Interviews Conducted by Elizabeth Egan

BOARD MEMBER LEADER OF THE YEAR 

Biju Thomas, MD 

The American College of Healthcare Trustees was created to promote good governance and leadership in the healthcare sector. By providing continuing education, resources, and opportunities for networking, the ACHT allows healthcare leaders and trustees to govern more effectively. “Biju has an extraordinary dedication to the organization’s mission and fulfilling all fiduciary duties of a board member.” 

Nominated by The American College of Healthcare Trustees 

Kim Jackson, MD

“Dr. Jackson founded Physicians Working Together, a non-profit organization that connects, collaborates, and cares for physicians, medical students, and the communities they serve. She is passionate about educating the world on the importance of investing in the future of medicine. Future doctors need assurance, and medical students need support. PWT provides medical students with scholarships and connects them with practicing physicians as mentors. Dr. Jackson led the movement to make sure that physicians are honored for an entire week (March 25-31) annually instead of the traditional “Doctors Day” which is celebrated every March 30. Working collaboratively with Dr. Marion Mass and Dr. Christina Lang, they submitted the necessary paperwork to make this happen.” 

Nominated by a fellow physician and member of PWT.org

PHYSICIAN HEALTHCARE LEADER 

   Marion Mass, MD 

“Dr. Mass is a mother, a pediatrician, a community volunteer, a writer, and an advocate for a high-quality, sustainable healthcare system in America that will continue to attract bright, hardworking minds in the future. Marion has a passion for making the world of healthcare better for patients and doctors alike. She understands how to effectively bring together politicians and practicing physicians from both sides of the aisle. The way she shares her experiences through stories and images makes it easy for everyone to understand what is going on in the world of medicine.” 

Nominated by a fellow physician and grass-roots advocate 

Rick Satava, MD, FACS, FACHT 

“Dr. Satava has a deep commitment to ethics and compliance with broad executive experience in the discernment process, capital budgeting, conflict resolution, disaster planning for rural hospitals, and integrative medicine. He has played a major role in conference planning and ethics education.” 

Nominated by the American College of Healthcare Trustees 

Dana Corriel, MD

“Dr. Corriel left the practice of medicine to devote herself full-time to developing a safe space on social media that democratically amplifies the voices of ALL physicians (those who are new to the social media space as well as SoMe veterans). In a world of autocratic megalomaniac physicians who create social media spaces for “everyone” (but who are really only about promoting themselves), it is refreshing to work with Dr. Corriel who is a true leader.” 

Nominated by a SoMeDocs Physician 

EXECUTIVE HEALTHCARE LEADER 

Philip D. Cooke

Philip Cooke is the Associate Executive Director of Public Affairs at NYC Health + Hospitals. He was nominated by a physician at Harlem Hospital who had this to say: “Philip is a pleasure to work with—he is responsive, an excellent communicator, and very thorough. He works toward the goal of ensuring the client—internal or external—is satisfied, and won’t rest until that is the case.” 

Nominated by a physician at Harlem Hospital 

Carl Middleton

“Carl, Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of Ethics for the American College of Healthcare Trustees, has a passion for working with physicians on ethical challenges, interacting with them in regular monthly online discussions. His years of healthcare experience have allowed him to be a leader in organizational ethics.” 

Nominated by Dr. David Levien, MD 

Lynn E. Webb, PhD 

Dr. Lynn Webb is the Assistant Dean for the Vanderbilt School of Medicine and Assistant Professor of Medical Education and Administration at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, in Nashville, TN. He leads the Center’s Coworker Observation Reporting System (where a collegial cup of coffee helps to address potential conflicts before they occur). He coordinates the teaching of communication skills in the medical school curriculum and provides individual coaching to practicing physicians who want to improve their communication skills with patients and colleagues. 

Nominated by a VUMC physician

Barry M. Murphy, CLU, ChFC 

“When I started my business 14 years ago, I approached Barry for a Group Health Insurance policy, even though the number of participants I brought to the table initially was small when compared to his normal client list. Barry gave us the same level of service that his largest clients receive. In addition to providing insurance, he is now a trusted adviser on many fronts for my business and family.” 

Nominated by Mitigate Partners

Carl C. Schuessler, Jr., DHP, DIA, GBDS 

“Carl is passionate about making healthcare affordable and accessible for employer health plans and patients. His FairCo$t Health Plan can be a game changer for employers and their employees; they save money AND get better care! But it does not stop there, Carl mentors and aggregates advisors through Mitigate Partners so that his solutions can be distributed nationally. Watch out, cartel!” 

