Accreditation Field Representatives

Patrick K. Birmingham, MD, FASA

Dr. Patrick Birmingham is board certified in anesthesiology and pediatric anesthesiology. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame and from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He completed his anesthesiology residency at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he also served as Chief Resident, and completed a Northwestern University pediatric anesthesiology fellowship at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago (formerly Children’s Memorial Hospital). He is a current Fellow of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (FASA) and a former Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (FAAP).

Dr. Birmingham provided 35 years of continuous service to the Departments of Anesthesiology at Lurie Children’s Hospital and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. He served as division head of Pain Medicine and executive vice-chair of Lurie Children’s Department of Anesthesiology; and as professor of Anesthesiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Dr. Birmingham has enjoyed educating, training, mentoring, and collaborating on research with well over 1,000 residents from five different anesthesiology residency programs and more than 150 Northwestern University pediatric anesthesiology fellows. He received recognition for excellence in airway skills training and supervision of Northwestern University emergency medicine, pediatrics, ICU, and transport medicine trainees. He had an active teaching role in the anesthesiology residency and fellowship curricula and in fellow and attending staff recruitment and retention at Northwestern. He also served on international medical relief trips to Mexico, southeast Asia, and the Middle East.

Dr. Birmingham has published and lectured nationally and internationally on pediatric pain and regional anesthesiology topics. He has been a faculty member on multiple national regional anesthesiology workshops and has served on numerous American Society of Anesthesiologists’ committees. He is a senior question writer and editor of the Pediatric Anesthesiology Written Board Examination for the American Board of Anesthesiology, and an editor for the international journal Pediatric Anesthesia.

Dr. Birmingham joined the Accreditation Field Staff in 2023. He and his wife MaryClare live in Chicago and enjoy spending time with their children, grandchildren, and extended families.

Jennifer J. Buescher, MD, MSPH

Jennifer J. Buescher, MD, MSPH graduated from Drake University and the Pritzker School of Medicine of the University of Chicago. She completed her family medicine residency and a faculty development fellowship at the University of Missouri – Columbia, where she also completed her Master’s degree in medical education.

Dr. Buescher served as a faculty member at the Clarkson Family Medicine Residency Program in Omaha, Nebraska for 15 years, serving as the program director during her final years. She has been active with the Nebraska Academy of Family Physicians, specifically working to increase the involvement of medical students and residents within the Academy. Her professional interests include primary care transformation in value-based care models, professionalism in residency, and physician well-being.

Dr. Buescher joined the ACGME in 2015 as a Field Representative for the Clinical Learning Environment Review (CLER) Program, performing over 80 CLER site visits before transitioning to the Department of Accreditation, Recognition, and Field Activities as an Accreditation Field Representative in 2021.

Dr. Buescher currently resides in Omaha, Nebraska and maintains a part-time clinical primary care practice.

Joseph F. Campisano, PhD

Dr. Joseph Campisano received both his bachelor's and master's degrees from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and his doctorate from the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh. His doctoral dissertation dealt with the identification of criteria affecting the transfer of didactic material to the clinical setting.

After serving in the US Army from 1964 to 1967, Dr. Campisano held a number of teaching and training positions. From 1971 to 1976, he served as a personnel analyst in the Department of Public Welfare for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, serving at the Torrence and Holidaysburg State Hospitals.

From 1976 to 1985, he served as director of training and development at the Conemaugh Valley Memorial Hospital in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and from 1985 to 1988, as Vice Chairman and later Acting Chairman of the Department of Education and Staff Services at the same institution. Through that time, he served as an educational consultant to the Commission on Accreditation of the Pennsylvania Medical Society and as an educational consultant to several residency programs. Dr. Campisano has been an active member of the American Society for Training and Development, the American Society for Health Education and Training and the Hospital Association of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Campisano joined the Accreditation Field Staff of the ACGME in September 1988 and since that time has carried out site visits to more than 2,847 programs. He and his wife Pamela live in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania.

Donna A. Caniano, MD

Donna A. Caniano, MD is Professor of Surgery Emeritus at The Ohio State University College of Medicine and Surgeon-in-Chief Emeritus at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio. She graduated from Vassar College and received her medical degree from the Albany Medical College. She completed a residency in general surgery at the Albany Medical Center Hospital, a fellowship in pediatric surgical critical care at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and a residency in pediatric surgery at the Columbus Children’s Hospital.

In 1999, Dr. Caniano was appointed the H. William Clatworthy, Jr. Professor of Pediatric Surgery at The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Surgeon-in-Chief at the Columbus Children’s Hospital, and program director for the residency in pediatric surgery.

Dr. Caniano has served as the chairperson of the Section on Surgery of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and as secretary of the American Pediatric Surgical Association. She is a member of numerous professional surgical organizations, including the American College of Surgeons and the American Surgical Association, and was a member of the Pediatric Surgery Board of the American Board of Surgery from 2000 to 2006. She served on the editorial boards of The Journal of Pediatric Surgery and Pediatric Surgery International and is co-author of Reoperative Pediatric Surgery. She received numerous awards for teaching and leadership, including The Distinguished Educator Award by The Ohio State University College of Medicine, a Woman of Achievement for 2006 by the Columbus YWCA, and a Distinguished Alumnus Award by the Albany Medical College in 2008. In 2014, the Section on Surgery of the AAP honored her with the Arnold M. Salzberg Award for Mentorship.

She resides in Williamsburg, Virginia, with her husband, Richard Flores, where they enjoy spending time with their children and grandchildren. Dr. Caniano joined the ACGME Accreditation Field Staff in 2010.

Joseph D’Ambrosio, MD, DMD

Dr. D’Ambrosio is a Massachusetts native who completed his undergraduate education at Johns Hopkins University. He returned to New England after college and obtained both his dental and medical degrees from Boston University. He practiced dentistry for over a decade, including a period as a commissioned officer in the United States Public Health Service.

With a strong interest in preventive care, Dr. D’Ambrosio eventually returned to medicine and completed his combined internal medicine-pediatrics training at Baylor Affiliated Programs in Houston, Texas. After his residency, Dr. D’Ambrosio joined a combined internal medicine and pediatrics practice in Florida, during which time he served as a community faculty member at the University of South Florida School of Medicine.

In 2005, he returned to academic medicine and accepted a full-time teaching position at what was then Michigan State University/Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies (MSU/KCMS). He served for 10 years as both the combined medicine-pediatrics and transitional year program director, and was an integral member of the leadership team that transitioned MSU/KCMS to the Western Michigan University, Homer Stryker MD, School of Medicine.

With the evolution of the new medical school, Dr. D’Ambrosio assumed the role of Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, a position he held until joining the ACGME Field Staff. As a member of the AAMC Group on Resident Affairs, Dr. D’Ambrosio completed the Medical Education Leadership Development Course. He is currently board certified in internal medicine and pediatrics. Dr. D’Ambrosio officially joined the ACGME Field Staff Representatives in March 2019.

