team meeting on January 27, 2008. The subcommittee is charged with the responsibility to develop a framework for conducting and/or collaborating in lactation studies.

Chair:
Tina Chambers 

Duties:
The Scientific Advisory Committee is a subcommittee of the Research Committee. It is comprised of 10 members representing both ENTIS and OTIS. The subcommittee is responsible for developing a process for building a partnership between ENTIS and OTIS that would include the establishment of a formal guidance document to maximize the benefits of collaborative research between the two organizations, while maintaining their core missions of research, education, and service. The advisory committee will also provide strategic advice on all ENTIS/OTIS collaborative research endeavors.