As the AOSW 2016 Annual Conference theme says, we are "Oncology Social Workers: A Safe Harbor in the Storm." We lead oncology patients, their caregivers, as well as our interdisciplinary colleagues through the uncertainties of the cancer “storm” using our knowledge and clinical skills to provide support and comfort in a time of disaster. But who leads us?

This year, as part of AOSW’s commitment to cultivating leadership in oncology social work, we are honored to have two distinguished pioneers in the field of psychosocial healthcare, Margaret E. Morhmann, MD, PhD, and Iris Fineberg, PhD, OSW-C. These thoughtful and knowledgeable leaders in the field will share their unique insight and expertise in the field of psychosocial healthcare.

Our Keynote Speaker, Margaret E. Morhmann, MD, PhD, is Professor Emerita of Pediatrics, Medical Education and Religious Studies at the University of Virginia. She received her MD from the Medical University of South Carolina where she eventually became the Director of the Residency Program in Pediatrics, Medical Director of the ICU, and taught ethics and clinical reasoning to medical students. She then accepted a position at the University of Virginia where she received her PhD in religious ethics while simultaneously teaching and practicing in the field of primary care pediatrics. During her subsequent tenure on the University of Virginia faculty, she held joint appointments in the College of Arts & Sciences (Department of Religious Studies) and the School of Medicine (Department of Pediatrics and Center for Biomedical Ethics and Humanities).

Based on her scholarship at the intersection of ethics, religion, and medicine, Dr. Morhmann brings an interdisciplinary perspective to the field of psychosocial healthcare. She is highly sought after as a speaker to a variety of audiences, including physicians, nurses, social workers, theologians and chaplains. We are honored to welcome her as our Keynote Speaker at the 2016 Annual Conference and eager to gain wisdom and knowledge from her unique expertise and experience in the field.

We are further privileged to welcome past president of AOSW, Iris Fineberg, PhD, OSW-C, as our closing speaker. Dr. Fineberg is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor at Stony Brook University’s School of Social Welfare. She began her oncology social work career as a clinician, working with patients and families facing bone marrow and stem cell transplantation, and palliative care. She earned her PhD in Social Work and Sociology from Boston University, receiving a grant from the Project on Death in America, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Cancer Prevention and Control Research at UCLA. She spent five years on the faculty at the International Observatory on End of Life Care at Lancaster University in England. Dr. Fineberg has been the PI on several grants and has taught sociology to social work and medical students and health professionals. Her research interests focus on palliative and end-of-life care, interdisciplinary education and practice, ACP and family conferencing.

Dr. Fineberg’s vast experience and skill in many aspects of psychosocial oncology and end-of-life care provide her with a unique perspective that distinguishes her as a leader in our field. We look forward to all she has to share with us and are honored to have her as our 2016 Annual Conference Closing Speaker.

Registration for the 2016 AOSW Annual Conference will begin in early 2016. Watch your inbox, because you'll receive an email reminder when registration officially opens.