World Vitiligo Day – USA 2019: Houston, Texas

Hosted By: Houston Vitiligo Awareness Movement

Led By: Diane L. Tribitt

Summary

2019 Weekend Schedule (PDF)

Friday, June 21

The weekend kicked off Friday night registration and “mix and mingle time”. Old friends caught up and new friendships were formed.  Later in the evening master of ceremonies (MC)  Lee Thomas kicked off the weekend with a short video,  introduction of support groups, and a fashion show. The night ended with a session for men called “Iron Sharpens Iron” and a session for women called “Survivors”.

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Saturday June 22

Saturday kicked off with a buffet breakfast and mingling amongst new and old friends. A group photo (see background image) was taken in front of the Sugarland, Texas City Hall. Alicia Roufs shared her video, A Look Back at WVD 2018.  It was a touching video highlighting last year’s activities.  Diane Tribitt officially welcomed everyone to the 2019 US World Vitiligo Day Conference. Dr. Richard Huggins and Vicki Tiahrt from the Global Vitiligo Foundation (GVF)  board shared an update on the GVF. The rest of the morning was filled with presentations from the doctors followed by a Q&A session before lunch.  After a boxed lunch and mingling with friends, participants enjoyed additional sessions, a surprise musical performance, Community Forum/ Panel Discussion (moderated by Lee Thomas and Erika Page) and some free time before dinner. The evening ended with a fun filled evening of dancing and music. Many were inspired to dress up in 70’s costumes to match the theme of the dinner party.

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Sunday, June 23

Sunday kicked off with another breakfast buffet with friends.  An optional worship service was led by Dr. Wallace Henry and Dr. Perry Riley.  After the service, attendees heard a motivational presentation from Rick Guidotti, participated in a “Meet the Doctors” panel discussion and then broke out into roundtable discussions with the doctors.  The last session of the day was from Dr. Lis Schuster and Andrea Tan about social interaction skills training. The conference ended with closing remarks from Diane Tribitt and the announcement of the WVD 2020 location, Minneapolis, Minnesota!

Presentations

A special thank you to the presenters for their willingness to share their presentations with the entire vitiligo community.

​Saturday, June 22 Presentations

  • Update on the Global Vitiligo Foundation – Richard Huggins, MD and Vicki Tiahrt  (PDF Download)

  • New Research Discoveries – John Harris, MD     ​(PDF download)

  • Update on Treatment of Vitiligo – Amit Pandya, MD     (PDF download)

  • Coping: After the Diagnosis – Pearl Grimes, MD

  • Emotional and Spiritual Wellbeing of Children with Vitiligo – Alanna Bree, MD, FAAD    (PDF Download)

  • The Psychosocial Impact of Vitiligo – Lisa Schuster,PhD     (PDF Download)

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Sunday, June 23 Presentations

  • Introduction of Social Interaction Skills Training – Lisa Schuster,PhD and Andrea Tan     (PDF Download)