New Executive Director Announced for the American Thyroid Association

By August 6, 2024 August 14th, 2024 Featured, News Releases
Pam Mechler

The American Thyroid Association® (ATA®) proudly announces the appointment of Pam Mechler as the organization’s new Executive Director, beginning September 9, 2024. She will succeed Amanda Perl who departed the ATA in May 2024 to become the CEO of the American Society of Human Genetics.

A sincere thanks to the selection committee, generously and expertly led by Victor Bernet, former ATA Secretary and former ATA President, along with Megan Haymart, Sheue-yann Cheng, and the Executive Committee, for carefully reviewing the applications and curricula vitae of numerous highly qualified applicants, narrowing the field to the best and then selecting the person we believe has the talent, skill, ingenuity and dedication to lead the ATA in its stated goal of optimizing thyroid health care for people with thyroid disease, promoting outstanding and groundbreaking thyroid research, and being the world center for thyroid education for patients, providers and researchers. “We are thrilled that Pam Mechler has agreed to join us and I look forward to working closely with our new Executive Director as we guide the next phase of the ATA’s progress in supporting its members, advancing its scientific and clinical goals, and driving forwards advancements for patient treatment and understanding,” said ATA Secretary/COO Chris McCabe.

We especially thank Kelly Hoff for serving with distinction as the interim ATA Executive Director during this critical time before the upcoming Annual Meeting of the ATA in Chicago, 2024. Her contributions were enormous and a shining example of what makes the ATA a great and beloved organization.

Ms. Mechler joins the ATA after a 29-year tenure at the American College of Radiology (ACR), most recently as the Vice President, Strategy Management & Foresight. Prior to that she served as the ACR Senior Director, Association & Meeting Services; Senior Director, Office of Strategic Planning and Business Excellence; and Executive Director for the International Society for Strategic Studies in Radiology (US Office). Strategic planning has been her forte.

When notified of her selection as the new Executive Director of the ATA, Mechler said ” I am honored to step into this role and lead the ATA in achieving its mission serving members and patients. I look forward to working with volunteers and staff while building on the rich ATA history and navigating the dynamic healthcare environment.”

“We strongly believe that Ms. Mechler will be an outstanding leader and driving force for achievement of the mission and goals of the ATA and beyond, limited only by the imagination and resources of the talented members and staff of the ATA”, said ATA President Mike McDermott.

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About ATA

The American Thyroid Association® (ATA®) is devoted to transforming thyroid care through clinical excellence, education, scientific discovery, and advocacy in a collaborative community. ATA is an international professional medical society with more than 1,700 members from seventy countries around the world. The ATA delivers its mission through key endeavors, including:

  • The highly regarded professional journals Thyroid®, Clinical Thyroidology®, and VideoEndocrinology
  • Annual ATA scientific meetings
  • Biennial clinical and research symposia
  • Research grant programs for young investigators
  • Support of online professional, public, and patient educational programs
  • Development of guidelines for clinical management of thyroid disease and thyroid cancer

The ATA promotes thyroid awareness and information through its online Clinical Thyroidology® for the Public (distributed free of charge to more than 12,000 patients and public subscribers) and extensive, authoritative explanations of thyroid disease and thyroid cancer in both English and Spanish. The ATA website www.thyroid.org serves as a bona fide clinical resource for patients and the public who look for reliable information on the Internet.