LEADERSHIP

Dr. Kelly Thibert is a family medicine physician practicing ambulatory medicine in Bradenton, Florida. She graduated from Grant Family Medicine Residency in Columbus, Ohio where she received comprehensive training enabling her to provide primary care to a full spectrum of patients and populations. She attended the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida where she majored in Molecular and Microbiology and minored in Women’s Studies. She attended Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine in South Florida where she earned her Doctorate in Osteopathic Medicine and Master of Public Health degrees. Before applying to residency, Kelly served as the National President for the American Medical Student Association (AMSA), focusing on physician and trainee wellness, reproductive healthcare including abortion, LGTBQ healthcare and fighting for quality, affordable healthcare for all. She believes that being involved in health policy and advocating for change are vital to ensuring fully comprehensive care for her patients and the communities in which they live. Kelly is passionate about comprehensive reproductive health – including abortion, health policy, medical education and social activism. She is honored for the opportunity to serve as Chair to the AMSA Foundation Board of Directors and looks forward to working with and for the members of AMSA.

Dr. Lauren Hughes is a physician executive and health policy leader working at the nexus of primary care and public and population health to improve the lives and well-being of vulnerable communities. She desires to change policies and systems in innovative, equitable, and sustainable ways so that through better health, marginalized populations can pursue greater educational and economic opportunities.

Dr. Hughes is a practicing family physician, associate professor of family medicine, and the State Policy Director of the Farley Health Policy Center at the University of Colorado, where she leads initiatives to translate data for policymakers to inform the design and implementation of evidence-based health policy. Her research interests include strengthening rural health care delivery systems, the future of primary care and public health post-COVID, and reforming graduate medical education governance, financing, and social accountability. Dr. Hughes previously served as Deputy Secretary for Health Innovation in the Pennsylvania Department of Health, where she launched the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program and the Pennsylvania Rural Health Model, a new payment and delivery model that transitions rural hospitals from fee-for-service to multi-payer global budgets. She serves on the Boards of Directors of the American Board of Family Medicine and the Rural Health Redesign Center Organization, is an alumna of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program, formerly led the American Medical Student Association as its national president, and worked on Capitol Hill for Iowa Senator Tom Harkin. Dr. Hughes has been a visiting scholar at the Robert Graham Center, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, the Commonwealth Fund, and the ABC News Medical Unit in New York City. In 2016, she received the Early Career Achievement Award from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and the Women Leaders in Medicine Award from the American Medical Student Association. In 2018, Dr. Hughes was named a Presidential Leadership Scholar by Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Dr. Britani Javed started her medical training in South Florida. She graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Premedical Studies in 2010 and completed her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine at Nova Southeastern University in 2014. It was during her premedical training that Britani first joined the American Medical Student Association. She has served in many AMSA leadership positions during her premedical and medical school training. In 2014, she was elected to serve as the AMSA’s National President. This position allowed her to travel around the world helping to represent the organization’s advocacy initiatives, such as improving medical education. In 2015, she started her Pediatrics Residency with Authority Health in Detroit, Michigan, with the goal of helping underserved populations. During her residency, she completed a Certificate in Population Health through the University of Michigan and continued to hold various leadership positions throughout this time. She graduated from residency in 2018 and currently lives in California with her husband, Danish, (who is a fellow Pediatrician) and infant son Zane. She works as a Pediatric Hospitalist and the Director of Resident Education for her group. In her free time, she loves making memories with her family and traveling to new places. When there isn’t a pandemic, she performs in the Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra as an Alto.

My name is Adam Gaetz. I’m an MD student at Central Michigan University College of Medicine, and I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Health Services Administration from St. Petersburg College in the beautiful state of Florida. Prior to medicine my career was in broadcast television, journalism, radio, cinematography, and photography where I worked as a Producer, Director, Anchor/Host/Talent, Writer, Videographer, Editor, and Journalist with various mass media companies in the Tampa media market and occasionally with national media companies. I transitioned from media to medicine in the mid-2010s and have been on this pathway ever since. I’ve since worked as a Natural Sciences Learning Support Specialist, Microbiology Laboratory Assistant and Teaching Assistant, and as a Certified Clinical Medical Assistant in Neurosurgery.

