National Plastic Surgery Society Selects New Executive Director.

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill., July 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Thomas L. Adams, CAE, has been selected as the new Executive Director of the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons (ASPRS), a national organization of over 5,000 board-certified plastic surgeons, founded in 1931. Adams was most recently the president/chief executive officer of the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) in Denver, Colorado and Washington, D.C.

"We are delighted to have one of the most talented association executives in the medical society field," says Paul Schnur, MD, ASPRS President. "He brings to us a tremendous amount of experience in medical society management."

For 10 years, Adams served as executive vice president of the State Medical Society of Wisconsin prior to assuming his position at MGMA. Previously, he served as director of the Office of Governmental Affairs for the American Society of Anesthesiologists in Washington, D.C. From 1978-83, he was director of the Department of Governmental Affairs with the North Carolina Medical Society in Raleigh.

"As executive director of ASPRS, I will work hard to promote the field of plastic surgery and guide the society into the new millennium," says Adams. "ASPRS is an extraordinary medical society with talented members specializing in all areas of cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. I am looking forward to being part of this exciting medical specialty."

Adams has served on the board of directors and various committees of the American Association of Medical Society Executives and the American Society of Association Executives. He is a former member of the American Medical Association Advisory Committee on Group Practice Physicians and the University of Colorado Executive Advisory Board for their masters in health care administration program. Adams succeeds Dave Fellers, CAE, who leaves ASPRS after eight years to join the American Association of Neurological Surgeons in Park Ridge, Illinois, as Executive Director.

ASPRS represents 97 percent of all physicians certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS). ASPRS includes physicians certified in plastic surgery by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Consumers may call the Plastic Surgery Information Service at 800-635-0635 or visit the ASPRS web site at www.plasticsurgery.org to find a plastic surgeon in their area.