AAMI has turned to a rising HTM leader to serve as its first vice president of HTM, a move that underscores the association’s commitment to the professionals in that field. Danielle McGeary, who most recently served as the district manager for Aramark’s northeastern region, will join AAMI on April 23, and her priorities will include bolstering the number of qualified HTM professionals and strengthening—and elevating—the field in general.

“I am absolutely ecstatic, humbled, and honored to be selected for this role,” McGeary, 32, says. “Increasing the pipeline of HTM professionals is a problem that I’ve tried to fix in my individual positions, so when I saw that this role had a major focus on solving that issue at a national level, I couldn’t think of more compelling and rewarding work that I could be doing.”

AAMI President and CEO Robert Jensen offered high praise for McGeary, saying she was the ideal candidate to attract a new generation of professionals to the field and to the association.

“Our decision was tough. We had a lot of incredibly talented candidates from a field of more than 250 applicants,” Jensen says. “Through her résumé and a series of interviews, Danielle stood out for her intelligence and creativity. She will also bring a lot of enthusiasm to efforts to attract younger HTM professionals to join AAMI.”

When she joins the association at the end of the month, McGeary says her top priority would be getting to know AAMI’s members, volunteers, and staff. “My ability to succeed in this position depends on my ability to network with the field and the people within AAMI,” she says. “During my first few months, I plan to talk with subject matter experts from across the country, get to know everyone on AAMI’s Technology Management Council, and really build my network so I can understand their concerns, hear their ideas, and formulate a plan from there.”

McGeary—who grew up in a small town in Massachusetts that boasts the longest named lake in the world, Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg—has been with Aramark since January 2017. Prior to that, she was the director of clinical engineering and acting health systems specialist for the VA Boston Healthcare System and VA Bedford Medical Center.

McGeary holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Connecticut. In addition, she has authored articles that have appeared in AAMI’s journal BI&T and the Journal of Clinical Engineering, and has served as president, vice president, and webmaster for the New England Society of Clinical Engineering.

As she leaves the frontlines of the HTM profession, McGeary says she is eager to use the skills and experience she’s acquired working in hospitals day to day to tackle the challenges that lay ahead. “I’m looking forward to being a voice and an advocate for the people supporting healthcare technology on the frontlines and the great work that they do every day,” she says. “I want to make them proud.”