Leadership, advocacy, and service make up the foundation of how I strive to foster progress and make positive impacts on the lives of others. It’s through my dedicated and extensive efforts over the years that I’ve been able to achieve my goals within various academic institutions, communities, and within our nation as a whole. I’m thrilled to be able to continue my efforts while making national impacts through the AMSA National Foundation.

While in Florida, I was able to work with over 40 service organizations while serving as the President of my College’s AMSA chapter for three years, President of our Medical Club, as well as the Chairman of our Health, Wellness, & Safety Committee. I also had the honor of serving as the Founding President of my College’s Alpha Phi Omega National Co-ed Service Fraternity, Founding President of our SCUBA Diving Club, President, Vice President, Legislative Liaison, and Senator of our Student Government Association over four progressive years, President on our Student Council of Presidents, President of our Tri Beta National Biological Honor Society, Founding Vice President of our Outdoor Club, and Vice President of Honors in Action of our Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society. I also served in a two-year national position as the Chair of Region K (Florida & Puerto Rico) on the Alpha Phi Omega National Student Advisory Committee, as a member of the Alpha Phi Omega National Nominating Committee for the Biennial 2023 Alpha Phi Omega National Convention, as a Judge on the Alpha Phi Omega John Mack Scholarship Committee, as the Conference Coordinator and Chairman of the 2022 Alpha Phi Omega Tri-Sectional Conference, and as a National, Regional, and Sectional Workshop Presenter at various Alpha Phi Omega Conferences.

I’ve continued my service efforts in Michigan through CMU Street Medicine, providing free health services, resources, and social services to address the unique needs and circumstances of the underserved, underinsured, and often unsheltered members of our community, and I now have the privilege of serving as a Street Medicine Event Coordinator for Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. I also serve as a Dean’s Ambassador at CMU COM, Co-President of the Neurosurgery Student Focus Group at CMU COM, Facilitator of the Mid-Central Michigan Area Health Education Center’s Health Careers Pipeline Program (AHEC HCPP), Member of the NBME INSIGHTS™ Power User Group, and Question Tagger & Editor for StatPearls. I also design, coordinate, and facilitate clinical workshops for adults, undergraduate students, high school students, and elementary school students across various events including CMU’s annual Sibs & Kids Weekend, CMU’s annual Grandparents University Summer Camp, CMU COM’s annual CampMed Summer Camp, and the aforementioned AHEC HCPP.

Outside of my academic and leadership responsibilities, I love to go SCUBA diving, enjoy being in nature, and spend all of my spare time with my Boston Terrier, Bumper. I’m also captivated by microscopy and am a fan of keeping and observing ant farms and ecospheres.

My philosophy in life is simple: “Do what makes you happy”. If you’re reading this, you’re likely on a selfless path in life that will make extraordinary impacts on the lives of others. The sacrifices you will need to make to be successful in these pursuits will be vast, but the rewards will be invaluable and immensely fulfilling. Keep moving forward, and don’t hesitate to reach out if there’s anything that we may be able to do to help you be successful in attaining your goals.

My name is Adjoa Cofie, a MD/MS candidate at Wright State University Boonshoft

School of Medicine who has demonstrated a lifelong passion for advocacy and caring for underserved communities. 

My commitment to promoting diversity in leadership and inspiring advocacy within my community shows through the various role I have held within AMSA, at both the local and national level.  Additionally, I am dedicated to working on reproductive justice and equitable access to healthcare. Among my meaningful contributions includes creating and implementing an educational series “Advocating for Underserved Communities in Healthcare” at my institution.  This initiative highlights how medical students and physicians can advocate for patients and themselves. 

Working alongside exceptional student leaders to highlight important issues from health policy to environmental health, in our communities inspires me and fuels my optimism about the future of medicine. Through AMSA I aim to continue provide students the platform to refine their vision and improve their skills needed to become well-rounded, impactful physician-leaders.

In my free time, in addition to watching fashion-related content, I write about all sorts of social issues on my blog (understandingadjoa.com). 

