Our History
The Rheumatologic Dermatology Society, originally known as North American Rheumatologic Dermatology Society (NARDS), was formed in 2006 by a core group of American and Canadian dermatologists as an outgrowth of several decades of collaboration at international conferences with our European and Asian colleagues with Richard Sontheimer as Founding President.
The Society’s founding members and current leadership remain committed to maintaining a comprehensive and dynamic web-based tool for anyone interested in cutaneous rheumatologic diseases. We encourage dermatologists and other physicians and professionals interested in this subspecialty to work with us and become a member of RDS.
RDS Leadership Team & Committees – 2022/2023
President:
Ruth Ann Vleugels
President Elect:
Alisa Femia
President Elect In Waiting:
Joe Merola
Secretary/Treasurer Elect:
Michelle Min
Director-at-Large:
Ben Chong
Director-at-Large:
Anna Haemel
CME Ambassador:
Tony Fernandez
CME Ambassador:
Ben Chong
Director, Rheumatologic Dermatology Society CME Consensus Conference:
Matilda Nicholas
Immediate Past President:
Nicole Fett
COMMITTEES
Finance Committee:
Jeff Gehlhausen, Avrom Caplan, Scott Elman
Membership/Nominating Committee:
Noelle Teske, Lauren Graham, Sarah Lonowski, Neda Shahriari
Research Committee:
Mehdi Rashighi, Allen Ho, Janice Tiao, Daniel Mazori, Sarika Ramachandran, Flavia Fedeles
Resident & Fellow Committee:
Heather Jones, Christina Lam 2024, Christopher Richardson, Jennifer Yeh, Zachary Holcomb
Website/Social Media/Outreach Committee:
Matilda Nicholas, Anne Marano, Abraham Korman, Matthew Helm
Editorial Board for website educational content Committee:
Vicky Werth, Rick Sontheimer
Annual Meeting Committee:
Katharina Shaw, Dustin Taylor, Andrea Maderal
