National Leadership Program Names 2025-2026 Class of Fellows
April 9, 2025
The Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM) program at Drexel University College of Medicine is pleased to announce the selection of its 31st class of fellows and the fellows for its Executive Leadership in Health Care (ELH) program track.
ELAM is the only longitudinal program in North America dedicated to preparing women for senior leadership roles in schools of medicine, dentistry, public health and pharmacy. This prestigious program is dedicated to developing the professional and personal skills required to lead and manage in today's complex health care environment, with special attention to the unique challenges facing women in leadership positions. The ELAM program has been specially developed for senior women faculty at the associate or full professor level who demonstrate the greatest potential for assuming executive leadership positions at academic health centers within the next five years. The ELH program is designed for senior-level women leaders interested in advancing in hospitals and health care systems to positions such as CEO, CMO, CNO and CFO. This year, we launched Allyship at ELAM, a program designed to foster inclusive work environments and address organizational and institutional structural barriers with the ultimate goal of optimizing science and patient care.
The effectiveness of ELAM's distinctive approach to leadership preparation is broadly recognized within the academic health community. ELAM alumnae number over 1,600 and serve in leadership positions at 300 academic health centers around the world. ELAM carries on the legacy of advancing women in medicine begun by the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, the nation’s first degree-granting women’s medical school and a predecessor of Drexel University College of Medicine, where ELAM is hosted.
“We are excited to welcome 100 ELAM fellows and 50 ELH fellows to the class of 2025-26. This cohort comprises exceptional leaders from 118 institutions who are capable of making critical systemic change. The need for the highest quality leaders in academic health care has never been greater, and we are doing everything we can to help meet that need by providing outstanding and innovative leadership training,” says Nancy D. Spector, MD, executive director of ELAM.
To be accepted into the program, each fellow must be nominated and supported by the dean or another senior official of their institution. ELAM continues to cultivate strong partnerships with participating institutions throughout the yearlong fellowship. One aspect of this relationship is the curricular requirement to conduct an Institutional Action Project, developed in collaboration with the fellow’s sponsor. These action projects are designed to address an institutional or departmental need or priority.
“We are extremely excited to see the impact these leaders will have on their institutions as they work through the ELAM and ELH curriculum and develop their action projects,” explains Spector. “The fellows’ projects not only help them understand the challenges facing academic health centers and the skills a leader must possess to address these challenges, but also often result in concrete changes at their institutions.”
The work for this incoming class begins in June 2025 with online assignments and community-building activities. The fellowship concludes with the capstone event, the Leaders Forum on April 29, 2026, and then graduation on April 30, 2026. The Leaders Forum brings together the fellows and their deans, CEOs and other senior officials, and features a symposium highlighting the fellows’ Institutional Action Projects.
For more information on the ELAM program curriculum, faculty and participants, visit drexel.edu/elam
ELAM Fellows
- Elizabeth Ablah, PhD, MPH
University of Kansas Medical Center
- Seena Ajit, PhD
Drexel University College of Medicine
- Pilar Alcaide, PhD
Tufts University School of Medicine
- Emilyn Alejandro, PhD
University of Minnesota Medical School
- Norrina Allen, PhD, MPH
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
- Aditee Ambardekar, MD, MSEd
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
- Christie Bartels, MD, MS
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
- Saonli Basu, PhD
University of Minnesota School of Public Health
- Kimberly Blasius, MD, MBA
Wake Forest University School of Medicine - Winston-Salem
- Cinnamon Bloss, PhD
University of California, San Diego Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science
- Kelli Braun, MD
Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
- Kristen Brennand, PhD
Yale University School of Medicine
- Marisha Burden, MD, MBA
University of Colorado School of Medicine Anschutz Medical Campus
- Jennifer Caceres, MD
The Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University
