Candidates
President-Elect
Margaret C. Lo, MD, FACP
Associate Program Director and Director of Primary Care
University of Florida College of Medicine
The year was 2012. I had just accepted the Associate Program Director position. I was so excited by all the prospects of this new role yet nervous of the unknown and fearful of missing out. Like many of you, the APDIM community embraced me with welcoming arms and became my GME family.
Now 10+ years later…GME is in my professional soul and remains an integral mission of every APDIM member--as clinician educator, as resident/faculty mentor, as program director, and as a physician. I appreciate all the efforts GME faculty and leaders undertake to optimize the ever-changing healthcare environment and learning climate. My involvement in APDIM Program Planning, AAIM Education Committee, and APDIM Council has championed these efforts. As such, I have interfaced closely with the RC-IM Executive Director and the VA Office of Academic Affairs to deliver such efforts as the ACGME Survey Toolkit and VA funding changes.
People say I wear “many hats.” These hats afford me unique perspectives and diverse experiences in GME leadership while being attuned to the needs of many APDIM members.
- As Associate Program Director and Primary Care Director of a large university-based program, I bring forth my expertise in accreditation, faculty development, program innovation, negotiation, conflict management and team leadership. I will always advocate for the needs of PDs/APDs and core faculty as we teach and lead from the middle. So, a shout out to all APDs and core faculty--the backbone of our GME community.
- As a first-generation immigrant and daughter of a foreign medical graduate, I know first-hand their special struggles and needs, from application to acculturation to career transitions. I will champion programming for APDIM educators and community-based programs to effectively train this important group of physicians-in-training.
- As a VA academic faculty and wife of a veteran, I realize the value of teaching learners to care for this special well-deserving population. I will cultivate the extraordinary expertise and needs of VA-affiliated APDIM educators.
- As Executive Board Member for Organization of Program Directors Associations, I welcome input from members to address and support GME issues important to the AAIM community and across 30 other program director associations.
My vision is for AAIM to be the premiere voice and professional home for medical leaders and educators as we tackle the various UME-GME issues. To do so, we must capitalize on our rich diversity and the collective strengths of our members. I will focus my APDIM Presidency on these platforms:
- Foster faculty engagement and cultivate joy in medicine at all levels within community-based, university-based, federally-based institutions through shared faculty development resources, networking opportunities and mentorship programs.
- Promote faculty recruitment, retention, and remuneration through delivery of high-yield teaching tools and deliverables to ease faculty day-to-day work.
- Educate our membership and encourage UME-GME collaboration through effective programming on such evolving issues as application inflation, smooth UME-GME-fellowship transition, housestaff and faculty diversity, and high-quality ambulatory education.
- Strength APDIM’s voice and position on important GME issues and policies through strategic partnerships across the Alliance, the professional societies of SGIM and ACP, and the academic organizations of ACGME, OPDA, and AAMC.
As APDIM President, I will leverage my GME experiences, my extensive committee activities, and my leadership in various organizations to bring your voices to AAIM leadership. Every individual in APDIM deserves the same support, growth, and community that I have received from this organization and its members.
Thank you for the honor of this nomination and the opportunity to serve you and the APDIM community.
Councilors—Community-Based
Odaliz Abreu Lanfranco, MD, FACP, FIDSA
Program Director
Henry Ford Health
It would be a great privilege and honor to serve in this capacity and contribute to the advancement and growth of the Alliance.
Throughout my experiences as an international medical graduate and former fellowship program director, as well as my current role as a residency director for the past seven years gained a deep appreciation for the critical role that APDIM plays in advancing medical education and training. If elected for this position, I am dedicated to supporting the Alliance and promoting its mission to improve and enhance medical education and training standards for all physicians. Also, committed to working closely with my fellow Council members to identify and pursue strategic growth and development opportunities that will benefit the Alliance and its members. I am honored to have the opportunity to serve in this capacity and to contribute to the development and growth of our organization.
Luis Daniel Lugo, MD, MBA
Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency
Lakeland Regional Health
I am thrilled and humbled to present my candidacy to serve on the APDIM Council. As the first Hispanic physician in my lineage, I bring an unparalleled perspective to the symposium. My odyssey from being a high school Chemistry teacher to the Founding Program Director of an internal medicine residency program is a testament to my unwavering passion for education and relentless pursuit of excellence. These core values resonate profoundly with the ethos of the AAIM.
