Hi. My name is Suzanne Freitag. I am an ophthalmic plastic surgeon. I practice in Harvard Medical School’s department of ophthalmology at Massachussett’s Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston in the United States.

I first learned about St John’s Eye Hospital in Jerusalem when I was invited there as a teacher and volunteer surgeon in 2012. I returned again in 2015. I was very inspired by the spirit of the Hospital and think very fondly of the many friends I made during my visits there.

Since those visits I have looked for ways to become more involved with St John’s Ophthalmic Association, and was so happy to hear about the organising of this multidisciplinary surgical meeting. Uniting experts from around the world from the various specialties to share knowledge about skull base and orbital surgery is much in keeping with the spirit of St John.

This conference brings awareness of the mission across several continents and also opens the door for this new endeavour of multi-disciplinary academic teaching and learning at the highest levels as part of the mission of The St John Ophthalmic Association. I commend the whole team for the foresight to conceive of this meeting and congratulate them for organising an outstanding day of learning and fellowship. I hope to able to continue to use this example with educational forums on the US side of the Atlantic. I hope everyone enjoys listening to our lectures.