April 26, 2018

ELAM graduates celebrate their accomplishment with a champagne toast

The Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM®) program at Drexel University College of Medicine is pleased to announce the graduation of its 23rd class. This graduating class of 53 fellows from 48 institutions joins a diverse alumnae community of more than 1,000 highly accomplished leaders that represent 259 medical, dental, public health and pharmacy schools from around the world. In addition, two fellows from the 2017 class completed their coursework and participated in the 2018 ceremony.

ELAM alumnae serve in a variety of leadership positions including department chairs, research center directors, deans and college presidents, as well as chief executives in health care and accrediting organizations.

Graduation speaker Lily Marks with ELAM director Nancy Spector

As the graduation speaker, Lily Marks, vice president for health affairs for the University of Colorado and Anschutz Medical Campus, celebrated the class’s achievements at a ceremony where the fellows were accompanied by their deans, other senior officials and national leaders. Ms. Marks’s remarks included observations about professional advancement and leadership, and one of the most significant attributes of success—the art of balancing the endless paradoxes of leadership.

ELAM, established in 1995, is the only longitudinal program in North America dedicated to preparing women for senior leadership roles in academic health science institutions. The intensive year-long fellowship encompasses executive education, personal leadership assessments and coaching, and networking and mentoring activities aimed at broadening perspectives, building new capacities and encouraging professional connections. Program assignments, both group and individual, provide opportunities for applying and exercising leadership skills in a variety of situations and settings.

The fellowship concluded in April with the capstone event, the 2018 Leaders Forum. This event, which brought together the fellows and their deans or other senior officials, featured a poster symposium highlighting the fellows’ Institutional Action Projects. These projects were conducted at their home institutions, in coordination with their deans and other senior leadership, and designed to address an institutional or departmental need or priority.

The graduates of ELAM’s 23rd class presented Executive Director Dr. Nancy D. Spector and Associate Director Dr. Mary Anne Delaney with gifts and pledges of $23,030 towards ELAM’s Legacy Fund, which supports programming and networking support for ELAM Alumnae. Learn more about the ELAM Legacy Fund.

“The projects conducted by this year’s class of fellows were exemplary,” said Nancy D. Spector, MD, executive director of ELAM. “The quality and impact of these projects is a testament to the capability of the members of this class to enact powerful systemic change at their home institutions and beyond.”

ELAM’s mission is to increase the number and impact of women in senior academic leadership positions. From there, these new appointments will help change the culture of academic health organizations in becoming more accepting of different perspectives and more responsive to societal needs and expectations.

Currently, ELAM graduates number:

• 13 of the 23 women deans at accredited U.S. medical schools, 6 of the 12 women deans at U.S. dental schools and 5 of the 21 women deans at U.S. public health schools. In addition, 9 ELAM graduates are deans of U.S. graduate schools.
• 166 department chairs at medical schools, 15 at dental schools, 9 at public health schools and 8 at other institutions.
• 161 center directors at medical schools, 9 at dental schools, 7 at public health schools and 10 at other institutions.
• 169 associate, senior associate and vice deans at medical schools, 16 at dental schools and 14 at public health schools.
• 44 chief executive or academic officers (presidents and chief executive officers, executive directors, provosts and chancellors).
• 17 associate/vice/senior associate provosts.
• 51 vice presidents.

About ELAM

ELAM carries on the legacy of advancing women in medicine begun by the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, the nation's first women's medical school. ELAM continues as a national resource hosted by Drexel University College of Medicine. Since its inception, the one-year, part-time fellowship has expanded to target diverse health professions and to reach a broader, global stage. For more information on the ELAM program curriculum, faculty and participants, visit drexel.edu/elam.

