Up Front

By Douglas G. Franklin
MSAA President and CEO

Douglas G. Franklin

In this edition of The Motivator, our annual Research Update focuses on the FDA-approved and experimental therapies for MS. Much of the study data comes from two medical conferences that are held each spring: the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Annual Meeting and the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC) Annual Meeting. As always, MSAA was an active participant in these conferences and we are pleased to be able to share this information with you.

I am also pleased to announce that MSAA is marking its 40th year of service to the MS community.With humble beginnings as a grassroots organization serving the Philadelphia area, MSAA has grown into a national organization with six regional offices, serving more than 50,000 people each year. Today, MSAA continues to grow as a national leader in the MS community. In addition to our many programs and services that we provide, we are also one of the founding members of the MS Coalition, an affiliation of independent MS organizations dedicated to the enhancement of the quality of life for all those affected by MS.

We continue to increase our educational outreach through our regional offices to provide programming that is informative, objective and balanced.We are expanding our online presence with an updated website as well as the use of on-demand videos, webcasts and social networks. Over 300,000 people visited our website last year and more than 27,000 logged on to view one of our 28 educational videos. As we continue to move forward, it is my hope that with today's innovations in technology we will be able to serve more people in more places than ever before.

In closing, I want to thank all of our donors who have made this growth possible. Your support has been so important in helping us to reach such a large number of people - and it is proof positive of how much we can enrich the lives of everyone affected by MS everyday.

Doug Franklin joined MSAA as President & CEO in 1999. He has a distinguished career in nonprofit leadership and is a former national trainer in strategic planning for the Peter Drucker Foundation. A published international expert in social marketing and corporate social investment, he is a graduate of four universities. He currently serves on the National Board of the Key Philanthropic Organizations Committee of the American Society of Association Executives; on the Executive Committee of Health First - America's Charities Board in Washington, DC; and as President of the Multiple Sclerosis Coalition.

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