Vicki Diaz, PhD, MSN

Vicki Diaz, PhD, MSN is a native Floridian and “Triple Gator,” having completed her bachelor’s degree in nursing, master’s degree in nursing (specialization in adult health), and doctoral degree in curriculum and instruction (specialization in educational media and instructional design) all from the University of Florida. Her doctoral research examined cognitive learning styles and locus of control strategies and the effect on anxiety and learner achievement.

Dr. Diaz is an advanced practice nurse and worked as a neurosurgical nurse practitioner in Florida before relocating to Michigan. In 1998, she joined the faculty of Wayne State University School of Medicine in the Department of Neurological Surgery as an assistant professor, later promoted to associate professor. Dr. Diaz served as the Director of Education and Development for the academic department and became the Associate Program Director in 2006. Having served on multiple graduate medical education (GME) institutional and departmental committees and university faculty development committees, she has over 20 years of GME experience. Dr. Diaz worked closely with the residency program on curriculum, mentorship, quality improvement projects, program evaluation, and resident and faculty member scholarship. She also developed a mentoring program for medical students interested in neurological surgery, and a continuing medical education program for community-based health professionals in the neurosciences.

Since joining the Accreditation Field Staff in 2019, Dr. Diaz has returned to live in her home state of Florida.

David M. Drvaric, MD

David M. Drvaric, MD graduated from Emory University School of Medicine in 1978. He completed two years of general surgery training and four years of orthopaedic surgery residency all at Duke University Medical Center, finishing in 1984. Dr. Drvaric completed his training with a pediatric orthopaedic fellowship at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans. He is certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery.

Upon completion of his training, he began his career at The Emory Clinic as an assistant professor at Emory University School of Medicine, where he served for two years. In 1987, he assumed a position as assistant professor at Brown University School of Medicine. He returned to Emory in 1989 as Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery at Grady Memorial Hospital and the orthopaedic surgery program director.

In 1993, Dr. Drvaric moved to the Shriners Hospital for Children in Springfield, Massachusetts. He was the program liaison to the Boston University School of Medicine orthopaedic surgery residency and the Albany (New York) Medical Center orthopaedic surgery residency. He advanced to Professor at Boston University and Clinical Professor at Albany. In 1999, he was appointed Chief of Staff at the Shriners Hospital, and served in that role until 2017, overseeing all of the medical staff and residency training while continuing his clinical career. He continues to serve the hospital as a staff surgeon with a focus on congenital and acquired limb deficiencies.

Dr. Drvaric has been active with many professional organizations, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the American Orthopaedic Association, the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, and has held positions on various committees within these organizations. He has been a visiting professor both domestically and internationally. He has twice received the Robert E. Leach, MD Resident Teaching Award from the residents at Boston University.

Dr. Drvaric joined the Accreditation Field Staff in February 2018. He resides in Longmeadow, Massachusetts with his wife.

Randall Edson, MD

Randall Edson, MD previously served as the internal medicine program director at California Pacific Medical Center, in San Francisco, California and as clinical professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire. He is board certified in both internal medicine and infectious disease.

Before that Dr. Edson was professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and had a 32-year career as an infectious diseases clinician and internal medicine clinician/educator. While at Mayo, Dr. Edson served as program director for the infectious diseases fellowship program and was a senior associate program director for the internal medicine residency program. In 2013, he was a recipient of the Distinguished Mayo Clinician Award.

Dr. Edson is Chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Infectious Disease Board Exam Committee. He previously served on the ABIM Internal Medicine Exam Committee. He was awarded Mastership in the American College of Physicians in April 2013. In July 2022, he was nominated for fellowship in the Royal College of Physicians-London.

Dr. Edson received a Bachelor's degree in music history at Yale College and a Master's degree in music from the Yale School of Music. He attended medical school at the University of Iowa and completed his internal medicine residency and infectious diseases fellowship at the Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education.

He joined the ACGME as an Accreditation Field Representative in June 2021.

Natali Franzblau, MD, MBA

Dr. Franzblau is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist. With an MD and MBA, Dr. Franzblau has many areas of expertise in health care. She is a practicing physician and an active educator and mentor of both medical students and residents, and recently stepped down from her role as a residency program director.

In addition to her commitment to education, Dr. Franzblau has expertise in documentation, coding, and billing, patient safety, and quality. She has also served as a co-division head of the General Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Cooper Health System, and was involved in the growth of their obstetrics and gynecology program in southern New Jersey.

Dr. Franzblau went to medical school at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and did her residency training at Jefferson Medical College. After receiving an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, she became more involved in administrative roles at Cooper Health System. She served as the Senior Medical Director of Quality and Research and was involved in improving the quality of care through improving systems or creating systems resulting in consistency of care.

She serves as a co-course director of a four-year medical school course, Scholars Workshop, at Cooper Medical School at Rowan University (CMSRU). The curriculum includes topics related to patient safety, quality and performance improvement, evidence-based medicine, research, biostatistics, and epidemiology.

Dr. Franzblau joined the Accreditation Field Staff in January 2018.

Matilda C. Garcia, MD, MPH

Matilda C. Garcia, MD, MPH, is board certified in pediatrics. She graduated from St. Louis University College of Medicine in Baguio City, Philippines, and then attended San Diego State University School of Public Health, where she obtained a Master’s of Public Health in maternal and child health. She completed her internship and residency training in pediatrics at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, where she also served as chief resident, before she moved to San Diego and joined Mercy Health Centers, now part of the Scripps Mercy Healthcare.

Dr. Garcia joined the faculty and then became the program director of the pediatric residency program at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center (now joined with Phoenix Children’s Hospital) in Arizona from 1998-2003. She was a member of the ACGME Review Committee for Pediatrics from 2002-2004. In addition to graduate medical education, Dr. Garcia is passionate about helping underserved children and families. Due to this interest and passion, she has been in private practice, worked at federally qualified health centers, works at Phoenix Indian Medical Center, and served in local and global medical mission work. As a pediatrician, she has taught and supervised medical students and residents in both inpatient and outpatient pediatric settings.

A fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Garcia has also been an active member of the regional council for First Things First, partnering with families and communities supporting the early development and learning of Arizona’s young children. She is also a member of the Quality Improvement Committee for Comprehensive Medical and Dental Program, the health plan that partners with foster care providers to ensure provision of appropriate and quality health care services for the well-being of Arizona's children in foster care.

Dr. Garcia officially joined the Accreditation Field Staff in January 2019. She and her husband live in Arizona, where they enjoy spending time with their grandchildren.

Stephen Goldberg, MD, MBA

Dr. Goldberg is board certified in internal medicine. He graduated from Cornell University and The Chicago Medical School/Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. After completing an internship at the University of Kentucky Medical Center, he served for two years in the US Public Health Service in what is now the Environmental Protection Agency, where he worked on assessing the health effects of air pollution. He then completed his residency training in internal medicine and a fellowship in gastroenterology at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Medical education has been a major focus of Dr. Goldberg’s career. After completing his training, he became a member of the faculty of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and for 25 years was directly involved in the clinical training of fellows in gastroenterology, as well as residents and students in internal medicine. He was later the chairperson of the Year I and subsequently the Year II Curriculum Committee at the school, spanning a period of close to 20 years.

