AMC is excited to announce that Wendy-Jo Toyama, MBA CAE, will join AMC’s management team as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM). Wendy will replace Steve R. Smith, MS CAE, who currently serves in the position, when he transitions to the role of CEO of AMC on April 1, 2020.
“AMC is very fortunate to have Wendy join our team,” says Steve Smith. “We are excited by the expertise she brings with her extensive background in healthcare association management and success leading multidisciplinary teams. I am confident that AAHPM will benefit from her leadership.”
Wendy comes to AMC from the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association (ACPA), where she has served as executive director for 5 years. In that role, she focuses on building collaborative teams, increasing revenue and membership, and establishing a culture of philanthropy. She also provides instruction to orthodontic residents as adjunct assistant professor at the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry. Prior to her work at ACPA, Wendy was the senior vice president of membership, tripartite relations and marketing at the American Dental Association, leading a team focused on membership operations, marketing, dental society support, members’ insurance and retirement programs, and diversity initiatives. She began her association career leading marketing and communications for the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago.
Wendy holds a master’s of business administration degree from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and is the immediate past chair of the American Society of Association Executive’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She earned a bachelor’s of arts from Indiana University (IU) and was awarded the Leanne Grotke award in 2018. This honor is bestowed on living persons whose service has made exceptionally outstanding contributions to IU’s women’s athletics program and is the highest honor of its kind given by the university.
About her new position, Wendy says, “I am honored to join AMC and have the opportunity to serve AAHPM. I was immediately drawn to AMC’s supportive culture and the dedication and passion that the AAHPM team members have for the work that they do.”
About the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM)
AAHPM is a professional organization for physicians specializing in hospice and palliative medicine, nurses, and allied healthcare providers. Since 1988, the Academy has dedicated itself to advancing hospice and palliative medicine and improving the care of patients with serious illness. AAHPM has been a client partner of AMC since 1999.