Dr. Christina Kelly is a family physician in Fort Bragg, NC, where she is faculty at Womack Army Medical Center Family Medicine Residency and Assistant Professor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. She attended John Carroll University in Cleveland, OH for her undergraduate education, where she received a B.S. in Chemistry and Biology. She received her medical degree from the Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health. She completed her residency and family medicine-obstetrics fellowship training at Tacoma Family Medicine in Washington.
Dr. Kelly has felt a calling to teach in undergraduate and graduate medical education throughout her entire career. She loves the opportunity to work with students and residents in her faculty and leadership roles. Dr. Kelly believes that all medical students have important opinions that need to be heard, and they are a strong force that can create positive change for patients and the field of medicine.

Dr. Kelly has been involved in organizational leadership since she was a second year medical student, and she has always felt passionate about being an advocate for patients. She is particularly passionate about advocacy, mentorship, physician workforce diversity, creating health equity, student and resident burnout prevention, and GME reform. She served on several American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) commissions and held leadership positions in the AAFP as a student, resident and early career physician. Dr. Kelly served as the Family Medicine for America’s Health Workforce Team Leader, and she currently is a member of the AAFP Commission on Education.

Dr. Kelly is married to Dr. Kevin Kelly, a family physician and Lieutenant Colonel in the Army. As an Army wife, Dr. Kelly has the opportunity to live and practice in different parts of the country and broaden her understanding of medicine.

Isaiah A. Cochran, M.D. serves as a key organizational spokesperson for AMSA and active promoter of the organization’s educational programming, advocacy pursuits and membership recruitment and engagement efforts.

In addition to serving as an AMSA board member since 2016, Cochran also has held leadership positions with Refugee Student Alliance and Global Health Initiative.

He earned his medical degree from the Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio. During that time, he engaged in research at Dayton Children’s Hospital to identify incidental brain tumors in otherwise healthy children undergoing routine evaluations for head trauma.

He also investigated if early cognitive markers exist in infants prior to the diagnostic age of 24 months and if they can be utilized to differentiate between males and females with ASD for a study conducted at the Department of Clinical Cognitive Neuroscience at Harvard Medical School.

James M. (Jim) Slayton has served in many AMSA roles during his career, including National President (1989-1990) and Foundation Board of Directors member and President (2002-2012, 2014-2016).  He has been a senior Medical Director with Optum Behavioral Health since 2004 and in serves in a quality improvement oversight position related to potential fraud, waste and abuse in healthcare.  He is a former associate residency training director and has continued in a teaching role with the Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School.  He is a graduate of Brown University, Stanford Medical School and Harvard Business School.  He is an avid choral musician and cellist, and is the proud father of three children with his husband, Phillip Hernandez, in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Jennifer Salehi serves as Executive Director of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA), the largest, independent student medical association. In this role, Jennifer focuses on mapping the vision, strategy, funding and growth plans for the global organization. She heads up partner development with foundations, nonprofits, and social enterprises; builds networks; and coalesces teams.

Nikitha Balaji (they/them) is a current M1 at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. They are originally from Melbourne, Florida, and graduated from the George Washington University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology.

Nikitha joined AMSA in 2020, as sweeping anti-LGBT+ legislative attacks spread throughout state legislatures across the nation. Through AMSA, they found the resources and mentorship necessary to develop their agency as a physician-in-training and advocate against the inequities facing their community.

In their previous roles as AMSA’s LGBT+ Health Advocacy Coordinator and Gender and Sexuality Health Policy Coordinator, Nikitha has worked to author and submit pieces of written testimony to state medical boards and state legislatures to communicate the evidence-based harms of anti-LGBT+ legislation. They have also worked with AMSA chapters to develop state-specific advocacy action plans to push back against harmful local legislation. In their role as AMSA’s Transgender Health Scholars Co-Course Director, Nikitha has enjoyed having the opportunity to shine a light on transgender health from the perspective of medical education.

Nikitha is honored to serve AMSA in their current role as president-elect. They are excited to build upon AMSA’s rich history and legacy of driving change in response to ongoing inequity and they look forward to working alongside similarly impassioned future physicians in the process.