Dr. Goldberg became the Chief of the Department of Internal Medicine at Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati, and later the program director of the internal medicine residency, a position he held for over 20 years. He was also the designated institutional official for the graduate medical education programs at Jewish Hospital for a significant portion of that time. He stepped down from those positions in 2015 but continued to oversee the education of medical students at Jewish Hospital until 2016. He has had academic titles at the professor or associate professor level at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, as well as at four other medical schools utilizing Jewish Hospital as a primary teaching site.

Dr. Goldberg is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and has been active in the Ohio Chapter. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology and a member of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. He joined the Accreditation Field Staff in August 2016, and currently resides in Chicago, Illinois.

Gretta Gross, DO, MEd, FACOFP

Dr. Gretta A. Gross is certified by the American Osteopathic Boards of Family Physicians and Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine, and the American Board of Family Medicine. She graduated from Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania in 1992 and Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1997, where she also completed an undergraduate osteopathic manipulative medicine teaching fellowship. She completed her osteopathic rotating internship and family medicine residency at Warren Hospital in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, and entered private practice at St. Luke’s Family Practice in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania.

In 2003, she entered academic medicine as osteopathic program director and director of osteopathic medical education at Wyoming Valley Family Medicine Residency in Kingston, Pennsylvania. She completed a faculty development fellowship at the University of North Carolina and received her Master of Medical Education degree from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2014. She worked with Houston Healthcare in Warner Robins, Georgia as founding program director for their family medicine residency. In 2016, she returned to Pennsylvania to be closer to family. She worked as vice president of clinical skills testing for the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners and as a faculty physician for the WellSpan Family Medicine Residency – York Hospital, where she maintains academic practice one day per week seeing patients and precepting residents.

She has served on the Board of Trustees and as secretary/treasurer for the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Family Physicians Society, has participated with various committees for the American Academy of Osteopathy and American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, and is a member of the American Osteopathic Association, Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association, Society of Teachers of Family Medicine, and American Association of Family Physicians.

Dr. Gross lives on a farm in York Haven, Pennsylvania near her hometown and family. Her brothers are the seventh generation of Grosses to run the family farm and farm her land as well. She joined the ACGME in April 2022.

Lindsey Grossman, MD

Dr. Lindsey Grossman is a graduate of the Boston University College of Liberal Arts and School of Medicine. She completed a general pediatric residency at the University of Maryland and a fellowship in general academic pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University and was a member of one of the first classes of the Midcareer Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Fellowship for Women at Drexel University. She has served as a member of the faculty in general pediatrics at Johns Hopkins, The Ohio State University, the Medical College of Virginia, the University of Maryland, and Tufts University, rising eventually to the rank of Professor at Tufts and Chair of Pediatrics at Baystate Children’s Hospital. She joined the ACGME in January 2016.

Most recently she served as the Chief Operations Officer at a community health center in Massachusetts. Her research has centered on health services issues, and her interests have always involved graduate medical education and service to underprivileged children, particularly those with special needs. A fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, she has also been active in the Academic Pediatrics Association throughout her career.

She and her husband, Dr. Neil Grossman, a pediatric hematologist-oncologist, reside in Massachusetts and are often found on Martha’s Vineyard with their two daughters and four grandchildren.

Laura Hempstead, DO

Dr. Laura Hempstead graduated from Coe College in 1983 and from University of North Texas Health Science Center Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1987. She completed her internship and family medicine residency in Grand Prairie, Texas. She was in solo private practice until 1999, when she joined the faculty in the Community and Family Medicine Department at University of Missouri Kansas City, eventually rising to the rank of Professor. She served as the Osteopathic Program Director and Director of Medical Education in UMKC’s dually-accredited family medicine residency program from 2008-2017.

She has been very active in osteopathic organizations, serving on the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians In-Service Examination Committee as the vice-chair, and as a past president of the Missouri Society for the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, and the Kansas City Regional Osteopathic Medical Association. She served as chair of the UMKC Clinical Competency Committee from 2014-2017 and guided the UMKC program as it achieved ACGME Osteopathic Recognition. Her interests include caring for multiple generations within a family medicine practice, and fostering the use of Osteopathic Medical Treatment in the clinical practice setting.

She and her husband, Stan Smith, a nursing home administrator and executive for Adva-Net, reside in St. Louis and enjoy spending time with their three children and two grandchildren.

Barbara M. Heywood, MD, MACM, FAAOA

Barbara M. Heywood, MD, MACM comes to the ACGME from the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. Dr. Heywood was a professor and an active clinician in a practice that included all phases of ear, nose, and throat medicine. Her particular interest was in voice and allergy. During her time as a residency program director, she earned a Master’s degree in academic medicine from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Heywood has experience in both academic medicine and leadership positions in the private practice of medicine. She served the Department of Otolaryngology for 15 years and as the residency program director for 11 years at the University of Nebraska in Omaha.

Prior to 1999, she was in private practice, both solo and then in a group practice, at Midlands Community Hospital in Nebraska, where she chaired many committees at the Midlands Community Hospital in Papillion, Nebraska. She was secretary and president of the medical staff, served as chief of surgery, and chaired the Medical Executive Committee at the same institution.

Dr. Heywood completed her medical education and residency at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, where she also completed her residency. She is certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology and the American Academy of Otolaryngic Allergy.

Dr. Heywood moved to the Houston, Texas area in 2014 to be with family and joined the ACGME as an Accreditation Field Representative.

Donald E. Kraybill, PhD. MSW

Donald Kraybill, PhD, received his Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana, his Master’s degree in social work from California State University in Fresno, California, and his Doctorate in psychology from Alliant University/California School of Professional Psychology in Fresno, California.

After completing his graduate training, Dr. Kraybill was a behavioral scientist at the University of California-Davis affiliated family medicine residency program in Merced, California. He then joined the Penn Foundation for Behavioral Health in Sellersville, Pennsylvania as a clinical psychologist wih an emphasis on children and adolescents.

In 1985, he became the Director of Behavioral Science at the Montgomery Hospital Medical Center in Norristown, Pennsylvania. In this capacity he was responsible for providing Temple University-affiliated family medicine residents with training and experience in behavioral medicine. In addition to teaching and precepting, he served on the Graduate Medical Education Committee, published research, and coordinated the curriculum for the psychiatry rotation.

In 1988, he also took a position as the Region II Mental Health Consultant (serving six states) for the US Department of Labor, Youth Services/Job Corps Program in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was responsible for site reviews and provided technical assistance to evaluate the overall medical, dental, mental health, and substance abuse programs for 20 Job Corps Centers.

Dr. Kraybill joined the ACGME as an Accreditation Field Representative in February 2002. Since then he has conducted over 900 accreditation site visits of graduate medical education programs.

He currently resides with his wife in Harleysville, Pennsylvania.

