HeSCA Announces First Canadian President-Elect

Seattle, WA. The Board of Directors of the Health and Sciences Communications Association (HeSCA) is pleased to announce the election of Mr. Bill Peters of Winnipeg, Canada to the position of President-Elect, effective immediately.

Mr. Peters joined HeSCA in 1996, and has presented at several international conferences. His involvement continued - first as a member of the Public Relations committee, then as committee chair. Mr. Peters was elected to the Board of Directors in 1999 and served a 3 year term, culminating as General Chair of the 27th Annual International Conference of Healthcare Communication, held in his native Winnipeg, Canada in June, 2002.

Mr. Peters, Media and Communications Specialist at St. Boniface General Hospital Research Centre, graduated with a diploma in journalism at Red River College in 1983. During his 22-year career he has held numerous public relations and advertising oriented positions in addition to terms on the Boards of organizations such as the Big Sisters’ Association, Jocelyn House Hospice and the Winnipeg Mennonite Elementary School. As testament to his organizational skills, he coordinated the multimedia support for the 4-day XVII International Society for Heart Research’s World Heart Conference - 9 concurrent sessions for 4 days with over 500 presenters. His research photography has been published in many distinguished research journals, including the Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology and Circulation Research. He has published articles as well, including a featured 2 page spread in the Journal of Biological Communication on Lymph Node Evaluation.

Mr. Peters’ success as General Chair of the 27th Annual International Conference of Healthcare Communication led to his inclusion in A/V Video Multimedia Producer magazine’s Top 100 Producers in 2002.

Ron Sokolowski, HeSCA Executive Director, says “We are eagerly anticipating Mr. Peters upcoming HeSCA Presidency. Not only will Bill be the first Canadian President in our forty-five year history, but he will be bringing a unique perspective to the position as the former General Chair of a highly successful HeSCA International conference. We expect Bill's experience, enthusiasm and vision will serve the Association and the International community of health and science communicators exceedingly well.”

Mr. Peters will succeed Mr. Keven Siegert (Phoenix, AZ) as President of the Health and Sciences Communications Association at its annual meeting on June 3 in Seattle, Washington.

As an association of communications professionals, HeSCA is committed to sharing knowledge and resources in the health and science arenas. The foundation for our network is built upon our unique membership which has created opportunities for unlimited exchange of information and support. The Health and Science Communications Association is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.