Hello again, this is Audrie Tornow with your April edition of the Alliance Connect. The past month has brought some interesting topics to the Alliance online communities where your peers are waiting to hear from you, so stop by with your morning cup of coffee or tea. ☕🍵

What else has been going on over the last few weeks? 📅

• The 2025 Mentorship Program is accepting applications and with limited spots, you will want to lock in this opportunity as soon as possible. Learn more information about the six-month long program.
• Hopefully you’ve already blocked your calendars for Sept. 8-10 to attend the Alliance Industry Summit in Philadelphia. A huge thank you to conference chair Amanda Kaczerski, co-chair Annette Schwind and the entire AIS committee for their great work on designing an impactful conference. The Call for Abstracts is currently open and the deadline to submit is May 2. 
• How are we adapting emerging technologies, personalized learning strategies and real-world data into modern healthcare? Learn more about what can be done in the recent Almanac article by Ginny Jacobs and Pam McFadden.
• And Episode 57 of the Alliance Podcast comes to us from Andrea Zimmerman and Bretten Gordeau where they discuss Next-Generation Adaptive Leaning in Continuing Education: The Impact of AI-Synthetic Humans.

Alright, are you ready to travel back in time with me?

In 1985:

• John Hughes' films were dominating the movie theaters with future cult classics like "Weird Science" and "The Breakfast Club". For a glimpse at "The Breakfast Club" cast 40-year reunion from last week, check out their Today Show interview. 
• The Live Aid concert to raise funds for the famine in Ethiopia was held in July. 

In 1986:

• The space shuttle Challenger exploded after liftoff killing all seven crew members, including Christa McAuliffe who would have been the first teacher in space.
• Microsoft has its first initial public offering.
• The Oprah Winfrey Show had its first national broadcast. 

In 1987:

• The New York Giants defeated the Denver Broncos to win Superbowl XXI. 
• "Walk Like an Egyptian" by The Bangles was the number one song of the year. 

In 1988:

• Brought you your last chance to spend Wednesday nights watching St. Elsewhere, a medical drama that shared six seasons of their physicians, residents and staff with viewers, blending entertainment and insights into the lives of healthcare professionals and patients.  
• And if you were inspired to become a physician, the average cost of medical school was $9,500 a year. 

And as we wrap up the 80's let’s not forget that 1989 brought us…

• Tim Berners-Lee proposed a concept for information management that would evolve into the World Wide Web.
• The Oxford Database of Perinatal Trials began publishing online, evolving access to evidence-based information for healthcare professionals.
• And Sesame Street celebrated their 20-season anniversary where they covered the topic of pregnancy and birth. 

It’s time to wrap up, but I can’t forget that April brings us National Pickleball Month, as well as International 🎸Month, Earth Day🌍and Volunteer Appreciation Month. The Alliance would be nothing without the time and dedication of our volunteers, so thank you to all our committee leaders and members, our member section leads and to all of you who have answered the call to help us improve our community in so many ways.  

If the saying that April showers bring May flowers is true, then we are going to be in for a beautiful bounty of blooms when I see you next month. 🪻

With gratitude,

Audrie Tornow, CHCP, FACEHP

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