David L. Larson, MD, FACS

David L. Larson, MD, FACS is a board-certified plastic surgeon who most recently held the position of Chair of the Department of Plastic Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Dr. Larson joined the Medical College in 1986 as Professor and Chief of the Division of Plastic Surgery, assuming the role of Chair when that division became a department in 2001. In 2007, he was named George J. Korkos Professor in Plastic Surgery, as the department’s first endowed chair. During the 27 years he directed the department, Dr. Larson served as program director for 20 years, specializing in plastic and reconstructive surgery for patients with injuries from trauma, chronic wounds, and cancer-related problems, as well as cosmetic surgery. He was previously the only plastic surgeon at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas from 1979 to 1985.

Dr. Larson is board certified in both otolaryngology (1976) and plastic surgery(1980). He received his medical degree from Louisiana State University in New Orleans (1969), and completed a residency in otolaryngology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and a residency in plastic surgery at Indiana University Medical Center in Indianapolis, Indiana. Dr. Larson also served on active duty for two years as a general medical officer (Okinawa, US Naval Hospotal in San Diego) with the US Navy and in the US Navy Reserve for 11 years, retiring in 2003 as a Captain in the Medical Corps.

He lives in Elm Grove, Wisconsin, a suburb of Milwaukee. He and his wife, Sherry, are blessed with three children and seven grandchildren, who live close by.

Dr. Larson joined the Accreditation Field Staff in September 2012.

Bruce Latham, MD, DVM

Bruce Latham, MD, DVM is a board-certified internist and endocrinologist with 31 years of experience as a clinician, educator, and program director. Prior to medical school, he received his veterinary medicine degree from the University of Georgia in 1983, and practiced as a part-time veterinarian during the first two years of medical school. Dr. Latham graduated from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in 1987 and subsequently completed his residency in internal medicine and fellowship in endocrinology at the Dorn Veterans Hospital and Richland Memorial Hospital in Columbia, South Carolina. He is board certified in both internal medicine and endocrinology.

Dr. Latham practiced endocrinology for his entire clinical career, and also worked as an internal medicine ward attending physician for 21 years at Greenville Memorial Hospital in Greenville, South Carolina. He served as program director in internal medicine at Greenville Memorial Hospital from 2006 to 2011. His academic career was as associate professor of Medicine at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville campus, where he taught medical residents and first- and second-year medical students.

Dr. Latham has received multiple awards for teaching and is recognized by Best Doctors in America. He is a charter member of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and a Fellow in the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Latham joined the Accreditation Field Staff in January 2021. He lives in Greenville, South Carolina with his wife, close to one son and two grandchildren.

Sonny Lee, MD

Dr. Sonny Lee graduated from UC Berkeley with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry. He stayed in the Bay Area for two years afterwards before matriculating at New York Medical College. He then returned to Southern California where he completed a combined internal medicine-pediatrics (med-peds) residency at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California.

After completing residency, he joined the faculty at Loma Linda where he initially had varied interests, including chairing the hospital’s Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee. He also initially served in both the inpatient and outpatient roles for the Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics.

Feeling more of a draw towards medical education, Dr. Lee served as the associate program director of the med-peds residency program at Loma Linda. He then transitioned to the program director role in 2008, followed by assuming the program director role of the internal medicine program at Loma Linda from 2016 to 2023.

Dr. Lee continues to serve the pediatric and adult population of the Inland Empire in his outpatient med-peds practice. He has also assumed several other roles, including as an advisor to the medical students at Loma Linda University School of Medicine; vice chair of Education in the Department of Medicine; and faculty member within the institution’s Graduate Medical Education Committee. He continues to maintain board certification with both the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Pediatrics.

In his free time, Dr. Lee enjoys sports of all kind, but specifically fastpitch softball (which his older daughter plays at a Division 1 collegiate level). He resides with his wife as recent empty-nesters in Redlands, California and they look forward to traveling even more! Dr. Lee joined the ACGME as an Accreditation Field Representatives in August 2023.

Martha S. Matthews, MD, FACS

Dr. Martha S. Matthews is a professor of Surgery at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University and is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. She is a graduate of Jefferson Medical College in the accelerated pre-medical/medical program with Pennsylvania State University, and completed her general surgery residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, followed by a plastic surgery residency at Eastern Virginia Graduate School of Medicine. She is a graduate of the American College of Surgeons “Surgeons as Educators” program and earned the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) GME Leadership Development certificate.

Dr. Matthews’ clinical career spanned the breadth of plastic surgery, with a specialization in cleft lip and palate care. She recently retired from clinical practice after a 34-year career at Cooper University Healthcare. She has had a lifelong interest in medical education and has served as a program director of the plastic surgery residency for more than 20 years, an early career stint as an assistant program director of the general surgery residency, and as the Chair of Cooper’s Graduate Medical Education Committee for 22 years. She was the recipient of Cooper’s Sol Sherry Teaching Award, Cooper’s Senior Physician Award, and the inaugural Cooper Women in Medicine Lifetime Achievement Award. She served as Cooper’s President of the Medical Staff and participated in a wide range of institutional committees, including on Cooper’s Board of Trustees.

Dr. Matthews is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the American Association of Plastic Surgeons, the American Association of Academic Plastic Surgeons, the American Cleft Palate Association, and the AAMC Group on Resident Affairs. She has been actively involved in many committees, workgroups, and commissions.

She resides in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she enjoys the arts, hiking, and travel.

Rebecca P. McAlister, MD

Rebecca P. McAlister, MD is a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology. She is a professor emeritus in obstetrics and gynecology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri.

Dr. McAlister graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1977 and received her medical degree from the University of Kentucky School of Medicine in 1979. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Loyola Affiliated Hospitals in Chicago, Illinois in 1983. She joined the faculty in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Washington University School of Medicine in 1987 as a generalist. There she was residency program director for obstetrics and gynecology from 1994 to 2009, and associate dean for graduate medical education and designated institutional official from 1997 to 2020.

Dr. McAlister was a member of the ACOG Council for Residency Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CREOG) from 1998 to 2005. She was vice chair of CREOG from 2002 to 2004 and has participated on numerous CREOG committees. From 2004 to 2021, she has served as the program chair for the annual CREOG School for Program Directors. She was a member of the ACGME Review Committee for Obstetrics and Gynecology from 2005 to 2012 and served as vice chair from 2009 to 2012. She chaired the ACGME Milestones Work Group for Obstetrics and Gynecology from 2009 to 2011 and worked with the ACGME on the implementation of the Milestones in 2012.

A native of Kentucky, Dr. McAlister and her husband live in St. Louis, Missouri. They have two sons and two grandchildren in St. Louis and a daughter in Pasadena, California.

Joan Younger Meek, MD, MS, FAAP, FABM

Dr. Joan Younger Meek is a professor emeritus in the Department of Clinical Sciences at the Florida State University College of Medicine, where she served as the associate dean for Graduate Medical Education and designated institutional official from 2012-2022. During that time, she oversaw the development of 10 new ACGME-accredited programs. From 2019-2022 she was the Orlando Regional Campus dean for the FSU College of Medicine, with oversight for the clinical education of both medical and physician assistant students. She was the first pediatric clerkship director for the FSU College of Medicine in Orlando, serving in that role from 2002-2014. Dr. Meek was previously on the faculty of the pediatric residency at Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, part of Orlando Health, from 1994-2014, serving as program director from 2004-2012.