- Lori Carter-Edwards, PhD, MPH
Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine
- Analia Castiglioni, MD
University of Central Florida College of Medicine
- Jillian Catalanotti, MD, MPH
George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences
- Betty Chang, MDCM, PhD
University of New Mexico School of Medicine
- Mindy Christianson, MD, MBA
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University
- Chistina Ciaccio, MD, MSc
The University of Chicago Division of Biological Sciences
- Katy Coan, MD, MBA
Creighton University School of Medicine
- Modupe Coker, BDS, MPH, PhD
University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine
- Shelley Crary, MD, MS
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine
- Melissa Cushing, MD
Weill Cornell Medical College
- Theodora Danciu, DMD, DMSc
University of Michigan School of Dentistry
- Diva De Leon-Crutchlow, MD, MSCE
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
- Michaela Dinan, PhD
Yale University School of Public Health
- Sarah Eickmeyer, MD
University of Kansas School of Medicine
- Janice Endsley, PhD
University of Texas Medical Branch
- Helen Fernandez, MD, MPH
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Cristina Furdui, PhD
Wake Forest University School of Medicine - Winston-Salem
- Manisha Gandhi, MD
Baylor College of Medicine
- Megan Gerber, MD, MPH
Albany Medical College
- Aviva Goldberg, MD
University of Manitoba Max Rady College of Medicine
- Misty Good, MD, MS
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine
- Heather Gornik, MD
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
- Diana Greene-Chandos, MD
SSM Health/SLU Care Physicians
- Rebekah Gundry, PhD
University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine
- Heeyoung Han, PhD
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
- Leila Harrison, PhD
Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine
- Traci Hedrick, MD
University of Virginia School of Medicine
- Monica Hinds, PhD
Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine
- Catherine Hough, MD, MSc
Oregon Health & Science University/Portland State University School of Public Health
- Tamara Isakova, MD, MMSc
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
- Maya Iyer, MD, MEd
Nationwide Children's Hospital
- Heidi Jacobe, MD, MSCS
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
- Sophia Jan, MD, MSHP
Cohen Children's Medical Center
- Vasanthi Jayaraman, PhD
McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
- Anitha John, MD, PhD
Children's National
- Margaret Johnson, MD
Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine
- Mariana Kaplan, MD
National Institutes of Health
- Laura Kelley, MD, MPH
University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine
- Juliana Kling, MD, MPH
Mayo Clinic
- Susan Lane, MD
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University
- Amanda LeBlanc, PhD
University of Louisville School of Medicine
- Jennifer Lim, MD
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine
- Yu (Agnes) Luo, PhD
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
- Pamela Martin, PhD
Meharry Medical College
- Kristen Matteson, MD, MPH
T.H. Chan School of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts
- Jennifer McCallister, MD
The Ohio State University College of Medicine
- Katherine McKinney, MD
University of Kentucky College of Medicine
- Akanksha Mehta, MD, MS
Emory University School of Medicine
- Michelle Mielke, PhD
Wake Forest University School of Medicine- Winston-Salem
- Susan Modesitt, MD
Emory University School of Medicine
- Seetha Monrad, MD
University of Michigan Medical School
- Mary Mulcahey, MD
Loyola University Medical Center
- Mary Munson, PhD
T.H. Chan School of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts
- Jennifer Muszynski, MD, MPH
Nationwide Children's Hospital
- Sunita Mutha, MD
University of California, San Francisco, School of Dentistry
- Laura Ngwenya, MD, PhD
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
- Dolores Njoku, MD
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
- Alexis Ogdie, MD
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
- Kathleen Page, MD
Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
- Priti Parikh, PhD
Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine
- Nell Patel, MD
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
- Lauren Peccoralo, MD, MPH
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Mary Beth Phelan, MD, MBA
Medical College of Wisconsin
- Sandra Quezada, MD, MS
University of Maryland School of Medicine
- Tara Randis, MD, MS
University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine
- Connie Rhee, MD, MSc
University of California, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
- A. Parker Ruhl, MD, MHS
National Institutes of Health
