The Adolescent Health Committee (AHC) is committed to improving the health of teens ages 12-21 in the District of Columbia. Major activities include: 1) promoting collaborative relationships with school health and advocacy committees, federal and state agencies, professional and research organizations, private foundations and advocacy groups; 2) providing technical assistance, consultation and continuing education to community providers in content areas that emphasize the needs of adolescents; and 3) developing and implementing projects which will improve health outcomes for adolescents. The Committee developed in 2007 the AAP-DC Chapter's position statement on mandatory HPV vaccination. The AHC is also partnering with Metro TeenAIDS to identify youth at risk for HIV and improve the quality of HIV prevention education in the District's schools. If you are interested in working with the Adolescent Health Committee or have ideas for future projects, please contact Kirsten Hawkins at hawkinskirsten@hotmail.com.

The Advocacy Committee was conceived in December 2007 in response to the growing advocacy efforts of the DC Chapter of the AAP. Our goal is to facilitate ongoing advocacy efforts on the local and national level. Our first project will be to create the DC Advocacy Action Network (DAAN), modeled off of the Federal Advocacy Action Network (FAAN), in order to increase awareness of current issues and connect members with opportunities to be active advocates for children in DC and nationally. If you are interested in working with the Advocacy Committee or have ideas for future projects, please contact Candice Chen at candicepchen@hotmail.com.

The role of the Chapter Breastfeeding Coordinators (CBCs) is to work within the DC Chapter and the community on breastfeeding support and promotion. We testified to DC City Council on behalf of the AAP and successfully passed The Child's Right to Nurse Human Rights Amendment Act of 2007. We promote breastfeeding in the first hour post delivery and breastfeeding as the optimal feeding especially in times of disaster. We have worked closely with the DC Breastfeeding Coalition to create the DC Breastfeeding Resource Guide and continue to organize numerous educational activities including grand rounds at Howard University Hospital, Providence and Washington Hospital Center. We are working on an Office of Women's Health funded project to survey Washington DC birthing hospitals and centers regarding their breastfeeding practices and to provide education to help optimize breastfeeding support in these facilities. We collaborated with WIC to conduct a study to identify barriers to breastfeeding among WIC clients and implemented a program to improve the breastfeeding rate of WIC clients. This program includes educating all peripartum staff at Washington Hospital Center and pediatric residents at Children's Hospital, and developing breastfeeding guidelines for Washington Hospital Center. The CBC continues to work with DC WIC to develop guidelines for discussing breastfeeding with families. We also work closely with The BLESS Center, a lactation support program operating through Howard's WIC program.

The Community Access To Child Health (CATCH) Program is a national program of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) designed to improve access to health care by supporting pediatricians and pediatric residents who are involved in community-based efforts for children. There are CATCH facilitators in every state, including DC, who volunteer to provide pediatricians and pediatric residents with training, technical assistance and resources, peer support, as well as networking and funding opportunities. Our wish is that every child in every community has a medical home and other needed services to reach optimal health and well-being, and CATCH exists to support that goal. One pediatrician or pediatric resident can make a difference! Please visit www.aap.org/catch and contact your DC Co-CATCH facilitators now to get started!

The DC AAP Fetus and Newborn Committee (FNC) addresses matters of common interest regarding the perinatal health of neonates in the District of Columbia. It is open to all, and specifically aims to include providers of care from all hospitals in DC, community practitioners who care for newborns, the DC Department of Health (DOH), the March of Dimes, and other organizations whose mission includes health care for newborns. The FNC believes that every neonate in the DC should have the best start in life including optimal care of the mother during pregnancy, care of the newborn after birth, and planning for a safe and healthy home and family environment after discharge. We collaborate regularly with hospitals, providers, nurses and other staff providing newborn care in DC, DC DOH, and other interested organizations.

The Membership Committee contacts new members of the DC Chapter to welcome them to the Chapter. This committee also reaches out to members who have let their DC Chapter membership lapse to encourage them to rejoin.

The Nominating Committee of the DC Chapter meets annually (and as needed) to review and recommend chapter members for elected or appointed roles.

Since children spend a good portion of their lives in school, the impact of the school environment can have significant impact on their health and well-being. The School Health Committee monitors activities of the DC Public School System in order to advocate for health issues that may affect the social, emotional and cognitive development of DC children. This committee looks for opportunities to work with DC Public Schools to improve the educational environment, expand health access and increase health knowledge. Some of the activities of this committee have included: public committee work, testimonial presentation, and media engagement. As the liaison committee to the school system, we welcome members to become a part of this committee to expand our role in improving school health.

The DC AAP's Section on Young Physicians (SOYP) is modeled on the national AAP SOYP. This Section is open to all DC AAP members but is especially geared towards young physicians (by AAP definition — anyone less than 40 years of age, or who has completed their residency training in the past 5 years) and pediatric residents. The SOYP exists to provide a professional home for young physicians in DC who want to be involved in the AAP. The SOYP holds an annual Career Day which is designed to help residents transition to the "real world" of medical practice, give insight into alternative career option and allow for an interactive session on career development. Career Day also helps young physicians who are new to the DC metro area or who are looking to make a career change. Mentorship underlies all the activities that are sponsored by the SOYP as we believe that all pediatricians, no matter what their age, need healthy mentoring relationships to help them succeed professionally and personally.