LEADERSHIP
OUR LEADERSHIP
JOHN B. WAITS, MD, FAAP
BOARD PRESIDENT
President & CEO, DIO & Program Director Cahaba Medical Care Centreville, Alabama Dr. John B. Waits, MD, CPE, FAAFP is a practicing, board-certified Family Medicine and Obstetrics physician who serves as CEO of Cahaba Medical Care, as well as Program Director and DIO of the Cahaba+UAB Family Medicine Residency, both which he co-founded with Dr. Lacy Smith. Cahaba Medical Care is a Federally Qualified Community Health Center serving more than 42,000 patients in central Alabama. The Cahaba+UAB Family Medicine Residency is an ACGME-accredited Family Medicine Residency and Teaching Health Center that accepts and graduates 20 residents per year on 4 campuses – one in rural Central Alabama and another in Alabama’s Black Belt Region; as well as two urban sites, one in the West End community in Birmingham and another at the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB).
NEIL S. CALMAN, MD FAAP
CRISTINE SERRANO, MBA, MPH
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
President & CEO Institute for Family Health New York, New York Dr. Calman is a board-certified family physician and the CEO and co-founder of the Institute for Family Health. Since 1983, Dr. Calman has led the Institute in developing family health centers in the Bronx, Manhattan (where he practiced for 38 years) and in the Hudson Valley. Under his leadership, the Institute has been successful in establishing health professionals training programs in medicine, nursing, administration and mental health. In 2012, through an affiliation between the Institute and Mount Sinai, Dr. Calman became Professor and Chair of a new Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai where family physicians now practice and teach with full clinical privileges in the Mount Sinai Health System and its affiliated hospitals. Dr. Calman currently serves as the chair of the public policy committee of the Community Health Care Association of New York State (CHCANYS). Dr. Calman has been a leader in the national effort to eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health outcomes, leading to the Institute’s designation by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as a National Center of Excellence in the Elimination of Disparities. This work has been supported by funding from CDC and the National Institutes of Health, as well as a number of foundations. Dr. Calman’s published essay, Out of the Shadows (Health Affairs, Jan/Feb 2000) details his experiences in dealing with racism in the care of his patients. “Making Health Equality a Reality: The Bronx Takes Action” (Health Affairs, Mar/Apr 2005) describes the community based legislative action that has evolved from this grassroots effort to address institutional racism in medical care. “Separate and Unequal Care in New York City” (Journal of Health Care Law & Policy 2006) reports on the Institute’s investigation of discrimination in NYC hospitals. In an effort to help create the next generation of leaders in health care, the Institute operates three residency training programs in family medicine designed to train providers to serve the medically underserved, including two in Manhattan, focused on urban communities, and one in Kingston, NY, focused on rural communities. In 2012, the Institute became one of the first federally-funded “Teaching Health Centers” in the nation. Through Dr. Calman’s interest and expertise in health information technology, the Institute, in 2002, became one of the first community health center networks in the country to implement a fully integrated electronic medical record and practice management system (Epic). In recognition of his achievements in health information technology, Dr. Calman received the prestigious 2006 Physician’s Information Technology Leadership Award, presented by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). In 2007, the Institute received the HIMSS Davies Award in Public Health in recognition of its development of public health functionality into its EHR. In 2008, the New York Times recognized the Institute with its Non-profit Excellence Award in the Use of Technology and Focus on Mission. In 2011, the Institute initiated a project with the National Library of Medicine to hyperlink diagnoses, medication names and test names to the NLM Medline Plus database; this free functionality is now in use by EHR users across the country. Dr. Calman has served on the Executive Committee of the New York eHealth Collaborative; and was appointed by the Obama Administration as an expert in the care of vulnerable populations to HRSA’s HIT Policy Committee, where he served on the Meaningful Use Subcommittee for 5 years. Dr. Calman is the recipient of many national awards for his work in public health including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Community Health Leadership Award, the American Academy of Family Physicians’ Public Health Award, the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Primary Care Achievement Award and the Physician Advocacy Award from the Institute on Medicine as a Profession. He is recipient of the distinguished Kanter Prize from the Health Legacy Partnership and the Felix A. Fishman Award for Extraordinary Advocacy from New York Lawyers for the Public Interest. In addition to authoring numerous scientific articles, Dr. Calman’s work has been the subject of book chapters in three important works by others: one on the history of family medicine (Caring for America, by John Stannard), one on not-for-profit leadership in healthcare (To Give Their Gifts, by Richard A. Couto) and one on primary care in America (Big Doctoring in America, by Fitzhugh Mullan). Dr. Calman is a graduate of Rush University College of Medicine and completed his residency in family practice and social medicine at Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx.
Cristine Serrano is the Executive Director of the American Association of Teaching Health Centers (AATHC) and a dedicated advocate for the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education (THCGME) program. Her passion for this work stems from witnessing the extraordinary commitment of physicians drawn to this training model, which focuses on serving underserved and rural communities. Since the inception of the THCGME program, Cristine has been a key player in its growth. In 2010, she helped establish one of the original pioneering programs at a community health center. As AATHC's leader, she represents over 90 programs and additional 90 potential programs nationwide and has been instrumental in securing multi-year reauthorizations for the program, doubling its funding, and creating start-up funding opportunities for new grantees. Her advocacy work includes collaborating with federal agencies responsible for administering the program, negotiating with Members of Congress and key committees, organizing annual fly-ins to Washington, D.C., and preparing stakeholders for Congressional testimony. Cristine’s leadership has unified stakeholders and strengthened the THCGME program’s impact, training physicians who address healthcare disparities. Her work continues to improve access to quality care and ensure the development of a primary care workforce committed to serving communities in need.
