This internationalization bodes well for the future. Our specialty is small. That is both its strength and its challenge. We only need 100 new people a year to maintain our size. Without question, we can do that and maintain our excellence.
Public perception is also an opportunity.
Many in the public do not understand what allergy is. We all joke about the misperceptions of allergy in the lay press, yet that's an opportunity to take control of the agenda, because we are not clearly defined. Through our professional and lay societies, we have an enormous opportunity to educate the public about what we do, and who we are. On our partnership with the College As part of the Academy leadership, I have had the opportunity to work with Bob Miles at the College, and we have worked out an agreement to share our information and to prevent competition from getting out of hand between our two organizations. When you have two organizations with overlapping, but not identical, missions and visions, there is always the possibility of friction.