Donor Spotlight: From resident to Millennium Society Lifetime donor in five years
The AAO-HNS foundation is honored to spotlight Betty S. Tsai, MD, who became a Millennium Society Lifetime donor through her generous pledge of $50,000 in 2013 to the foundation’s Annual Fund.
Betty S. Tsai, MD
The AAO-HNS foundation is honored to spotlight Betty S. Tsai, MD, who became a Millennium Society Lifetime donor through her generous pledge of $50,000 in 2013 to the foundation’s Annual Fund. Dr. Tsai’s philanthropic support of the foundation as a resident and fellow-in-training and her dedication and commitment to the Academy through her volunteerism and leadership is awe-inspiring.
Dr. Tsai, who completed her pledge this past June, joined the Academy in 2006 as a resident at the University of California, San Francisco, Department of Otolaryngology. At that time, Dr. Tsai made full use of the many resources that have helped her succeed at different stages of her still-young career, such as the education offered through AcademyU® and the combination of education and networking opportunities at the Annual Meeting.
The biggest influence on Dr. Tsai’s decision to give back to the specialty was becoming a CORE grantee in 2009, receiving funding for her research on “Effect of cochlear capsule bone matrix material properties on hearing.” This solidified her passion to support not only the foundation but the Annual Fund. When Dr. Tsai made her pledge in 2013 she said, “My reason for giving is to enable the Academy to have the time and money to develop resources to optimize training and learning opportunities. As a resident, I had the opportunity to do research through a CORE grant and I want others to have the same opportunity.”
She still feels that way today. “I wanted to give back to the Academy so that it could continue its mission of supporting my colleagues, future colleagues, and our patients. In the past five years, the AAO-HNS Foundation has offered many products and education programs of high value and quality to all of us, and that has made my donation worth it,” said Dr. Tsai.
She continues to give back to the specialty through her involvement in resident education, her participation on several AAO-HNSF Education Committees, her role in developing content for the Academy’s new patient health website ENThealth.org, and her work on clinical practice guidelines, just to name a few.
Dr. Tsai encourages others to consider donating to the Annual Fund to continue to build upon the strength and reach of the Foundation’s programs. “Life is short. Make it count. Contributing to the AAO-HNSF Annual Fund impacts all our lives and ultimately all of our patients’ lives. Even if it is a small gift, together we can create something great,” she said.
Since Dr. Tsai made her pledge in 2013, she has become the mother of two daughters, Paisley, four years old, and Evelyn, one year old. She lives with her “amazing husband,” Kim Lee Do, “without whom none of this would be possible. He is the glue that holds our family together so that I can contribute as much as I can to the field of otolaryngology and to all our Academy activities,” said Dr. Tsai.
