President’s Message

It’s a new year at the MAC! As we continue balancing life amid a global pandemic, we thank the dedicated members of the MAC board and committees who persist in volunteering their time and sharing their knowledge and expertise to advance and protect the audiology profession. Now more than ever, we have our sights set on a more independent, active, and collaborative future. This year we will see greater coalition transparency, exciting legislative initiatives, new educational opportunities, networking events, a renewed commitment to student-oriented programming, and an impressive lineup of speakers at the annual MAC conference in Lansing this October. We hope you are both excited by the opportunities and motivated by the challenges on the horizon for the MAC and audiologists in Michigan.

As you may know, the coalition hired lobbyist, Bob DeVries in 2020 to guide our efforts in representing Michigan audiologists on a variety of legislative state matters. Following two successful and active years, we hosted our first annual MAC Advocacy Day in March in an effort to more directly involve our membership in the legislative process. As part of a more transparent future, we encourage you to consider participating in future Advocacy Day events and visit the newly re-vamped Legislative Center of our website for a full accounting of prior, current, and future legislative initiatives. Additionally, we invite you to interact directly with Bob and the committee at legislation@michiganaudiologycoalition.org.

While the coalition is dedicated to protecting our continued legislative efforts, we recognize our activism comes at a very financial cost. This is why MAC must continue to expand its base of contributing members in order to represent the interests of the practicing professionals in our state. Given the important nature of our mission, we encourage you to actively participate in our upcoming membership drive and survey as we continue to grow and navigate together new realities for professionals in Michigan.

As always, the coalition implores you to consider going one step further to volunteer your skills, talents, and passions on a MAC committee. If there is anything you would like to see from the MAC, please join us today to make it happen. The coalition additionally encourages volunteer nominations if you’re aware of a MAC member who may be well-positioned on a committee or as a board member. For a full listing of our current committees please visit the ‘About’ section of our website. We look forward to working with you in the years to come!

Nicole Velander, Au.D.
2022-2023 Michigan Audiology Coalition President