- Kristen Rundell, MD
University of Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson
- Margaret Samuels-Kalow, MD, MPhil, MSHP
Massachusetts General Hospital
- Denise Scholtens, PhD
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
- Maheswari Senthil, MD
University of California, Irvine
- Kate Shaw, MD, MS
Stanford University School of Medicine
- Lalita Shevde-Samant, PhD
The University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Beth Smith, MD
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Buffalo State University of New York
- Kristi Smock, MD
University of Utah School of Medicine
- Joanna Starrels, MD, MS
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
- Marie Theard, MD
University of Washington School of Medicine
- Reena Thomas, MD, PhD
Stanford University School of Medicine
- Rebecca Thurston, PhD
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
- Stavropoula Tjoumakaris, MD, MBA
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
- Monica Verduzco-Gutierrez, MD
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Joe R. & Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine
- Cary Ward, MD
Duke University School of Medicine
- Edith Williams, PhD
University of Rochester Medical Center
- Jinping Xu, MD, MS
Wayne State University School of Medicine
- Judy Chia-Chun Yuan, DDS, MA, MAS
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry
- Aleksandra Zgierska, MD, PhD
Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine
ELH Fellows
- Andrea Abbott, MD
Medical University of South Carolina
- Bindu Akkanti, MD
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
- Carla Braxton, MD, MBA
Houston Methodist Physician Organization
- Kelly Brown, MD
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Susan Casey, MD
University of Maryland Medical System
- Ellen Chung, MD
Nationwide Children's Hospital
- Carrie Colla, PhD
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
- Lisa David, MD, MBA
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist- Winston-Salem
- Lisa Davidson, MD
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist- Charlotte
- Kavita Dharmarajan, MD, MSc
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Deetra Ford, MD
The University of Kansas Health System
- Nicole Fox, MD, MPH
Cooper University Health Care
- Kencee Graves, MD
University of Utah Health
- Stephanie Harman, MD
Stanford University School of Medicine
- Catriona Harrop, MD
Jefferson Health
- Marieka Helou, MD, MPH
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
- Laura Hesemann, MD, MSCI
University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine
- Catherine Humphrey, MD, MBA
University of Rochester Medical Center
- Lisa Ivanjack, MD, MHCM
Providence
- Rebecca Jaffe, MD
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
- Kierstin Kennedy, MD, MSHA
University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine
- Abigail Khan, MD, MSCE
Oregon Health and Science University
- Nisa Kubiliun, MD
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
- Ruple Laughlin, MD
Mayo Clinic
- Tzielan Lee, MD
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford
- Jennifer Lee, MD
Weill Cornell Medical College
- Jessyka Lighthall, MD
Penn State Health
- Rachel Maassen, MD, MBA
Iowa Health Care
- Mariah McNamara, MD, MPH
University of Vermont Health Network
- Gysella Muniz Pujalt, MD, MBA
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
- Folashade Omole, MD, FAAFP
Morehouse School of Medicine
- Payal Parikh, MD
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
- Rocio Pereira, MD
Denver Health
- Stacey Peterson-Carmichael, MD
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist- Winston-Salem
- Catherine Quatman-Yates, DPT, PhD
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center
- Aarti Raghavan, MD, MS, FAAP
University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine
- Carley Riley, MD, MPP, MHS
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
- Julia Sammons, MD, MSCE
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
- Lauren Schiff, MD
University of North Carolina Hospitals
- Anneliese Schleyer, MD, MHA
University of Washington School of Medicine
- Kelly Sopko, MD
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Antoinette Tan, MD, MHSc
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist- Charlotte
- Katren Tyler, MD
University of California, Davis, School of Medicine
- Teresa Victoria, MD, PhD
Massachusetts General Hospital
- Nina Vincoff, MD
Northwell Health
- Harneet Walia, MD
Baptist Health South Florida
- Rachel Weir, MD
University of Utah Health Sciences
- Lee Wilke, MD
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
- Noushin Yahyavi, MD, MBA
University of Maryland School of Medicine
- Alexis Zebrowski, PhD, MPH
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai