AACE International Announces
Dr. Benjamin Carson As Keynote Speaker
January 4, 2013
AACE International has
announced that Benjamin Carson, Sr. MD, recipient of the highest
civilian honor awarded by the President of the United States, will be
the motivational keynote speaker at the 2013 Annual Meeting June 30-July
3 in Washington, DC.
Dr. Carson had a
childhood dream of becoming a physician. Growing up in a single parent
home and being challenged by dire poverty, poor grades, a horrible
temper and low self-esteem appeared to preclude the realization of that
dream, until his mother, with only a third-grade education, challenged
her sons to strive for excellence. Young Ben persevered, and today is a
full professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery and pediatrics
at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he has directed pediatric
neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center for over a quarter
of a century. He became the inaugural recipient of a professorship
dedicated in his name in May, 2008 and is now the Benjamin S. Carson,
Sr., M.D. and Dr. Evelyn Spiro, R.N. Professor of Pediatric
Neurosurgery.
To register for the Annual Meeting, go to
http://www.aacei.org/am/currentAM/
Some career highlights include the first and only successful separation
of craniopagus (Siamese) twins joined at the back of the head in 1987,
the first completely successful separation of type-2 vertical
craniopagus twins in 1997 in South Africa, and the first successful
placement of an intrauterine shunt for a hydrocephalic twin. Although he
has been involved in many newsworthy operations, he feels that every
case is noteworthy—deserving of maximum attention. He is interested in
all aspects of pediatric neurosurgery, and has a special interest in
trigeminal neuralgia (a severe facial pain condition) in adults.
Carson holds more than 60 honorary doctorate degrees and has received
literally hundreds of awards and citations. He is a member of the Alpha
Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, the Institute of Medicine/National
Academy of Science, the Horatio Alger Society of Distinguished Americans
and many other prestigious organizations. He sits on the board of
directors of numerous organizations, including Kellogg Company, Costco
Wholesale Corporation, the Academy of Achievement, and is an Emeritus
Fellow of the Yale Corporation, the governing body of Yale University.
He was appointed in 2004 by President George W. Bush to serve on the
President’s Council on Bioethics. He is a highly regarded motivational
speaker who has addressed various audiences from school systems and
civic groups to corporations and the President’s National Prayer
Breakfast.
In 2001, Carson was named by CNN and TIME magazine as one of the
nation’s 20 foremost physicians and scientists. That same year, he was
selected by the Library of Congress as one of 89 “Living Legends” on the
occasion of its 200th anniversary. He is also the recipient of the 2006
Spingarn Medal which is the highest honor bestowed by the NAACP. In
February 2008, Carson was presented with the Ford’s Theatre Lincoln
Medal by President Bush at the White House. In June, 2008, he was
awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by the President, which is the
highest civilian honor in the land. Carson was recognized in November,
2008 by U.S. News & World Report and Harvard’s Center for Public
Leadership, as one of “America’s Best Leaders.” On February 7, 2009, the
award-winning movie entitled Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story,
starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Carson, premiered on TNT and is based on
his memoir.
Carson is president and co-founder of the Carson Scholars Fund, which
recognizes young people of all backgrounds for exceptional academic and
humanitarian accomplishments. The Fund is currently operating in 45
states and the District of Columbia, having awarded more than $ 4.5
million dollars to more than 4500 scholars. The program also establishes
Carson Reading Rooms to encourage young students and their families to
discover the pleasure to be found in books and to recognize the true
power of learning. Carson is also the co-founder of Angels of the OR
under the auspices of the Baltimore Community Foundation, which provides
grant to assist neurosurgery patients with expenses not covered by
insurance.
His five books, Gifted Hands, THINK BIG, The Big
Picture, Take the Risk: Learning to Identify, Choose and
Live with Acceptable Risk and America the Beautiful:
Rediscovering What Made This Nation Great (January 2012) provide
inspiration and insight for leading a successful life. Carson has been
married for over 30 years to his wife, Candy, and is the father of three
sons. And yes, his mother, Sonya Carson, who made all this possible, is
alive and living in Maryland.
AACE International has
announced that Benjamin Carson, Sr. MD, recipient of the highest
civilian honor awarded by the President of the United States, will be
the motivational keynote speaker at the 2013 Annual Meeting June 30-July
3 in Washington, DC.
Dr. Carson had a
childhood dream of becoming a physician. Growing up in a single parent
home and being challenged by dire poverty, poor grades, a horrible
temper and low self-esteem appeared to preclude the realization of that
dream, until his mother, with only a third-grade education, challenged
her sons to strive for excellence. Young Ben persevered, and today is a
full professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery and pediatrics
at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he has directed pediatric
neurosurgery at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center for over a quarter
of a century. He became the inaugural recipient of a professorship
dedicated in his name in May, 2008 and is now the Benjamin S. Carson,
Sr., M.D. and Dr. Evelyn Spiro, R.N. Professor of Pediatric
Neurosurgery.
To register for the Annual Meeting, go to