Dr. Meek received a master’s degree in clinical nutrition from the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky, and her medical degree from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, and completed her pediatric residency at Duke University Medical Center. She served on active duty as a pediatrician in the US Army, where she was stationed at Fort Leavenworth and Madigan Army Medical Center. She was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel prior to discharge from the US Army Reserves.

Dr. Meek is a board-certified pediatrician, a registered dietitian, and an international board-certified lactation consultant. She is a fellow and previous president of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine. She also chaired the United States Breastfeeding Committee. Dr. Meek has been active in the American Academy of Pediatrics and served as chair of the Section on Breastfeeding. She has contributed to multiple publications and given many presentations in the areas of infant nutrition and breastfeeding.

Dr. Meek recently retired from FSU and relocated with her husband from Orlando, Florida to the Houston, Texas area to be closer to some of their three children and five grandchildren. She joined the ACGME’s Accreditation Field Staff in February 2022.

Margaret H. Mulligan, PhD

Dr. Mulligan received her Bachelor's degree in public relations from Marquette University. She obtained K-12 teaching certification from Northern Michigan University, and English-as-a-second language teaching certification from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Dr. Mulligan obtained a Master's degree in adult education and administrative leadership from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She earned her doctorate in urban education with a focus in adult learning from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Dr. Mulligan's doctoral dissertation examined the impact of mandated learning portfolios in graduate medical education.

Dr. Mulligan joined the Medical College of Wisconsin in Urology and Diagnostic Radiology to assist in the development and overall educational quality of accredited and non-accredited programs. She joined the faculty in 2012, with particular focus on accreditation and educational development. Dr. Mulligan has served on numerous committees, including the institutional GMEC program review committee. She has also focused on faculty development, faculty promotion and promotion of scholarly activity.

Dr. Mulligan has spoken nationally on a variety of GME topics, including the ACGME Self-Study process and other accreditation-related topics. She co-developed a national, monthly, published journal club study guide, and actively promoted faculty involvement and initiation in scholarly activity.

Michael Ostapchuk, MD, MSEd

Dr. Ostapchuk is a board-certified family physician. He graduated from the University of Kentucky Medical School in 1987, and after completing a pediatric residency at East Carolina University, Brody School of Medicine in 1990, he worked as a general pediatrician in Eastern Kentucky for five years. In 1995 he began a residency in family medicine at the University of Louisville School of Medicine.

Dr. Ostapchuk became a faculty member at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine in 1998. During his time there he held many roles, including serving as associate family medicine program director from 1998-2009, when he became the program director. He held this position until 2013, when he became the Associate Dean for Medical Student Affairs. Also, during this time, he served as an Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education and chaired the GME Accreditation subcommittee.

In 2017, Dr. Ostapchuk became Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education, designated institutional official, and professor of Family Medicine at East Tennessee State University, Quillen College of Medicine. Dr. Ostapchuk has had a career-long love of medical education. He completed a Master of Science degree in education at the University of Southern California in 2004.

He joined the Accreditation Field Staff in October 2021 and currently resides in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Desiree B. Pendergrass, MD, MPH

Desiree B. Pendergrass, MD, MPH is board certified in both pediatrics and preventive medicine. She earned a BA in chemistry from Texas Christian University and a medical degree from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston (now the McGovern School of Medicine). Dr. Pendergrass completed her pediatric internship at the University of Missouri at Columbia and her pediatric residency at the University of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City. After several years in private practice in Oklahoma City, she felt called to pursue medicine at a population level and completed a general preventive medicine and public health residency at Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health (now the Bloomberg School of Public Health) in Baltimore, Maryland. During this time, she also completed a Master of Public Health with a concentration in maternal child health.

Prior to joining ACGME as an Accreditation Field Representative, she worked in several areas within medicine including academic medicine, public health, and as a pediatrician in private practice.

From 2017-2019 she served as Associate Professor of Preventive Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) with dual appointments in the School of Medicine and the John D. Bower School of Population Health (SoPH). While at UMMC, she worked with other faculty members to develop a new preventive medicine residency, and as part of a team to develop and then implement a HRSA-funded preventive medicine training grant, which included development of course work and practicum on the social determinants of health. She also served as an educator within the preventive medicine residency, including supervising the quality improvement rotation. Population health activities included medical student lectures on immunizations and preventive services for women and children; participation in several SoPH work groups and committees, including the Dispensary of Hope research group; and serving as the director of the inaugural health policy fellowship. Clinical work included supervision of pediatric residents in the continuity of care clinic. Her interests include residency education, quality improvement, policy development, the care of special populations, such as children with special health care needs, and issues surrounding immunization coverage.

Dr. Pendergrass was a member of the pediatric faculty at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in Lubbock (2007-2017), earning the rank of Associate Professor. There she collaborated with others to establish a stand-alone pediatric resident continuity of care clinic, the Raider Clinic, where she served as medical director. She also served on several educational committees, including the Pediatric Clinical Competency Committee and the Program Evaluation Committee. She was a member of the planning committee for Texas Tech’s Annual Pediatric Postgraduate Course (2012-2017), serving as co-course director from 2015-2017. At Texas Tech she received several awards, including the Departmental Unsung Hero Award, Outstanding Clerkship Educator, and the Dean’s Clinical Teaching Award. She is most proud of two honors awarded by the pediatric residents – the Opus Award and the Golden Orchiometer Award.

Previously, Dr. Pendergrass worked at the Texas Department of State Health Services (formerly the Texas Department of Health); where she developed medical policy for the Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) program and the Medicaid Comprehensive Care Program. She was also the clinical coordinator for the Texas Medical Foundation, providing expertise in the area of population-based medical quality improvement.

She and her husband, Dr. Peter W. Pendergrass, a preventive medicine physician, have recently relocated to Austin, Texas to be closer to family. They have two grown children, Katherine and Peter Jr., who are twins.

Donna M. Polk, MD, MPH

Dr. Donna Polk is a board-certified cardiologist who earned her medical degree from the University of Vermont School of Medicine. After initially entering a surgical residency, she completed her internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine. She also earned a Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health.

After completing her fellowship, Dr. Polk was the assistant director of the Preventive and Rehabilitative Cardiac Center at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. While there, she also became the associate program director for the Cardiology Fellowship program. She returned east to be closer to family and took a position at Hartford Hospital, in Hartford Connecticut, as the director of Preventive Cardiology and Cardiac Rehabilitation and served as the program director of the cardiology fellowship program. She was then recruited to run the cardiology fellowship program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, where she also served as medical director of cardiac rehabilitation.

