Close Menu
Surgical Times
    X (Twitter) Instagram TikTok
    Surgical Times
    • The Pulse
    • Under the Knife
    • Daily Chart
    • Cutting Edge
    • Doc Talk
    Thursday • May 8, 2025
    Surgical Times
    Home»The Pulse

    Plastic Surgery Society Names First-Ever African American President

    Ninety-one years after its founding, the world’s largest plastic surgery society has named its first-ever African American president, Yale School of Medicine alumnus and board-certified plastic surgeon, Dr. Steven Williams, M.D.
    By Surgical TimesNovember 1, 2022

    Board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Steven Williams, M.D., will become the first African American ever to helm the world’s largest plastic surgery specialty organization.

    Dr. Williams will take over as President of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) in 2023, the surgeon announced Tuesday.

    Dr. Steven Williams, via Tri Valley Plastic Surgery

    Since 1947, Presidents of the Society have served one-year terms.

    Terms typically begin at the society’s “Plastic Surgery, The Meeting,” an annual educational and networking conference attended by plastic surgeons from around the world.

    Future and first-ever African American President of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Dr. Steven Williams, MD, (top left) works with then ASPS President J. Peter Rubin, MD, (bottom left) and others in this October 27, 2021 photo shared on social media. (Via @surgeoninblack) The FDA announced new restrictions and labeling requirements for breast implants that day. “In Atlanta on a emergent meeting with the FDA…regarding enhanced protections for patients seeking breast augmentation. “This includes additional tools to make sure patients know the risks and benefits for this procedure (it is still one of the most common procedures)…. It’s an honor to be part of @asps working for patient safety on a national level,” wrote the doctor.

    “Presidency of ASPS is a pinnacle career achievement,” Dr. Williams shared in a news release.

    “For me personally, it’s an achievement to be the first African American person to be president at ASPS.

    “It’s an incredible sense of honor, duty and pride.

    “I’m really standing on the shoulders of people who came before me,” he said.

    Future and first-ever African American President of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Dr. Steven Williams, MD, stands with Speaker Nancy Pelosi in this November 2019 photograph. (Via @surgeoninblack)

    Dr. Williams is currently in private practice in Dublin, California, where he founded Tri Valley Plastic Surgery. The practice appreciates overall average patient ratings of 4.5-4.8 out of 5 stars.

    Dr. Williams was first elected to the society’s board membership 15 years ago, then becoming its first-ever African American board member. 

    The Yale University School of Medicine alumnus and six-year residency completion chaired the Society’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee from 2018-2020, and previously served as the society’s Vice President of Membership and its Vice President of Private Practice.

    The American Society of Plastic Surgeons was founded in 1931 and, until 1999, known as the American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons.

    Worldwide, more than 11,000 plastic surgeons are members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, including 93 percent of board-certified plastic surgeons in the United States.

    ASPS members are required to hold board-certification, meet annual continuing education requirements, operate only in state-licensed and accredited surgical facilities, and uphold a strict code of ethics.

    In April 2022, the nation’s third-largest plastic surgery society, The Aesthetic Society, elected its first-ever female president, Dr. Jennifer Walden, after 55 years of operation. It was founded in 1967 and has a membership of roughly 2,200.


    Corrected, Nov. 5, 2022: The word “society” was replaced with “surgeon” in the second paragraph. Dr. Williams’s Tri Valley Plastic Surgery, not the ASPS, made the announcement via press release, Tuesday.

    ASPS Uplifted
    Top News

    Superior Court Strikes SLAPP Suit Brought by Surgery Center

    Breast Implant Statistics

    America’s Best Plastic Surgeons Announced

    Do I Need to Replace My Implants Every 10 Years?

    Top Exclusives

    Death Prompts Public Dig Into Surgeon’s Past: Jessica Jones’s ‘Justice for Hillary’

    Infrared Saunas a ‘Catalyst’ for ‘Breast Implant Illness’ Healthcare CEO Says

    FDA Analysis: Top 10 Symptoms of BII, Reported Rate of Improvement Post Explant

    Surgeon Counters Claims he Botched Woman’s Nose, Deletes Bad Reviews

    Objective. Independent. Informative. Public interest reporting on the practice of plastic surgery not affiliated with or funded by any surgeon, device manufacturer, or practice.

    Instagram X (Twitter) TikTok Facebook YouTube Pinterest
    • Terms
    • Contact
    • Privacy

    © 2025 Surgical Times. All Rights Reserved.

    • Best Of
    • Brazilian Butt Lift Surgery
    • Breast Implants
    • Breast Implant Illness
    • Celebrities
    • Death
    • Ethics
    • Exclusive
    • Florida
    • Uplifting
    • Legal
    • Marketing
    • Mold
    • Money
    • Podcasts
    • Safety
    • Social
    • Statistics
    • Studies
    • Türkiye
    • U.S.
    • U.S. FDA
    • World
    • Press Releases

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.