The Congress of Chiropractic State Associations held their annual convention in Scottsdale Arizona November 4-6, 2010 and made history. Of the three major national associations in Chiropractic, the ACA, ICA and COCSA, the Congress became the first of the three to elect a female president. Never before in the history of the profession has a women been chosen to lead a major national association.
Dr. Kate C. Rufolo was duly elected by the membership at the annual business meeting on Saturday November 6, 2010. Dr. Rufolo has served on COCSA for the last 6 years and prior to that had been elected the first female president of the Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association. Dr. Rufolo noted that COCSA’s history has always been about providing a voice and neutral ground for the profession to interact regardless of politics or philosophy and based on that it was not a surprise that COCSA would be the first to elect a female president.
Dr. Rufolo stated that “It is exciting to break glass ceilings and to open up avenues as our profession continues to grow.” Her plans during her term are to continue to dedicate COCSA as the voice of the states and expand its reach. Dr. Rufolo as an ambitious agenda for the Congress including strategic planning for the profession and also signing a Community Covenant with the Military. She said, “At this time the profession has unity of purpose if not unification and until that time, the three major national associations serve a vital purpose and that does not preclude us from working together – one voice – one message. COCSA has 97% membership at this time as the Association for State Associations. We have by proxy the field doctors who rely on those states associations. By providing a conduit for information and a voice for the states, here is where the momentum for change will come. Our states are the boots on the ground…this is grass roots.”phies, and the ability to rigorously assess the state of evidence regarding safety and efficacy of various CAM therapies. With this education in hand, students may then pursue career options related to research (advanced study leading to the doctorate degree), policy and administration (in government or the non-profit sector), or continue their training in one of the health professions.
Pleased with the new collaboration, NYCC Executive Vice President and Provost Dr. Michael Mestan said, “We welcome the opportunity to partner with a university the caliber of Georgetown, and are enthused at the prospect of training such capable students with expressed interest in natural healthcare.”