2009 ASCP Master

A former chair of the ASCP Commission on Membership and member of the Board of Directors, Susan R. Besaw, MBA, MASCP, SCT(ASCP), has been a member of ASCP since 1983. Over the years, Ms. Besaw worked in numerous laboratory settings, including small rural hospitals, US Army Hospitals in Germany, and large integrated healthcare systems.

In 1992, she was a member of the first group of State Advisors invited to the ASCP Associate Member Section (AMS) Matrix meeting. Later that year she was nominated to the AMS Board of Directors. From 1993 to 1996, as the AMS Board Liaison to the AMS Awards Committee, she helped establish two awards, Excellence in Education and Excellence in Management, to recognize ASCP Associate Members.

As chair of the AMS (2002-2003), Ms. Besaw was appointed to the Task Force on Governance, which focused on strengthening the voices of ASCP membership through the establishment of the Councils for Laboratory Professionals, Residents and Fellows. The following year she was elected to the newly reorganized ASCP Board of Directors as director-at-large.

From 2004-2008, Ms. Besaw served as Chair of the ASCP Commission on Membership. She also chaired the ASCP AMS Plan and Scope Committee and the ASCP Bylaws Committee.

Ms. Besaw has prepared and presented numerous teleconferences and workshops on cytology, compliance, quality assurance, and customer service, as well as local workshops related to the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) and state licensure within the state of Illinois.

She is currently Director of Customer Service at Plus Diagnostics, in Union, NJ, a national for-profit anatomic pathology laboratory tailored to the outpatient needs of urologists and gastroenterology surgeons.

Ms. Besaw has two stepchildren, a son and daughter-in-law, two grandchildren and a border collie. She enjoys working in stained glass and antiquing.