OCTOBER 2014 • Vol. 3, Issue 4

Introducing the New Associate Executive Director

Kerry comes to the SMRT with an extensive background in her professional and personal life. Born into a military family, Kerry Crockett was fortunate to have experienced life in several places after her birth in Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey. Finally settling in Augusta, Georgia, Kerry graduated from the Medical College of Georgia with a Bachelor's Degree in Occupational Therapy (OT) in 1993. She spent many years in management in the field of OT before deciding on a career change that took her to the US and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP) in November of 2004. She served as the Executive Director, Meeting Planner and CFO of the 10,000+ member non-profit medical association for nine years before joining the ISMRM/SMRT as the Associate Executive Director in April of this year.

She received her Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation in 2008, Master of Business Administration (MBA) in 2011, Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation in 2012, and Digital Event Strategist (DES) designation in 2013.

She is an active member of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), currently serving on the Global Task Force, and has served on the Medical Meetings Task Force, Membership Committee and Convene (industry magazine) Task Force in the past. She served as a faculty member at the 2014 PCMA Convening Leaders Annual Meeting in Boston presenting: ‘Medical Meeting Planners: Taking Your Virtual and Hybrid Events to the Next Level’. She is also an active member of the American Society for Association Executives (ASAE), currently serving on the Innovation Advisory Team and a member of Meeting Professionals International (MPI). She currently serves on the Client Advisory Boards for the cities of Montreal and San Antonio and previously served on the Vancouver Client Advisory Board from 2008 – 2013.

She has been married to her best friend, William for 21 years. She is a dedicated animal lover and has served on the Board of Directors for the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) Humane Society. She is a budding photographer who enjoys traveling, gardening and reading.

Now that she has been on the job for several months and experienced an Annual Meeting, Kerry was asked by Signals:

You have worked for organizations related to the field of medicine before your current position. How does that experience help you in directing the activities of the SMRT?
Working with healthcare professionals and being a part of the medical industry has helped me to stay current on issues that impact not only practitioners, but the industry as a whole. Understanding how these issues impact SMRT members and being proactive in our approach to new initiatives will be important to sustaining relevancy.

What do you see as a priority for the SMRT to work on in the coming months?
Certainly the movement to a broader digital presence is key. The SMRT has done a great job with its digital educational component, but I think there are significant areas of opportunity to be explored. Balancing the needs and wants of our members with available resources will be challenging, but in my opinion, this will have the greatest impact.

Do you see a long term goal or project that the SMRT leadership should address?
I think finding appropriate opportunities for collaboration with other groups and organizations should be a long-term, ongoing goal for the SMRT. This can expand the reach of the SMRT while making the most effective use of existing resources. However, this effort should be driven from a strategic point of view and one that firmly aligns with the SMRT vision and mission.

What do you like best about working with the SMRT?
The wonderful, dedicated volunteers and members that I have the pleasure of interacting with on a daily basis! Their passion for the SMRT and its mission is contagious and I’m in awe of the countless hours that our volunteers donate to make the SMRT what it is – the leader in MR technology and radiography education.