2017–2018 ELAM Graduating Class

Elizabeth Alpern, MD, MSCE
Associate Head, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Director of Research, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine
Professor of Pediatrics
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Lisa Barnes, PhD
Alla V. and Solomon Jesmer Chair
Director, Center of Excellence, Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center
Professor of Neurological Sciences
Professor of Behavioral Sciences
Rush Medical College of Rush University

A.M. Barrett, MD
Director, Stroke Rehabilitation Research Program, Kessler Foundation
Chair, Neural Repair and Rehabilitation Section, American Academy of Neurology
Co-Director, Stroke Program
Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Ana Karina Bedran-Russo PhD, DDS
Director, Multidisciplinary Oral Sciences Program Director, Applied Dental Materials and Interfaces Research
Clinical Associate Professor of Restorative Dentistry
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry

Kimberly Boland, MD
Assistant Dean, Resident Education and Work Environment
Professor of Pediatrics
University of Louisville School of Medicine

Daniela Bota, MD, PhD
Medical Director, Neurological Oncology
Associate dean for clinical research
Chair, Neurologic Malignancies Disease Oriented Team
Vice Chair for Academic Affairs
Associate Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Medicine, and Pathology
University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine

Suzanne Brandenburg, MD
Director, Interprofessional Education, Anschutz Medical Campus
Director of Faculty Advancement,
Division of General Internal Medicine
Vice Chair for Education University of Colorado School of Medicine Anschutz Medical Campus

Laura Cassidy, MS, PhD
Professor of Epidemiology, Institute of Health & Society
Director, Division of Epidemiology
Director, PhD Program in Public & Community Health
Research Director, Institute for Health and Society
Medical College of Wisconsin

Judy Chang, MD, MPH
Assistant Dean of Medical Student Research
Associate Professor of Gynecologic Specialties
Associate Professor, Clinical and Translational Science Institute
Assistant Professor of General Internal Medicine
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Rita Charon, MD, PhD
Executive Director, Program in Narrative Medicine Inaugural Chair, Department of Medical Humanities and Ethics
Professor of Medicine
Columbia University Medical Center
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

Amy Chen, MD, MPH
Director of Endocrine Surgery
Willard and Lillian Hackerman Professor of Otolaryngology
Emory University School of Medicine

Mary-Margaret Chren, MD
Chair, Department of Dermatology
Professor of Dermatology
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Linda Cripe, MD
Vice Chair for Faculty Affairs
Professor of Pediatrics
The Ohio State University College of Medicine

Coleen Cunningham, MD
Chief, Global Health, Department of Pediatrics
Interim Chief Hematology Oncology
Chair, Department Promotions and Tenure Committee Director, Children's Clinical Research Unit
Vice-Chair Research, Department of Pediatrics Professor of Pediatrics, Pathology and Global Health
Duke University School of Medicine

Nancy DeMore, MD
Medical Director MUSC Breast Center
Interim Chief, Division of Surgical Oncology
Vice Chair Entrepreneurship, Department of Surgery
Professor of Surgery
Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine

Isabelle Deschenes, PhD
Director Heart and Vascular Research Center
Professor with Tenure of Medicine, Physiology & Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

Maryam Fouladi, MD
Marjorie Johnson Chair of Translational Brain Tumor Research Medical Director, Brain Tumor Center Professor of Pediatrics
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Nancy Freitag, PhD
Associate Director, MSTP
Assistant Dean, MD and PhD Education
Professor, Microbiology and Immunology
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine

Caroline Genco, PhD
Chair Department of Integrative Physiology and Pathobiology
Tufts University School of Medicine

Michelle Gong , MD, MS
Chair-elect for the ATS Critical Care Planning Committee
Director of Academic Affairs in Critical Care
Associate Director of Informatics
Professor in Medicine Professor in Epidemiology and Population Health
Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Sara Gordon, DDS, MSc
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs
Professor of Oral Medicine
University of Washington School of Dentistry

Sharon Griswold, MD, MPH
Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education Founder and Director, Master of Science in Medical and Healthcare Simulation
Drexel University College of Medicine

Flora Hammond, MD
Chair, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Chief of Medical Affairs
Brain Injury Medical Director
Professor, Presidential Life Sciences
Indiana University School of Medicine

Carrie Haskell-Luevano, PhD
Philip S. Portoghese Endowed Chair in Chemical Neuroscience & Institute for Translational Neuroscience Scholar
Professor
University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy

Michele Heisler, MD, MPA
Co-Director, Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program
Associate Director, Global REACH
Co-Director, UNC-UM Peer Support Core
Professor, Health Behavior and Health Education
University of Michigan Medical School

