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Are you passionate about advancing diversity in dermatology and eager to make a meaningful impact? We invite you to be a part of our journey to grow our community of professionals dedicated to skin of color dermatology.

Be a Champion for Diversity

Take the lead in our SOCS Member Recruitment Rally and invite your dermatology colleagues to join our dynamic community. This is your opportunity to make a significant impact and win exciting prizes along the way!

Grand Prize: The member with the highest number of successful referrals will receive a full year of free SOCS membership dues.
Second & Third Place: Win exclusive SOCS-branded merchandise that proudly showcases your dedication to our mission.

By recruiting new members, you're not just expanding our society; you're helping to elevate the global reach and influence of dermatology focused on skin of color.

How to Participate

Refer Your Colleagues: Share the graphic below via text or email with your dermatology peers. It includes a QR code that links directly to our membership application page and ask them to apply for membership using your name as a referral.
SOCS will Track Your Referrals: Make sure your referrals enter your name in the designated field on the membership form, so we can credit you for the referral and add them to your referral tally.
Submit Potential Members: Alternatively, use the fillable form at the bottom of this page to submit information for potential members. Our SOCS membership team will follow up directly with the person you mention below to invite them to join the society as a member.

Join Us in Making a Difference

We are eager to welcome new members into the SOCS community. Together, we can foster greater inclusion and drive growth in the field of dermatology.

Good luck to all participants! Let’s transform the future of dermatology, one referral at a time.

Share the graphic below with your colleagues today and start making a difference with SOCS!

Rally with SOCS and Refer Your Dermatology Colleagues Today!

21st Annual SOCS Scientific Symposium

Join us for the 21st Annual Skin of Color Society Scientific Symposium on March 6, 2025, in Orlando, Florida. Delve into cutting-edge discussions and advancements in dermatology as we explore crucial topics related to skin of color.

Stay tuned for more details and registration information coming this Fall!

#SOCS2025 #SOCSScientificSymposium #SkinofColorSociety #InnovatingforEquity

Agenda – March 5-6, 2025

Registration is required for all events listed below, including ticketed registration where applicable.

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

4:00 PM - 7:30 PM

*NEW* Early Registration and Badge Pick-up

Thursday, March 6, 2025

7:30 AM	Registration and Badge Pick-up Desks Opens
8:00 AM - 9:30 AM	Medical Student Breakfast
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM	iPoster Galleries: viewing in Foyer
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM	SOCS & SOCS Foundation Annual General Business Meeting (Members only. Lunch for registered attendees.)
12:45 PM - 5:45 PM	21st Annual SOCS Scientific Symposium: Innovating for Equity
12:55 PM - 1:35 PM	Keynote Session
1:35 PM - 2:16 PM	Presentations
2:16 PM - 2:36 PM	Break 1: Featured iPoster Session (1 of 2)
2:36 PM - 2:40 PM	Innovation Grant Awards Announced
4:07 PM - 4:27 PM	Break 2: Featured iPoser Session (2 of 2)
4:27 PM - 5:22 PM	Presentations
5:22 PM - 5:42 PM	Closing Invited Speaker: Seemal R. Desai, MD, FAAD
5:42 PM - 5:45 PM	Scientific Program Closing Remarks: Victoria H. Barbosa, MD, MPH, MBA, FAAD
5:45 PM - 6:15 PM	Grant and Award Announcements by SOCS Outgoing President
6:15 PM - 8:00 PM	Reception

Location/ Venue

Hyatt Regency Orlando, 9801 International Dr, Orlando, FL, Room: Regency Ballroom S

Faculty

2024-2025 Scientific Committee

Co-Chairs

Crystal Aguh, MD, FAAD

Cesar Antonio Virgen, MD, PhD, FAAD

Members

Bryan T. Carroll, MD, PhD, FAAD

Janet A. Fairley, MD, FAAD

Marwa Hakimi, MD

Courtney M. Johnson, MD, PhD, FAAD

Jun Kang, MD, FAAD

Lynn McKinley-Grant, MD

Vineet Mishra, MD, FAAD

Stavonnie Sheri Patterson, MD, FAAD

Maritza I. Perez, MD, FAAD

William D. Shipman III, MD, PhD, FAAD

Neelam Ajit Vashi, MD, FAAD

Jessica Shiu, MD, PhD

Olayemi Sokumbi, MD

Morvarid Zehtab, MD

Our Sponsors

CHAMPION

Johnson & Johnson

ALLY

Bristol Myers Squibb

Eli Lilly and Company

Incyte

PARTNER

UCB, Inc.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION

EltaMD

Interested in becoming a sponsor?

View our sponsorship prospectus linked below

Corporate Support Guide

Contact: Kimberly Miller, Executive Director at

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Registration

Online registration for this event will open December 2024.

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

4:00 PM - 7:30 PM

*NEW* Early Registration and Badge Pick-up

Thursday, March 6, 2025

7:30 AM

Registration and Badge Pick-up Desks Opens

Abstract Presentations & iPoster Galleries

iPoster Online Live Sessions: February 27 - March 4, 2025

For iPoster gallery only, poster uploads are due December 11, 2024 by 11:59 a.m. (CST). Please refer to your iPoster upload instructions emailed to you for more details.