Dr. Polk’s commitment to education has been a constant throughout her career. In addition to serving on several institutional graduate medical education committees, she has volunteered with the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, where she served for several years as chair of the Education Committee, and most recently, as a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Counsel. Additionally, she has worked extensively with the American College of Cardiology on curriculum development and in-training examination development, and she currently serves as editor-in-chief of the practice question portion of the College’s major educational platform. She recently completed her term as a member of the ACGME Review Committee for Internal Medicine; she also served as a member of the ACGME’s Internal Medicine 2035 Writing Group.

Dr. Polk joined the ACGME’s Accreditation Field Staff in May 2022. She lives with her husband on a farm in North Yarmouth, Maine, with their coop full of chickens, two cats, and a dog.

Kathleen Quinn-Leering, PhD

Dr. Kathleen Quinn-Leering received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the State University of New York at Binghamton and her doctorate from the University of Michigan’s combined program in education and psychology. After her graduate training, she completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Institute for the Study and Prevention of Violence at Kent State University. In 2001, Dr. Quinn-Leering joined Case Western Reserve University as a research associate at the Center on Urban Poverty and Social Change and the Center on Interventions for Children and Families.

Dr. Quinn-Leering’s introduction to graduate medical education (GME) came in 2007 after she moved to Wisconsin and was looking for a career change. She was recruited by the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) Department of Neurosurgery and one her responsibilities was coordinating the residency program. She quickly became a convert to the world of GME! She then joined the MCW Graduate Medical Education Office where she worked for nine years with the designated institutional official directing accreditation activities of over 80 ACGME-accredited programs. During this time, Dr. Quinn-Leering presented both locally and nationally on a variety of GME topics.

In 2017, Dr. Quinn-Leering joined the ACGME as an Executive Director of three Review Committees. She was responsible for overseeing Review Committee activities that ensured program compliance with the accreditation standards and frequently spoke about ACGME accreditation at national meetings.

Dr. Quinn-Leering joined the Accreditation Field Staff in November 2023.

Kristen B. Raines, MD

Kristen B. Raines, MD is board certified in internal medicine and sub-board certified in endocrinology. She graduated summa cum laude from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, and completed medical school training at Vanderbilt University. She completed her internal medicine residency and endocrinology fellowship training at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC.

Upon completing her graduate medical education, Dr. Raines held a number of teaching and administrative positions with the United States Army Medical Department.

She was the director of intern training and program director of the transitional year residency program at Tripler Army Medical Center from 1988 to 1993. She then assumed the position of Chief of Undergraduate and Continuing Medical Education in the United States Army Health Professional Support Agency, Office of the Surgeon General. In 1995, she became the Deputy Director of the U.S. Army Medical Command’s Directorate of Medical Education and was promoted to Director in 1997. She held that position until she retired from military service in late 2004.

Dr. Raines has been active with a number of professional organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, the Endocrine Society, the Alliance for Continuing Medical Education, and the Society of Medical Consultants to the Armed Forces. She has also served as a member of the National Board of Medical Examiners and as the military observer for the ACGME.

She became a member of the Accreditation Field Staff in October 2004. She has conducted over 332 site visits in a variety of specialties. Dr. Raines resides in Alexandria, Virginia with her husband.

Gerant Rivera, MD

Gerant Rivera, MD obtained his medical degree in 1987 from the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, and completed his diagnostic radiology residency at the University of California, San Diego in 1994. After four years of active-duty service in the United States Air Force, he completed a fellowship in vascular and interventional radiology at the University of California, San Francisco.

In 1997, Dr. Rivera joined the faculty of the Department of Radiology at the University of Puerto Rico. In Puerto Rico, he led the Vascular and Interventional Radiology Section at the San Juan Veterans Administration Medical Center for five years. In 2002, he accepted a faculty appointment in the Department of Radiology at University of California, San Diego, where he served as program director of the vascular/interventional radiology fellowship and interventional radiology residency programs. Dr. Rivera retired from the University of California, San Diego, after 25 years dedicated to educating and training medical students, residents, and fellows in interventional radiology.

Dr. Rivera is board certified in interventional radiology/diagnostic radiology. He is a Fellow of the Society of Interventional Radiology and the Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiological Society of Europe. He is an Honor member of the Cuban Imaging Society. Dr. Rivera has given more than 150 lectures in the United States and abroad, and is the author of many original manuscripts, book chapters, and books on interventional radiology.

Dr. Rivera joined the Accreditation Field Staff in November 2021. He lives in San Diego, California.

William W. Robertson, Jr., MD, MBA

William W. Robertson Jr., MD, is a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon. He graduated from Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 1972. After completing internship training in general surgery at the University of San Diego, he served two years in the US Navy. Subsequently, he completed graduate training in orthopaedic surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 1979.

After his residency, Dr. Robertson assumed an academic position at Texas Tech School of Medicine, advancing in 1985 to Associate Professor in the Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery and Pediatrics.

From 1987 to 1990, he served as Associate Professor of Orthopaedics at the University of Pennsylvania. He then joined George Washington University as a Professor of Orthopaedics and Pediatrics, where he remained through 2000. In addition to his teaching duties, he served as Chairman of the pediatric orthopaedic surgery program at Children's National Medical Center from 1990 to 1999.

Dr. Robertson has been active with a number of professional organizations, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Orthopaedic Association, the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (Orthopaedic Surgery Section).

Dr. Robertson has served as a Specialist Site Visitor for the ACGME Review Committee for Orthopaedic Surgery. He joined the Accreditation Field Staff in May 2001, and has conducted over 1500 site visits. He currently resides in Bethesda, Maryland with his wife.

Pamela Royston, PhD, DHSc

Pamela Royston, PhD, DHSc has 29 years of experience in medical education. Her career has included working with three medical schools, two medical education consortiums, community teaching hospitals, and as a consultant. She has served as a designated institutional official (DIO) of an ACGME-accredited Sponsoring Institution for over 10 years. She completed feasibility analysis to develop graduate medical education programs for more than 30 hospitals, including strategy alignment and financial projections, and facilitated instructional design of residency programs and institutional curriculum meeting accreditation standards to align with the ACGME’s Clinical Learning Environment Review Program. Dr. Royston assisted other DIOs with developing standardized work, scorecards, and Medicare audit protocols. She also developed and instructed courses for physicians new to teaching, including supervision and billing (key to Medicare Part B maximization), and assisted with implementation of residency management suites to incorporate financing modules to produce FTE reports for Medicare reimbursement.

Dr. Royston currently has a clinical faculty appointment at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. She has previously held adjunct professor appointments at the University of Michigan-Flint and Kettering University, where she taught various accounting courses for over 16 years. Dr. Royston is also a certified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator instructor.

Dr. Royston received her Bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan-Flint, her Master’s degree in administration from Central Michigan University, and her doctorate in health sciences from A.T. Still University. She lives with her husband and two dogs in Romeo, Michigan. She has three grown sons, two of whom are engineers and the third who is a radiologist in the Army. She enjoys spending time traveling and camping with her six grandchildren.

