The American Society of Radiologic Technologists will award Life Member status to three longstanding members during the ASRT Annual Governance and House of Delegates Meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on June 26.

The Society’s newest Life Members are Donna Newman, B.A., R.T.(R), CNMT, NCT, PET, FASRT, Marilyn Sackett, M.Ed., R.T.(R), FASRT, and Joseph Whitton, M.S., R.T.(R)(CT)(MR), FASRT.

Life Member Award

Established in 1938, Life Members are active ASRT members who have maintained continuous membership for at least 30 years and have participated in a wide range of activities that demonstrate sustained superior performance in support of the ASRT and the radiologic science profession. Candidates who receive the honor are selected by at least a three-quarters vote of the ASRT Board of Directors.

Life Members

Donna Newman,
B.A., R.T.(R), CNMT, NCT, PET, FASRT

Donna Newman, B.A., R.T.(R), CNMT, NCT, PET, FASRT, of Fargo, North Dakota, became an ASRT member in 1995 and was bestowed the honor of Fellow in 2013. Throughout her 31 years as a member, she has held key leadership roles including serving on the ASRT Board of Directors as president in 2002 and chair of the Board in 2003.

Newman became the 15th president of the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technologists from 2018-2022 — only the second person from the United States to hold that position and while navigating the challenges presented to the profession during the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, she maintained ISRRT visibility and influence by ensuring radiographers’ voices were represented in global stakeholder meetings and international conferences. She provided expert input on infection prevention, workflow adaptation and safety in nuclear medicine services. Newman also worked to enhance the body of knowledge for medical imaging and radiation therapy professionals as a co-author of numerous publications including the COVID-19 ISRRT Response Document that informed the World Health Authority and the International Atomic Energy Authority of safety guidance and two forthcoming chapters on radiological protection in positron emission tomography for the International Commission on Radiological Protection.

In Newman’s home state, she served as the president of the North Dakota Society of Radiologic Technologists in 1995. One of her priorities was to achieve state licensure for technologists. Her and her colleagues' efforts were realized in 2015 when licensing standards were passed in North Dakota — nearly 20 years after their initial efforts began. She also helped to establish the State Board of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Examiners and served on its inaugural board.

Currently, Newman supervises the nuclear medicine department at Sanford Medical Center in Fargo, North Dakota, where she has been employed for 36 years. She first began as an x-ray technologist, then joined the nuclear medicine department as lead before transitioning to her current supervisor role.

Marilyn Sackett,
M.Ed., R.T.(R), FASRT

Marilyn Sackett, M.Ed., R.T.(R), FASRT, of Missouri City, Texas, has spent more than six decades advancing the medical imaging and radiation therapy profession. She became a registered technologist in 1964, joined ASRT in 1965 and was elevated to ASRT Fellow in 1988. She is the namesake of the ASRT Foundation’s Marilyn Sackett Leadership Scholarship and co-founder of the ASRT Emerging Research Scholarship, both designed to strengthen the profession through leadership development and evidence-based practice.

Sackett’s service includes chairing the ASRT Curriculum Task Force, contributing to the Education Committee and supporting the ASRT Foundation as a mentor, donor and advocate. In Texas, she served as president of the Texas Society of Radiologic Technologists in 1978 and chair in 1980, earning TXSRT Life Membership in 1986 and induction into the Edna Elliott Hall of Fame in 2023.

A central figure in establishing Texas licensure, Sackett chaired the Texas Medical Radiologic Technologist Advisory Board, from 1987-1990, and proudly holds Radiographer License No. 1. She continues to serve as a consultant to the Texas Medical Board.

In 1988, Sackett founded the Advanced Health Education Center, which has become a leading provider of continuing education in all 50 states and more than 60 countries. She later founded MEDRelief Staffing and established the AHEC Foundation, which sponsors the annual Growing Radiologic Opportunities for Women Mammography Scholarships to support technologists pursuing advanced breast imaging education.

Sackett’s legacy is reflected in the thousands of technologists, educators and leaders she has inspired through her innovation, generosity and unwavering commitment to the profession.

Joseph Whitton,
M.S., R.T.(R)(CT)(MR), FASRT

Joseph Whitton, M.S., R.T.(R)(CT)(MR), FASRT, of Mount Sinai, New York, has been an ASRT member for 34 years and throughout that time held leadership roles on the ASRT Board as secretary in 2023, speaker of the House in 2019 and 2020 as well as vice speaker in 2017 and 2018. He also has served as a delegate for the Computed Tomography and Magnetic Resonance chapters. His work on the Consistency, Accuracy, Responsibility and Excellence in Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy bill to promote national legislation for minimum education standards for radiologic technologists led to it being introduced and sponsored in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1999. As chair for the Practice Standards Council Magnetic Resonance Subcommittee, then as chair of the PSC from 2011-2012 he led the effort to restructure its processes. He was chair of the ASRT Commission and the Committee on Bylaws and was elevated to ASRT Fellow in 2019.

Whitton has been a continuous member of the New York State Society of Radiologic Sciences for 35 years and was a board member for 16 years. He became president in 2002 and vice president in 2015 and was elevated to life member in 2021. Today, he remains active as a member of the Association of Educators in Imaging and Radiologic Sciences, Association of Educators in Radiologic Technology of the State of New York and the International Society of Radiographers and Radiological Technologists. Although recently retired as program director for Stony Brook University in New York, where he worked for 20 years, he continues to perform duties as a clinical assistant professor, adjunct professor and guest lecturer for the School of Health Professions.