ROBERT "RED" SCHILLER, MD
BRIAN EBERSOLE
LESLEY VANVOLKINBURG, ED.D
BOARD VICE-PRESIDENT
BOARD TREASURER
BOARD SECRETARY
President, Academic Affairs & Chief Academic Officer Institute for Family Health New York, New York Robert (Red) Schiller is the Institute’s president for academic affairs and chief academic officer Dr. Schiller, who joined the Institute in 1987, oversees academic affairs and graduate medical education across the Institute’s network of practices. Dr. Schiller is a practicing family physician certified by the American Board of Family Practice. In addition to his activities at the Institute for Family Health, Dr. Schiller is chair of the Alfred and Gail Engelberg Department of Family Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and Vice Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai/Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Schiller attended the New York University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in family medicine at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, where he also completed a one-year fellowship in family medicine. He has a professional interest in homeopathy, acupuncture, and other alternative therapies that complement conventional medical care, as well as a strong interest in the integration of alternative medicine into primary care training. Dr. Schiller is the recipient of several awards including the Park-Davis Award for Teaching Medicine.
VP, Academic Affairs & Associate DIO The Wright Center Scranton, Pennsylvania Brian Ebersole is vice president of academic affairs and associate designated institutional official for The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education. In his role, Brian provides administrative and programmatic leadership across all educational activities, partnerships, and new educational initiatives at The Wright Centers. A founding member of the American Association of Teaching Health Centers (AATHC) returned to the executive committee in 2024 as treasurer. Over his career, Brian has worked in public health policy positions under four Pennsylvania governors. Before rejoining The Wright Center in 2023, Brian served as senior director of health innovations at Geisinger, where he focused on developing and launching initiatives to address social needs throughout Northeast Pennsylvania. In addition to serving as a member of The Institute’s Health and Health Care Task Force, Brian volunteers with several nonprofits in the community. He resides in Old Forge with his husband, Jeff.
Executive Director OMECO Teaching Health Centers Tulsa, Oklahoma Lesley VanVolkinburg is a highly experienced leader in the field of Graduate Medical Education (GME). Currently, she serves as the Executive Director of Graduate Medical Education at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences, as well as the Osteopathic Medical Education Consortium of Oklahoma (OMECO). With over 25 years of experience in GME, she has become a key figure in Oklahoma's medical education landscape, particularly in teaching health center residency programs. Dr. VanVolkinburg earned her Doctorate in Education with a focus on Leadership and Education in Healthcare from Nebraska Methodist College. Her career has included significant involvement with Teaching Health Center residency programs in Oklahoma since 2013. She has worked extensively with the AATHC (Association of American Teaching Health Centers), advocating for continued funding and policy support for these programs through hill visits and meetings with members of Congress. Additionally, Dr. VanVolkinburg has specialized knowledge in developing programs in rural and underserved areas. She is skilled in sustainable funding strategies and in building strong community partnerships to create and maintain successful medical education initiatives. Her expertise and leadership continue to shape the future of healthcare education in Oklahoma and beyond. Lesley is a Missouri native that has enjoyed calling Tulsa, Oklahoma home for more than 14 years. She loves Chiefs football and spending time with her family.
TRACI COUTURE RICHMOND, MBA
MARICA MARTINIC,MPH
PROGRAM CHAIR
FINANCE CHAIR
JENNIFER J. WALSH, ESQ
GOVERNANCE CHAIR
Executive Director Spokane Teaching Health Center Spokane, Washington Traci Couture Richmond serves as the Executive Director and Designated Institutional Official for the Spokane (Wash.) Teaching Health Center. In this role, Traci provides strategic direction and oversight for the Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Transitional Year, Sports Medicine, and Rural Training Track Residency programs. Prior to joining the Spokane Teaching Health Center, Traci served as District Director to Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers as well as various healthcare related positions. Traci earned her MBA in 2007 from Liberty University and her BA in Business Administration from Washington State University in 2001.
Education Director North Country HealthCare Flagstaff, Arizona Marica Martinic, MPH is the Education Director at North Country HealthCare (NCHC) based in Flagstaff, AZ. She provides administrative oversight for NCHC’s embedded Area Health Education Center (AHEC), the Colorado Plateau Center for Health Professions (CPCHP); the northern Arizona partner site for ATSU School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona; the NARBHA Institute Family & Community Medicine Residency Program; and the Psychiatry Residency Program (in development). She is the Associate Designated Institutional Official (DIO) for graduate medical education (GME), leads NCHC’s Teaching Health Center (THC) initiatives and is a member of the organization’s leadership team. Marica recently joined the American Association of Teaching Health Centers (AATHC) Board Executive Committee as its Finance Chair. Marica completed her Master of Public Health in Public Health Practice at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health (MEZCOPH) and has over fifteen years of experience in development, implementation, and evaluation of non-profit community health programs. In her spare time, she enjoys reading sci-fi/fantasy, mountain biking, and going on family adventures.
Sr. Vice President, Chief Legal & Governance Officer, The Wright Center Scranton, Pennsylvania After a long career litigating with substantial experience in employment and nonprofit governance law, Jenn joined The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education because of her passion for their shared mission to improve the health and welfare of our communities through inclusive and responsive health services and the sustainable renewal of an inspired, competent workforce that is privileged to serve. In addition to acting as Executive Counsel, Jenn oversees the legal, organizational integrity and compliance, governance, and advocacy and government relations departments. Jenn prioritizes the engagement of like-minded and mission-aligned stakeholders to optimize the impact of federal, state and private investments in public health. Jenn passionately advocates for effective federal and state policy in alignment with the needs of patients and families by promoting legislation that enhances primary health workforce initiatives in order to improve our nation’s health. Jenn graduated from Bucknell University in 1992 with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance, followed in 1994 with a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Minnesota. She graduated from Villanova University School of Law in 1998.