Women's Leadership Initiative

The AOFAS Women's Leadership Initiative supports and encourages women in foot and ankle orthopaedic surgery. Current programs include the Women's Leadership Awards, the Women's Leadership Scholarship Program, and the Leadership Development Coaching Program.

Women's Leadership Awards

The Women's Leadership Awards honor outstanding female leaders in foot and ankle orthopaedics through two awards:

• The Career Impact Award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated exceptional leadership and contributed to the advancement of orthopaedic foot and ankle surgery. The nominee for this award does not need to be an AOFAS member; however, membership is preferred.
  

• The Career Development Award recognizes the professional aspirations of an early- or mid-career orthopaedic foot and ankle surgeon who demonstrates commitment to the specialty through activities in an employment setting, AOFAS, or other volunteer efforts or consulting work. The nominee for this award must be an AOFAS Active, Candidate, International, or Associate Member in the first 10 years of practice.

Each award winner receives $5,000 and complimentary registration to the 2026 AOFAS Annual Meeting and IFFAS Biennial Meeting. Additionally, both are invited to be podium speakers during the meeting and guests of honor at the Women's Leadership Reception.

Read about the past recipients of the Women's Leadership Awards.

Women's Leadership Development Opportunities

To promote professional growth and female leadership within AOFAS, the Society offers opportunities for women AOFAS members to participate in professional development activities.

Leadership Development Coaching Program

Six women AOFAS members were selected for one-on-one virtual career coaching sessions with an expert advisor from J3P Health, a premier human and organizational development coaching firm specializing in healthcare. Each participant will receive:

• 3 hours of one-on-one virtual coaching sessions with a dedicated J3P advisor. Each participant will work with their advisor to create a custom Individual Development Plan (IDP) to help them work toward their professional goals.

• One grand rounds webinar led by J3P Health Founder and CEO Alan Friedman with the 6 coaching program participants

• 4 additional webinars on core leadership topics (also open to all AOFAS members)

Congratulations to the 2025-26 Leadership Coaching Program Cohort!

About J3P Health

As the premier human and organizational development firm in healthcare, J3P Health develops leaders by strengthening and amplifying individual and team potential for maximum outcomes to deliver superior patient care and operational success. Emphasis is on effective communication, designing and articulating clear goals, organizational alignment for effectiveness, and leadership capacity.

Scholarship Program

Three women AOFAS members were selected to participate in the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA)/University of Southern California (USC) APEX Leadership Conference. Over 5 months, APEX participants built skills to understand their leadership style and strengths, lead high-performance teams, drive organizational change, and navigate difficult conversations.

The Women's Leadership Scholarship covered program registration, lodging, meals, and a stipend for travel-related expenses.

Congratulations to the 2025 Women's Leadership Scholarship Recipients!

The Women's Leadership Initiative is funded through individual and corporate gifts to the Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Foundation.

If You Can See It, You Can Be It

Women in orthopaedics share how their mentors, family, and role models inspired and supported their careers.

Thank you to Treace Medical Concepts, Inc. for their support of this video.