Karen Horton, MD
Chair of Board, Johns Hopkins Imaging, LLC
Director, Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science
Professor of Oncology
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Pamela Hughes, DDS
Chair, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Associate Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Oregon Health and Science University School of Dentistry

Melinda Irwin, PhD
Associate Director of Population Sciences
Professor Epidemiology
Yale University School of Public Health

Yvonne Kapila, DDS, PhD
Vice-Chair of Periodontology
Professor of Periodontology
University of California, San Francisco, School of Dentistry

Mary Killackey, MD
Chair, Department of Surgery
Director, Tulane Abdominal Transplant Institute Surgical Director, Pediatric Kidney Transplant Program Associate Professor of Surgery
Tulane University School of Medicine

Dawn Kleindorfer, MD
Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Women's Initiatives
Director, Vascular Neurology Division
Director, University of Cincinnati Stroke Center
Professor of Neurology
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Richelle Koopman, MD, MS
Research Director
Associate Professor with Tenure of Medicine
University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine

Monica Kraft, MD
Chair, Department of Medicine
Deputy Director, Asthma and Airway Diseases Research Center
Robert and Irene Flinn Professor of Medicine
University of Arizona College of Medicine

Michele Kutzler, PhD
Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Drexel University College of Medicine

Stacie Levine, MD
Section Chief, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine Associate Professor of Medicine
The University of Chicago Division of Biological Sciences, Pritzker School of Medicine

Leslie McClure, PhD
Chair, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Professor, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Drexel University Dornsife School of Public Health

Karen Mustian, PhD, MPH
Co-Director Cancer Control and Survivorship Program Director, PEAK Human Performance Clinical Research Laboratory
Deputy Director, URCC NCORP Research Base Associate
Professor of Surgery and Radiation Oncology
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry

Genevieve Neal-Perry, MD, PhD
Section Chief, Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
University of Washington Medical Center

Adesuwa Olomu, MD
Professor of Internal Medicine
Vice-Chair for Research, Department of Medicine
Michigan State University College of Human Medicine

Karlett Parra, PhD
Chair, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Professor of Medicine
University of New Mexico School of Medicine

Anne Pereira, MD, MPH
Assistant Dean for Curriculum
Associate Professor of Medicine
University of Minnesota Medical School

Lori Post, PhD
Director of the Buehler Center for Health Policy Buehler Professor of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Susan Promes, MD, MBA
Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine
Chair, Board of Managers Professor of Emergency Medicine
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine

Elizabeth Ripley, MD, MS, RAC
Interim Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs Senior Chair VCU IRB Professor of Medicine
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine

Tara Sabo-Attwood, PhD
Chair, Department of Environmental and Global Health
Associate Professor, Environmental and Global Health
University of Florida College of Public Health and Health Professions

Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD
Professor, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
Chair, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
University of Massachusetts Medical School

Kari Simonsen, MD
Interim Assistant Vice Chancellor for Faculty Affairs
Division Chief, Pediatric Infectious Diseases
Director, Undergraduate Medical Education
Vice Chair, Department of Pediatrics
Associate Professor of Pediatrics

Helen Simpson, MD, PhD
Director, Center for Obsessive-Compulsive & Related Disorders Director, Translational Therapeutics Program
Professor of Psychiatry
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

Sarah Tishkoff, PhD
David and Lyn Silfen University Professor of Genetics
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

Ann Van Heest, MD
Residency Program Director
Vice Chair of Education
Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery
University of Minnesota Medical School

Sandhya Venugopal, MD, MHPE
Associate Director of the Cardiology Fellowship Training Program
Associate Professor of internal Medicine
University of California, Davis, School of Medicine

Kristin Victoroff, DDS, PhD
Associate Dean for Education
Associate Professor of Dental Medicine
Case Western Reserve University School of Dentistry

Margaret Wierman, MD
Professor of Physiology and Biophysics
Professor of Medicine
University of Colorado School of Medicine Anschutz Medical Campus

Karen Wilson, MD, MPH
Debra and Leon Black Professor of Pediatrics
Vice Chair for Clinical and Translational Research
Division Chief of General Pediatrics
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Ellen Zimmermann, MD
Vice Chair for Academic Affairs, Department of Medicine
Professor of Medicine
University of Florida College of Medicine

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