My journey has been adorned with numerous laurels that I have had the privilege to receive. I was consecutively acknowledged as "Teacher of the Year" during my tenure as faculty, exemplifying my dedication to teaching. As an internal medicine resident, I was twice distinguished as intern and resident of the year, underlining my steadfast quest for excellence. In my third residency year, my Program Director nominated me to serve on my residency program’s GMEC, which amplified my fascination with academic medicine. On the night of my residency graduation ceremony, my late PD prophetically announced me as a "future program director." Half a decade later, I transitioned from a hospitalist to core faculty and associate program director, eventually laying the foundation for a novel internal medicine residency program in the vicinity of the nation's second busiest Emergency Department.
From orchestrating new workflows amidst a busy ED and hospital ward to meticulously selecting the finest faculty and recruiting an extraordinary founding class of residents, my journey is laden with leadership experiences making me a fitting candidate for the AAIM and APDIM community. I also currently hold a leadership position at the American College of Physicians, Florida Chapter, and actively interact with thought leaders in academic medicine. These roles have constantly positioned me amongst remarkable leaders and teams, broadening my outlook on the challenges confronting medicine, medical education, healthcare, and the future of our profession. Leadership has now become an integral part of my professional identity, and I am eager to share these insights and experiences with the AAIM and APDIM community.
Since serving as an Associate Program Director in the city of New York, I have been a loyal member of the Alliance. At AIMW 2023, while judging posters, I had the joy of reuniting with former colleagues and PGY-1 residents who had elevated to the position of chief residents. These rewarding experiences have only but fueled my ambition to contribute and give back to the Alliance and the APDIM community. As Councilor, I am determined to fervently advocate for academic medicine and highlight the myriad benefits of APDIM membership across the Alliance and beyond. Drawing from my diverse experiences, from high school teaching to medical education, I aim to serve as both a bridge and a catalyst in this role.
Asha Marhatta, MD
Program Director
Connecticut Institute For Communities
I am the Residency Program Director for Connecticut Institute for Communities (CIFC Health) Primary Care Internal Medicine Program. The program operates through HRSA and is independently sponsored by CIFC Health, which is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC). Due to our sponsorship through an FQHC, we are known as a Teaching Health Centre (THC) program. We function with independent ACGME accreditation, but we work collaboratively with area hospitals for residents` inpatient training. Our program was designed for training residents in Primary Care in the underserved setting and the program truly lives up to its mission, with the majority of our graduates going into primary care in medically underserved areas.
I strongly feel that representation is important and that is what prompted me to apply for this position. I would represent a unique Internal Medicine program with a key focus in Primary Care and which operates differently than most hospital programs. I have been the Residency Director of my program for the last 14 years. I have experience in writing grants, maintaining, and reporting grants. I also have a vast degree of experience in creating new affiliations with a diverse group of institutions, ranging from large health care systems to small practices, and figuring out a way of working collaboratively with them. I have also worked on ACGME accreditation which included initial accreditation and continuation. I have experience in quality improvement projects and innovative primary care curricula. I have worked in the FQHC for many years and have the experience of serving the underserved, while incorporating many facets of underserved medicine to residency training.
My primary goal is to engage, get inspired and learn from the highly qualified colleagues at AAIM, to enhance Primary Care training. I earnestly believe that a better primary care delivery system would immensely improve the health of individuals, save healthcare costs and benefit the society at large. I believe that the mission of betterment begins with residency training. Improving the curriculum and enhancing overall primary care experience for the residents will improve overall primary care experience for the patients. As a medical education community, I strongly believe that we need to work on this with utmost dedication. Getting involved in APDIM is one of the ways to contribute to this important work. The APDIM community is engaging, inspiring, diverse and most importantly, highly committed to education and innovation. I am certain I will contribute positively, while having opportunities to learn from the very qualified colleagues I will get to interact with. It is a group I identify myself very closely with and would be honored to work with.
Jillian Sansbury, MD, FACP, FHM
Program Director, Transitional Year Residency and Associate Program Director, Internal Medicine Residency
Grand Strand Medical Center
I am a proud member of the greater community of medical educators at community-based institutions and I hope to use my experience and adversity as a female in medicine to move the mission and vision of APDIM forward. I started my career as a Chief Resident, and since 2015, I have advanced through the roles of Internal Medicine and Transitional Year Core Faculty, Chief of the Department of Medicine, and now serve as Internal Medicine Associate Program Director and Transitional Year Program Director (sponsored by our institution’s IM program). I also hold roles as Medical Director for our residency’s outpatient Internal Medicine clinic as well as the Medical Director of the Grand Strand Health and Education Simulation Center (recently fully accredited by the SSIH). My lifelong passion project is soon coming to fruition as I work toward opening a free medical clinic for the underserved population of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and integrating this opportunity into coursework for our medical residents in 2024. I have two young boys, ages 5 and 7—and despite all of the accomplishments mentioned above, parenting is still the most challenging job of all, and provides a unique viewpoint for my connection with medical learners and the compassionate care of patients. I envision a future for APDIM where the goals of both community and academic programs overlap and there is an intense focus on standardization of resident wellness efforts, development of leadership skills and financial and business literacy during residency, and the continued push to ensure the diversity of future trainees. Utilizing my years of experience in medical education and my sincere enthusiasm for the continued growth of our field, I believe I can offer a unique viewpoint and perspective on the Council as a woman in medicine at a community-based institution.
