President’s Letter from Bill Steinbach -Reflections on My Presidential Term

When I first wrote to you two years ago, it was an exciting time to be part of PIDS. Thanks to dedicated efforts led by my predecessors, our Society had grown in membership, financial position, staff, and initiatives. I identified three areas of focus for my presidential term that connected my leadership vision with our members’ ongoing needs. The goal was to put an emphasis on compensation, workforce and committee efficiency that would enable PIDS to continue its upward trajectory.

Two years is both a long time and a short time (unquestionably, these past 10 months belong in the “long” category). I am pleased to report on the progress we have made in those focus areas as my term rockets toward its IDWeek conclusion. There are efforts that have been slow to get launched (e.g., a compensation white paper) and efforts that we have gotten off the ground rather quickly (e.g., PIDS Advocacy Task Force).

Before I pass the baton over to my successor, Deb Palazzi, for the next stages, I hoped to share with you some of our successes as well as challenges that lie in the “intriguing” times ahead.

• Committee restructure – We streamlined our committees from nearly 20 down to a dozen while seeding each with a liaison from the Board of Directors, CORE (formerly IDA&E), and staff to keep everything mission-focused and moving forward. The goal was to increase support of each committee and highlight what each needed for success. Refinement is ongoing, though this has enabled us to work smarter.
• Compensation revitalization – We weathered some prior stops and starts to finally develop a plan to advance our compensation efforts. Over the last several months, a group of dedicated PIDS members have worked, and build upon what other subspecialties have done, to formulate a comprehensive and peds ID-specific survey to gather the data necessary for our field. This survey is coming out shortly and will inform a white paper that we aspire to present at IDWeek 2026.
• FPIDS revision – We heard from those who had looked at the guidelines to becoming a Fellow of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society and asked for clarification and/or is there a place here for me. The board spun up a task force to review and make recommendations to make sure FPIDS is clear, desirable, and available.
• Workforce investment – We are all hands on deck to grow our specialty, which includes participating in events with those organizations, outside of PIDS, with an aligned vision. Our work has included co-sponsoring the pediatrics section at the National Medical Association Annual Convention and sponsoring a session at the Latino Medical Student Association Conference. Additionally, we contracted with a firm to host our job board, and though it is still undergoing improvements, we hope it will be a benefit to job seekers and posters, alike.
• Advocacy efforts – For the first time in our Society’s history, we have a dedicated team leading our advocacy. The PIDS Advocacy Task Force is assessing sign on letters from partner organizations, drafting letters to elected officials, evaluating discussions at an ACIP meeting or releases from HHS, and developing statements in response. PIDS has also submitted an amicus brief in the case regarding unprecedented immunization changes being led by our friends at AAP.  

This is fantastic progress that we should all celebrate. I do not doubt this incredible collection of dedicated peds ID professionals will keep it going in the days, months, and years to come. Let us be clear-eyed in this moment, however. Science, the vehicle that has eradicated diseases, increased lifespans while decreasing suffering, and brought us to exciting new frontiers of discovery, is under deliberate attack. How we weather this tumultuous period is the big unknown. But we will face it together.

It was a deep professional honor to be in the President’s chair these past two years and work with so many colleagues whom I call friends. I look forward to continuing to support Deb, the entire membership, and peds ID after my term concludes. Thank you for placing your confidence in my abilities to steer our ship. See you in Atlanta!