Judith D. Rubin, MD, MPH

Judith D. Rubin, MD, MPH is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. Following her internship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, she was an exchange resident in pediatrics in Shiraz, Iran. She completed her residency in pediatrics and in preventive medicine at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, during which time she received the Master of Public Health degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. Dr. Rubin is board certified in both pediatrics and preventive medicine.

Dr. Rubin held a joint faculty appointment in the Department of Pediatrics and the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine for over 30 years, where she was the director of the preventive medicine residency program for over 20 years. She is a former member of the American Board of Preventive Medicine and the ACGME Review Committee for Preventive Medicine, and a former chair of the Graduate Medical Education Committee of the American College of Preventive Medicine.

Since joining the Accreditation Field Staff in April 2005, Dr. Rubin has conducted over 800 site visits.

Lee Segal, MD

Lee S. Segal, MD is board certified in orthopaedic surgery. He completed his undergraduate education at Kenyon College, and graduated from Temple University School of Medicine in 1984. He completed his residency training at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, and fellowship training in pediatric orthopaedic surgery at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Dr. Segal was a member of the faculty of the Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine from 1990 to 2007. He was the residency program director, vice-chairman, and professor in orthopaedics and pediatrics. He was the Herbert S. Louis Endowed Chair in Pediatric Orthopaedics at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital from 2007 to 2014, and has held other faculty appointments at the University of Arizona College of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

Dr. Segal has been active with a number of professional organizations, including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Orthopaedic Association, the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. He has been involved in caring for children in countries with limited resources, such as Honduras, since 1995.

He currently resides with his wife in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He joined the Accreditation Field Staff in September 2016.

Michele A. Silver, PhD, MEd

Dr. Michele Silver holds a Bachelor's degree in health education from the University of Florida, a Master's degree in education from Florida Atlantic University, and a PhD in educational leadership with an emphasis in medical education from the University of Florida. Dr. Silver's research interests include the study of critical thinking skills throughout residency and the relationship between critical thinking in resident physicians and their faculty members. She holds a faculty position in medical education at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine.

Dr. Silver has thoroughly enjoyed building a career in graduate medical education. With more than 20 years of experience in medical education, Dr. Silver has actively contributed to the education and training of students and physicians across the medical education continuum. First as program coordinator and then as assistant director of education in the Department of Surgery at the University of Florida (Gainesville), Dr. Silver oversaw undergraduate clinical education activities, managed the general surgery and surgical fellowship programs, and lead departmental faculty development efforts. Later, in collaboration with Mayo Clinic Florida, she played a pivotal role at Naples Community Hospital (NCH) in the transition to a community teaching hospital. At NCH she chaired the CLER subcommittee and served as secretary of the Graduate Medical Education Committee. Dr. Silver has spoken nationally on the topic of educational retreats in GME and the important role of program coordinators as educators in residency programs.

Steven M. Steinberg, MD

Dr. Steven Steinberg received his undergraduate degree in microbiology from The Ohio State University in 1975 and was awarded his medical degree from the same institution. He completed his surgical residency at Ohio State University Hospitals in Columbus, Ohio. From there, he entered a career in academic medicine, first at the State University of New York at Buffalo and then at Tulane University. He returned to The Ohio State University in 1999 as Vice-Chair for Clinical Affairs in the Department of Surgery. In 2006, he was asked to help create and lead a new Division of Trauma, Critical Care, and Burn. From 2006 to 2019, that division grew from three to 14 faculty members. He served as the interim Chair of the Department of Surgery at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center from 2015-2016. He most recently held the positions of Executive Vice-Chair of the Department of Surgery, Surgical Critical Care Program Director, and Director of the Division of Trauma, Critical Care, and Burn. He has been active in advocacy activities on both the state and national levels, and has authored or co-authored approximately 125 manuscripts and book chapters on various surgical and educational topics, including trauma, general surgery, and surgical education. He is a member of numerous academic surgical organizations, including the American Surgical Association, and is a member of the editorial board of Selected Readings in General Surgery. He joined the Accreditation Field Staff in 2020.

He and his wife Beth have five children who all live in the Columbus, Ohio area. Additionally, they have five grandchildren and are looking forward to splitting their year between Columbus and Palm Desert in southern California.

Li Tang, EdD, MPH

Dr. Li Tang holds a Master’s degree in public health from Ohio State University, and a second Master’s degree in higher education and a doctoral degree in higher education administration from University of Akron. In 1993, she joined the Office of Faculty and Graduate Teaching Associate Development at The Ohio State University as an instructional development specialist, and provided training and consultation services to faculty members and graduate teaching associates across academic disciplines for the next eight years.

Since 2001, Dr. Tang has been dedicated to graduate medical education. From 2001 to 2004, she served as the Director of Surgical Education at The Ohio State University Medical Center’s Department of Surgery and helped the general surgery residency program and surgical subspecialty fellowship programs develop training programs and evaluation tools to incorporate the ACGME Core Competencies and outcome assessments. She worked closely with department leadership, program directors, residents/fellows, and faculty members on developing training modules and organizing special-topic events and grand rounds on topics related to the Core Competencies. She conducted research and co-authored publications on the impact of the ACGME’s 80-hour regulations on male and female medical students in considering surgery as their future career. She was also instrumental in developing multi-source evaluation tools for comprehensive assessment of resident/fellow learning outcomes.

In early 2005, Dr. Tang started working with the Mount Carmel Health System (MCHS) as a senior consultant for its Department of Medical Education to assist in the development of the Core Competency training and outcome assessments for residency programs. She joined the department in 2006 as the Associate Director of Medical Education, and was responsible for all academic aspects of resident training, Core Competency program development and implementation, and both external and internal program reviews. From 2009 to 2010 she served as the designated institutional official and Director of Medical Education, with responsibilities for managing the department and overseeing all ACGME-accredited residency programs at MCHS.

Dr. Tang is a certified national educator for the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and has been teaching the Instructor Course for the College’s Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) program in Ohio since 2004.

Dr. Tang joined the Accreditation Field Staff in January 2011. She has since conducted more than 750 accreditation site visits to residency and fellowship programs across all specialties and to multiple Sponsoring Institutions.

Gerald Tuite, MD

Dr. Gerald “Jerry” Tuite retired from practicing pediatric neurological surgery in 2020. He attended Washington University in St. Louis for his undergraduate education and medical school at Northwestern University. He then completed his neurological surgery residency at the University of Michigan and a complex spine and pediatric neurological surgery fellowship at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (Queen Square) and Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, followed by a pediatric neurological surgery fellowship at Texas Children’s Hospital. He is certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgeons and the American Board of Pediatric Neurosurgery.

Dr. Tuite practiced pediatric neurological surgery at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital for most of his career, working in a variety of employment models, including private practice, full-time academic medicine, and as part of a hospital multispecialty group. He was an active member of the neurological surgery faculty at Johns Hopkins Medicine and the University of South Florida. He has been dedicated to resident and medical student education, research, and medical staff leadership throughout his career.

Dr. Tuite has served in many local and national leadership positions, including neurosurgical educational roles, and was awarded the Armstrong Award from Johns Hopkins for his role in promoting patient safety. He is the recipient of local and national research funding, as well as several national research awards, for many research endeavors.