Councilors—University-Based
Daniel Cabrera, MD, FACP, FHM
Clinical Associate Professor
University of Washington School of Medicine
Since joining AAIM in 2018, I have felt truly at home with others who are deeply passionate about medical education and its evolution. From the message boards to the conferences, it’s nice to know I’m with “my people.” Becoming a councilor is an opportunity to serve the APDIM community and help shape the future of internal medicine education through collaboration and inclusion. Some may see the future of medical education littered with challenges. Rather, I see exciting opportunities to work on issues like application inflation, artificial intelligence, signals and wellness.
Joining AAIM came as a result of being appointed an Assistant Program Director to our residency program and an Assistant Clerkship Director in our student programs within the department of medicine at the University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine in Seattle, WA. My roles in UME and GME could help to reduce some of the siloes that form in organizations like AAIM. I am living the dream right now, as I have been able to intersect my love for all things med ed with my passion for issues of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI). As someone who identifies as underrepresented in medicine, I carry a deeply personal goal to reduce inequities that exist in so many of the levels of medical training.
I have been fortunate to hold both local and national positions that have allowed me to further develop my skills in leadership and teamwork. Within my department I served as the interim Vice Chair for DEI, working to create a strategic plan that would serve to guide and motivate our departmental members to engage in the challenging work of DEI. I was also selected to serve as the inaugural chair of our UW GME DEI Subcommittee focused on improving the experience of our diverse trainees and providing training programs with the tools needed to make residency more inclusive. Nationally I have taken part in committees, task forces and work groups with organizations like SHM, ACGME, NBME and ABIM. I am honored to have served on the AAIM DEI Task Force and watched the DEI efforts within AAIM grow year after year.
Being an APDIM councilor allows me to bring my unique and diverse perspectives to a table that historically has not included people with backgrounds like mine. I can confidently state that the planning, decisions, and communication from the council will be vetted for equity whenever possible. I am eager to find ways to diversify not just the leaders of APDIM but the larger AAIM community.
Jennifer Jeremiah, MD, FACP
Associate Program Director
Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
APDIM’s impact on me as an educator, associate program director and physician has been monumental. My APDIM colleagues have modelled creativity, commitment to medical education, generosity in the sharing of best practices and collegiality – all of which have continuously inspired me towards professional growth and self-improvement. It would be a great privilege to contribute and give back to the APDIM Community in this role.
I have worked to give back all that APDIM has given me through a variety of activities for both APDIM and AAIM. I have served as a member of APDIM’s Program Planning committee and AAIM’s Family Leave Working Group. I’ve also served as Co-Chair of the APDIM Clinical Competency Committee Collaborative Learning Community, as well as Chair of its subgroup on Resident Engagement. I’ve also served as Vice Chair of the AAIM Wellness Committee. In each of these roles, I’ve been privileged to work with friends and colleagues to enhance our work as medical educators. I’m honored to have been invited to present in pre-courses, plenaries and workshops on a variety of topics including struggling learners, feedback, assessment systems, the CCC, and faculty development. Through these experiences I have collaborated with others, appreciated the challenges members face and saw firsthand the workings of APDIM and AAIM. I have embraced feedback on all these activities to better serve the ADPIM community. All of my experiences in APDIM have provided the privilege of meeting educators from a wide range of community and university-based programs. I have learned about the challenges faced, best practices for success and ideas to better the education of our residents. I feel that my engagement with membership from all programs gives me the insight and ability to represent all.
Our work is to prepare the doctors for tomorrow. We need to develop faculty skilled in competency based medical education, guide our programs in adapting to the everchanging challenges in medical education, create learning environments attentive to resident wellbeing, recruit diverse residents unhampered by application inflation, and expand our primary care workforce to serve current and future patients. To accomplish these, we must capitalize on the strengths of our membership, inspire members’ participation in APDIM’s work, support the creativity of our members and collaborate with other organizations within AAIM and those committed to education like the ACGME and AAMC.