Nominated by David Balat, Free2Care.org 

FRONTLINE NURSE LEADER 

Alyssa Jenkins, RN 

A frontline ER nurse who reminds us of the importance of approaching EVERY patient with an open mind, and a fresh perspective. “Love is real. Love is powerful. And there is still hope at Door 5. Because hope lives in us.” -St. Vincent’s Hospital in Indiana. 

“Alyssa is one of our exceptional nurses. Door 5 is the entrance to our EMERGENCY ROOM. This is a great and at times tragic look at any given day in our ER.”-Dr. Lou Profetta, ER Physician. 

Nominated by Physician Outlook staff

Kathy Shoaf, RN 

Kathy Smith Shoaf, RN, is a Travel Expert with 20+ years of clinical and management experience in geriatric, rehabilitation, and senior housing as an RN and ATP. She realized after years of counseling with families that the QUEST to enjoy life “should never have to stop.” Her ability to overcome fear and anxiety about travel… makes “dreams come true.” She is uniquely qualified to understand travel challenges and create rational solutions. Her passion is to deliver “amazing memories,” even when accessibility challenges and clinical issues exist. 

Nominated by a fellow Physician

NURSE LEADER 

Olga Rodriguez, RN 

“Olga Rodriguez, a retired US Army Colonel and field nurse, continues a very active career as a Nurse Leader. She was recently granted her Doctorate as a Nurse Practitioner at Florida Southern College, where she mentors nurses in all stages of their careers. She is a polished communicator who builds rapport easily and is trusted by physician leadership in making major decisions that support a health organization’s mission.” 

Nominated by David Balat, Free2Care.org

Patricia Davidson, PhD, MED, RN 

“Board Member, Emeritus, American College of Healthcare Trustees. Professor Patricia M. Davidson joined the University of Wollongong as Vice-Chancellor in May 2021. Prior to her current role, Professor Davidson was dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing in Baltimore, United States. In 2021, she was the recipient of the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) Distinguished Leader Award. This honour celebrates her exceptional contributions to the advancement of global health worldwide.” 

Nominated by a Physician

Evan Martin, RN 

“Evan was my primary nurse during my chemotherapy treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and her constant hard work and friendliness helped me get through my year-long battle. My memories during treatment are hazy, but I remember Evan told me lots of stories and always made me laugh, and I felt like she was more of a friend than my nurse. She made me feel as comfortable as possible during chemotherapy, and anyone who can do that is most certainly a leader.”

Nominated by a Patient

RESIDENCY PROGRAM DIRECTOR LEADER 

Susan Bostwick, MD, MBA

Dr. Susan Bostwick, a pediatrician, academic leader, and educator at Weill-Cornell Medicine, is now the Associate Dean of Affiliations for Cornell. She has previously served as the Executive Vice Chair for Administration and Faculty as well as the Division Chief of General Academic Pediatrics, it was her role as the Director of the Pediatric Graduate Medical Education program that earned her numerous teaching awards. She is taking her talents to the national stage as the co-director of the Academic Pediatric Associations Advancing Pediatric Leaders program, an 18-month leadership development program for mid-career faculty members. 

Nominated by a Physician Colleague.

Tom Whalen, MD, MMM, FACS

“Tom Whalen was the Residency Program Director at Cooper Hospital in Camden for years. He was also the Past President of the Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Tom chaired the Surgery Residency Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Both are VERY influential organizations in residency education. When I sent my residents to Tom to be trained in Pediatric Surgery, they came back raving about his teaching.” 

Nominated by a fellow Physician

CLERKSHIP DIRECTOR LEADER 

Biju Thomas, MD

Director of Patient Safety and Quality at The MetroHealth System in Cleveland, OH. Assistant Professor of Neonatology and staff neonatologist at Case Western Reserve University. Physician Executive and Entrepreneur with diverse healthcare leadership and entrepreneurial experience in technology, operations, safety & quality, and finance. A strategic leader with a passion for building high-performing teams, and an innovative leader with integrity and commitment to superior customer service. 

Nominated by a fellow Physician

ESSENTIAL SUPPORT STAFF LEADER 

Eric Zimmerman

“Eric D. Zimmerman is Founder and Technical Director of The Buddy Project, and should know about technology’s ability to unlock some of the everyday barriers faced by the special-needs community: from working with Best Buddies International, he grew to recognize that, unlike him, many of the disabled have little to no access to such commonplace household technologies as even their own email account. Eric lectures nationally and internationally about the autism spectrum, and his buddy project makes computers available to people who would not otherwise have access.” 

Nominated by the American College of Healthcare Trustees