Activity Timeline and Status

Activity	Deadlines	Status
Call for Abstracts	August 1 - October 1, 2024, 12:00 PM CT	Closed
Scientific Committee Review	October - November 2024	Completed
Notifications to Abstract Submitters	November 2024	Completed
Accepted Authors: iPoster Upload	November 15 - December 11, 2024	Active
Featured iPoster Notifications	Late January 2025
iPoster Online Live Chat & Video Sessions (Virtual)	February 27 - March 4, 2025

Selected abstracts will be invited to present at the Scientific Symposium with either an oral abstract presentation or a digital iPoster via iPoster Sessions. Industry partners* will have an opportunity to also create interactive iPoster with various content, including high-resolution images, videos, audio, and more. The Scientific and Industry iPoster Galleries will be available from February 27, 2025, and will remain available for one year after the event.

Participants can engage with the content and leave messages. Authors will have the flexibility to select the iPoster Online Live Session dates and times within the iPoster platform.

Important Information:

iPoster Upload: Starts on November 18, 2024, and ends on December 11, 2024
iPoster Online Live Sessions: February 27 - March 4, 2025
iPosters will be reviewed and rated in December and January, with the top 10 iPosters selected as featured iPosters at the Symposium on March 6th. Notifications will be sent out in February.
Please note that abstract changes are not permitted for submitted and accepted abstracts.
The platform supports interactive multimedia content, and attendees can engage with you virtually during live session chat hours.

Technical Support:

For tutorials, guides, samples, and additional information, please visit the iPosterSessions Resources page for assistance. If you have any questions, please contact the iPoster Support Desk at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with Conference Code: SOCS2025.

*Based on sponsorship level.

Accessibility and Inclusivity:

iPosterSessions enhances accessibility and inclusivity at research events by providing a web-based platform that complies with WCAG and ADA standards, ensuring full participation for individuals with disabilities. The system supports diverse learning styles with multimedia features and promotes inclusivity by eliminating barriers for underrepresented groups. This allows attendees to engage with content from any internet-connected device, making scientific communication more dynamic and equitable. Click here to learn more.

Many of you have given countless hours to SOCS by supporting mentorship, research, advocacy, leadership and ultimately helping to improve outcomes in dermatology patients with skin of color. Thank you for ALL you have done and do to invest in the future of dermatology and culturally competent quality care in the U.S. and abroad.

How will you leave a legacy?

It is estimated that $70 trillion will pass down from older generations to younger generations (and organizations doing incredible work that you share a common vision) over the next two decades. Would you consider joining a prestigious group of your peers—the Theodore K. Lawless, MD Legacy Circle and/or Founders Club today—by identifying SOCS as a recipient of a gift in your estate or retirement planning? Will you let our team know that you have made those plans so we can thank you properly?

If you indicate any gift in your estate or retirement planning, you qualify for the Theodore K. Lawless, MD Legacy Circle and we would like to recognize you and thank you. If that gift is valued at an estimated $25,000 or more today, a Theodore K. Lawless, MD Legacy Circle member also qualifies for the Founders Club—honoring our amazing SOCS Founders. Any donor may join anonymously or by name.

When you let us know that you have made these plans and want to join anonymously, you encourage your peers and other SOCS Foundation donors to also leave a legacy in this manner. We assure you that we will keep your information anonymous. Thank you!

Here is a form to let us know you have left a gift or request more information:

ACCESS FORM

How To Give

Because more and more of your peers are asking questions about how to leave a gift to the SOCS Foundation through estate or retirement planning, we’ve developed some information here that might help. Methods and investment vehicles your peers are leaving a legacy for the SOCS Foundation:

Common Trusts
IRA distributions
Stock options
Property
Bequests
Charitable gift annuities
Charitable remainder annuity trusts
Insurance
Cash gifts
Wills

We have many more resources available upon request and are more than happy to help.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact our team at 630-578-3991 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Why name the legacy circle after Theodore K. Lawless, MD?

He was our nation’s first Black Dermatologist.
He went to several medical schools—ultimately graduating from the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.
He participated in graduate studies at Columbia Medical School and Harvard Medical School.
He studied abroad in France, Austria and Germany after Med School and returned to open a Dermatology practice on Chicago’s South side.
It has been reported his practice was so popular and successful that lines of patients—of all colors—extended out the door and down the block.
He was well known for treating veterans just back from deployment—who often had little money to pay him—for no charge.
He was a well-respected researcher, philanthropist, businessman, and investor.
He helped to start and invested in numerous businesses including banks, life insurance companies and others (that primarily served minority communities) and were very successful—filling vital needs in the Chicago community.
Early in his educational career, he was supported by several Jewish families, and he repaid their loyalties by supporting Jewish and Israeli-based charities and causes over his lifetime through his estate and retirement planning.
His vision for creating and leaving a legacy of his own—through philanthropy and estate and retirement planning—resulted in the equivalent of millions of dollars invested into scholarships and research for Dermatology, medicine in general, museums, children, etc.

Why name the Founders Club after our Founders?

This pioneering group of visionaries deserve to be honored.
They helped to start a medical society that is the Global Leader in Skin of Color Dermatology.
When you add to your legacy, by adding the SOCS Foundation to your estate or retirement plans, you lean into this shared common vision for the future.

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Member Recruitment Rally