If elected to serve the APDIM community, I would strive to address the issues important to educating our residents, incorporate the views of all our experienced members, continue to engage with and listen to our members to better understand the challenges faced throughout the country. I hope to use my interest and skills in faculty development to ensure infrastructure that helps members advance their programs to educate the doctors of tomorrow.
Lisa J. Skinner, MD
Program Director
David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles
Sixteen years as an APD and four years as Program Director at UCLA have affirmed the unique rewards and challenges of being a Program Director and the value of AAIM as a resource. During a pandemic that stretched resources and tested our reserves, we have all navigated increasingly complex dynamics between health systems, schools of medicine, and trainees. Successfully steering programs in requires deft and intensive engagement. APDIM is an invaluable resource for program leaders at every level of experience.
The AAIM Strategic Plan outlines strategic goals, grounded in the priority to advance diversity, equity and inclusion. The first is to provide “transformational professional development.” I can attest that as a program leader, medical school did not prepare me for all of the leadership challenges I have faced as a Program Director. We are accountable to teach and assess competency across a host of topics including health systems science, health equity, QI, the business of medicine, physician well-being, conflict management...the list is long. At UCLA, we have relied on a vast network of colleagues to develop humanities workshops, procedure training, medical ethics workshops, and QI infrastructure, and more. Additionally, while Program Directors may self-identify as educators, our work requires expertise in HR and Clinical Operations. Health Systems are increasingly corporate, and trainees are increasingly represented by unions. Many of us have faced a steep learning curve as we endeavor to connect with, advocate for, inspire, and teach trainees in a complex landscape. AAIM/APDIM is uniquely placed to offer leadership development for physician and administrative leaders. I believe that naming and developing these emerging program leadership competencies can help mitigate burnout and support leaders who are nimble, compassionate, and resolute in the values of medicine.
The second AAIM goal is to redesign transitions with diversity, equity, and inclusion as the foundation. At UCLA, our role as a large public institution in a diverse city is central to our identity, and we are always striving to do right by our trainees as well as our patients. We have built a health equity pathway, a dedicated advanced leadership curriculum, and affinity groups that support first generation and underrepresented members of our community. We have more work to do, and AAIM/APDIM is a tremendous resource. I would love to collaborate with AAIM/APDIM nationally as we develop, study, and share best practices to train leaders who will advance health.
On a personal note, I am the first woman in my family to earn a bachelor’s degree. The daughter of a teen mother who grew up in the rural Ozarks without healthcare or indoor plumbing, I was fortunate to have access to Iow-cost, public university. The transformational power of education in my own life is the reason I have spent my career in medical education. I am deeply honored for the nomination and would love to serve this organization that has been such a valuable resource for me as a Program Director.
Sarah H. Sofka, MD, FACP
Program Director
West Virginia University School of Medicine
I represent a university program that is comprised of international medical graduates, osteopathic graduates, and allopathic graduates. I strongly feel that the diversity of the graduates in our program enriches the learning environment for all. I believe that my understanding of the nuances of recruiting, onboarding, and training all types of medical school graduates will be an advantage to representing the APDIM community. Our program is located in a rural state with negative stereotypes which can make recruitment difficult. I believe that recruitment challenges are shared by many programs for one reason or another. Sharing this experience with other PDs will be important as we move towards finding the best way to approach solutions for application inflation and other recruitment difficulties including transparent MSPEs. My time on the APDIM Program Planning Committee and as a member of the Planning Committee for the Women’s Leadership Forum Precourse, has helped me gain insight into the educational and advocacy needs of the APDIM community which I hope to utilize in the role as councilor.
Some personal things about me that add to my qualifications for this role: I am a 2008 graduate of the West Virginia University School of Medicine where I completed an Internal Medicine Residency. I have been a proud member of APDIM since 2011, when I attended the Chief Resident Conference. I spent 5 years as an associate program director where I chaired the CCC, redesigned the curriculum to be milestone based, and helped build an opt-out mental health program. In 2017, I became program director which is my current position. I now also serve as the Vice Chair of Education for the Department of Medicine. I have served on the GME Taskforce which is the advisory committee to the DIO. In my time as PD I have successfully expanded the core program from 56 to 86 residents and added 6 fellowships. I also work in the UME realm as a course director for the second-year physical diagnosis and clinical integration course and as chair of the SOM course director committee. I am a member of the SOM Academy of Advisors which has allowed me to mentor numerous medical students to career paths in internal medicine. Having major roles in both UME and GME at my institution has allowed me to understand the complex relationships and interests that exist on the UME-GME continuum.