Dr. Tuite joined the Accreditation Field Staff in 2022. He and his wife live in Florida.

Anne B. Warwick, MS, MD, MPH

Dr. Anne Warwick received her undergraduate degree in Latin literature from Bryn Mawr College, and both her Master of Science degree in physiology and Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Minnesota, following which she remained in Minneapolis to complete a residency in pediatrics and a fellowship in pediatric hematology, oncology, and bone marrow transplantation. She earned a Master of Public Health and completed a three-year “Docere” program in medical education and teaching at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She is board certified in both pediatrics and pediatric hematology-oncology.

As a clinician, educator, and researcher, Dr. Warwick has practiced and taught pediatric hematology-oncology and established multidisciplinary clinics for survivors of childhood cancer, and for children, adolescents, and young adults with bone and muscle cancers. She has served on committees for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Education and CME) and the American Society of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology (Publications, Practice, and Nominating). She has been active in the Children’s Oncology Group and is currently a member of the Executive Council for the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Section on Hematology-Oncology.

David Weigle, PhD, MEd, MPH

Dr. Weigle joined the Accreditation Field Staff of the ACGME in 2023. He has 25 years of experience in graduate medical education. He began as a behavioral science faculty member in the family medicine residency program at Austin Medical Education Programs (AMEP)/Seton Family of Hospitals and later became the director of Graduate Medical Education for AMEP before becoming the assistant dean for Graduate Medical Education and Faculty Development at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). In 2009, he became assistant dean for Graduate Medical Education at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center, and in 2014 he became UT Southwestern’s designated institutional official, serving in that position for nine years. He also held adjunct appointments at the University of Texas at Austin, St. Edwards University, Texas State University, and St. Mary’s University.

Dr. Weigle obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in music and psychology from Houston Baptist University in Houston, Texas. He later received a Master of Education degree in counseling from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, as well as a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, Texas and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in counseling psychology from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. He also earned a Certificate in Healthcare Ethics and Policy from the Institute for Medical Humanities at UTMB in Galveston, Texas.

Dr. Weigle has been certified by the American College of Healthcare Executives, the National Board of Public Health Examiners, the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, the National Board of Certified Counselors, and the Council for Certification of IRB Professionals and Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research. He has served on multiple boards, commissions, and committees at the national, state, and local levels, including the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (vice-chair), the Committee on Accreditation of the American Library Association, and the Appeals Committee of the Commission on Dental Accreditation. He has served on multiple Institutional Review Boards, including those at UT Southwestern, UTMB (chair) and UT-Austin (vice-chair). He currently serves on the Board of Texas Health Action, an organization dedicated to providing access to culturally affirming, quality health services in a safe and supportive environment with an expertise in serving LGBTQIA+ people and people impacted by HIV.

He and his husband, Mace, live in Dallas, Texas.

Diana R. Williams, MD, MHPE, FACEP

Diana R. Williams, MD, MHPE, FACEP, attended medical school at the University of Iowa College of Medicine. She received her Master of Health Professions Education degree and trained in emergency medicine at the University of Illinois. She is board certified in emergency medicine. She currently practices emergency medicine at a critical access hospital in rural Wisconsin.

Dr. Williams has a long history of activity with the ACGME. She served as a member of the Review Committee for Emergency Medicine from 1988-1993, and on the Transitional Year Review Committee from 1996-2002. She served as a Specialist Site Visitor for Emergency Medicine from 1993-2007.

Dr. Williams was the designated institutional official at MacNeal Hospital in suburban Chicago for 15 years. MacNeal sponsors both allopathic and osteopathic residency programs.

Dr. Williams resides in the Chicago area.

Janet Yu-Yahiro, PhD

Janet Yu-Yahiro, PhD was recruited by the first Chairman of the Department of Orthopaedics at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital (MUMH) to provide research opportunities for orthopaedic residents, and was appointed Director of Orthopaedic Research in 1996. During her 32-year tenure at MUMH, she developed a research training program for orthopaedic surgery residents and fellows specializing in sports medicine, foot and ankle, shoulder and elbow, hip and knee, and spine, and provided research training and experience to over 200 residents and fellows. She also oversaw the design, funding, and launch of a surgical training facility and three research labs that provided research opportunities in biomechanics and biologics.

Dr. Yu-Yahiro has held an adjunct faculty position in the Division of Gerontology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health for more than 20 years. Through this affiliation she participated in numerous NIH-funded studies in the fields of aging and traumatic hip fractures, and served as a Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator. This fostered collaborative research between the university and the MUMH Orthopaedic Department.

Dr. Yu-Yahiro founded the MUMH Orthopaedic Surgery Visiting Professor Lectureship and Laboratory and the Roger H. Michael Annual Research Award. She also received the Resident Appreciation Award for Excellence in Teaching. Dr. Yu-Yahiro has been active with many professional organizations, including the Orthopaedic Research Society, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American College of Sports Medicine, and the American Physiological Society.

Dr. Yu-Yahiro received her Bachelor’s degree in biology from Wake Forest University and her Master’s degree in exercise science from the University of Maryland, College Park. She completed her doctorate in medical physiology from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

Dr. Yu-Yahiro joined the Accreditation Field Staff in January of 2020. She is married to her husband, Martin Yahiro, and resides in Columbia, Maryland, where she enjoys spending time with their children and grandson.

John A. Zapp, MD

John A. Zapp, MD is a board-certified family physician with 34 years of experience as clinician, educator, and program director. Dr. Zapp completed his undergraduate education at Haverford College (1965) and his medical training at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (1969). He completed a residency in family medicine at Hunterdon Medical Center (HMC) (1972), and military service at the Naval Aerospace and Regional Medical Center in Pensacola, Florida, where he also served as Assistant Director of the Navy’s new family medicine residency, which he helped design.

After four years establishing and directing a rural training practice associated with HMC, Dr. Zapp served as Family Medicine Program Director from 1978 to 1992.

In 1993, Dr. Zapp moved to Philadelphia to the multi-hospital Crozer-Keystone Health System, where he was Chair of Family Medicine and residency program director. During his seven years at Crozer, the residency was re-designed to produce a family physician with major emphasis on ambulatory competence. A Primary Care Medical Informatics Institute was created with H.C. “Moon” Mullins, MD from the University of South Alabama, and the essential need for electronic health records in managing clinical information and just-in-time knowledge at the point of care became a major initiative. Further efforts in the American Medical Informatics Association led to the creation of the National Alliance for Primary Care Informatics, with Dr. Zapp as its founding Chair. He has been a national and international speaker on medical informatics in primary care.

In 2000, Dr. Zapp moved to Mercy Medical Center in Redding, California, where he served his final three years as a program director and participated in the Northern Sierra Rural Health Network as its Director of Medical Education.

Dr. Zapp joined the Accreditation Field Staff in September 2003 and has since conducted over 1,000 site visits.

He and his wife live in Topsham, Maine and together they have four children, six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.