Member Engagement

Alliance Ambassador Program

Alliance Ambassador Program

Alliance Ambassadors serve as a friendly face and voice to help highlight the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) membership, events, and activities at their institutions.

With the help of AAIM staff and other members in their department, Ambassadors will:

  • serve as a champion for AAIM within their institutions,
  • be provided with resources that will help to ensure updates are made to their institution’s membership roster and help welcome new members from their institutions,
  • be equipped with tools that will help them reach out to their colleagues, get them engaged, and keep them informed.

Program Criteria

If you are energetic and have a combined passion for academic internal medicine and AAIM, then volunteer to be an Alliance Ambassador.

To serve as an Alliance Ambassador, you must meet the following requirements:

  • Be a current member of AIM, APDIM, APM, ASP, CDIM, or MPPDA
  • Serve a two-year term from time of enrollment (consecutive terms permitted)
  • Attend virtual orientation training/view online orientation training
  • Dedicate at least one hour a month to review your institution’s membership roster and email roster updates to ambassador@im.org
  • Distribute monthly News & Updates email to current members
  • Familiarize yourself with AAIM’s events, activities, and offerings and share with current members
  • Participate in an annual survey

Ambassador Recognition

As an Alliance Ambassador, you will be recognized for your commitment as an AAIM champion for your institution. Ambassadors will be:

  • highlighted on the Alliance website,
  • recognized at conferences and meetings with a special ribbon,
  • presented with a special gift at Academic Internal Medicine Week,
  • provided access to a dedicated online community to connect with other ambassadors to share tips and best practices.

Your department leader will also be made aware of your volunteer participation as an Alliance Ambassador, which helps keep useful resources at the fingertips of your department’s faculty and staff.

Volunteer Today!

To volunteer to be an Alliance Ambassador, please complete the online registration form below.

If you have questions about the Alliance Ambassador Program, please email AAIM Member Services at ambassador@im.org or call (703) 341-4540.

Being an AAIM Ambassador

Richard M. Wardrop, III, MD, PhD, FAAP, FACP, FHM

Richard M. Wardrop III, MD, PhD, FAAP, FACP, FHM

Program Director, Cleveland Clinic Foundation
 
Throughout my entire career as a clinician-educator I have been blessed through membership and engagement within the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine.
 
As a member of the Alliance for over 15 years, I remember vividly my first interactions within this wonderfully diverse community. As a rising chief resident attending my first ever AAIM meeting in 2006, I was absolutely amazed by the fellowship, support, and the experience on full display the at the AAIM meeting. Since that time, my immersion in the AAIM member organizations has been sustaining, invigorating, and illuminating.
 
Now as a more seasoned leader and Program Director for a large Internal Medicine residency, I have the privilege of having served as an Alliance Ambassador since the inception of this program, now across four institutions. The Ambassador program offers a tremendous opportunity to connect members from across the educational continuum at my own institution to vital and diverse programs and services from across the Alliance.
 
As many physicians struggle to find meaningful engagement and a professional home, I fully endorse involvement with the communities across AAIM as being part of my own professional identity. As an Ambassador, I am treated to the joyful opportunity to help foster connection in others.

Alliance Ambassadors

Abington Memorial Hospital: Rachel Ramirez, MD, FACP, Associate Program Director
AdventHealth Florida: Aftab Ahmad, MD, MBA, CPE, FACP, FACHE, Residency Program Director
Adventhealth Orlando: Tennille Doyle, B.A., Fellowship Program Coordinator, Gastroenterology & Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Advocate Health Care (Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center): Angeline Grace Echeverria, Program Coordinator
Advocate Health Care (Advocate Lutheran General Hospital): Afshan Woodrich, C-TAGME, Supervisor of Operations and Education - IM and Subspecialties
Albany Medical College: Michelle L. Snavely, Medicine Fellowships Coordinator
Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine: Tameka Brown, Membership Engagement Manager
Ascension St Vincent Hospital Indianapolis: Laurel B. Fick, MD, FACP, Program Director
Ascension St. John Hospital: Simon Alrihani, GME Specialist
Atlantic Health (Morristown): Rebecca A. Griffith, MD, Medical Student Clerkship Director
Atlantic Health (Overlook): Sakeenah Hampton-Nixon, GME Residency Coordinator I
AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center: Dominick Zampino, DO, Program Director
Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership: Theresa Rohr-Kirchgraber, MD, Professor of Medicine
Baptist Health South Florida: JoVonnda D. Chresfield, Senior Program Administrator
Baylor University Medical Center: Suzanne Watts, Residency Coordinator
Billings Clinic: Kathy Glenn, Program Administrator
Boonshoft School of Medicine Wright State University: Taunia Robinson, MBA, Senior Medical Student Education Coordinator
Boston University School of Medicine: Laurie Dubois, C-TAGME, Section Administrator for Medical Residency
BronxCare Health System: Suresh Kumar Nayudu, MD, Associate Program Director
Capital Health Regional Medical Center: Rebecca Mullowney, Program Coordinator
Carolinas Medical Center: Kristi Moore: MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine: Ronda Mourad, MD, Associate Program Director
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center: Robert I. Goodman, MD, FACP, SFHM, Associate Director, Internal Medicine Residency Training Program
Charleston Area Medical Center/West Virginia University (Charleston Division): Rachael Trout, EdD, Administrator, Department of Medicine
Cleveland Clinic (Florida): Safiya Deen, Internal Medicine Program Administrator
Cleveland Clinic Foundation: Richard M. Wardrop, III, MD, PhD, FAAP, FACP, Program Director - Internal Medicine Program 
Cook County Health and Hospitals System: Dixie L. Dominguez, Residency Coordinator
Cooper Medical School of Rowan University: Kathryn Haroldson, MD, Assistant Program Director
Creighton University School of Medicine: Aiman Smer, MD, Core Faculty
David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles: Elizabeth Shin, Executive Director: Office of the Chair of Medicine: DGSOM and UCLA Health
David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles: Sara Itagaki, Fellowship Coordinator
Drexel University College of Medicine: Janet H. Fitzpatrick, MD, Clerkship Director
Duke University School of Medicine: Jennie Slate, MBA, Senior Business Manager
East Tennessee State University James H. Quillen College of Medicine: Heather Grove, Residency Administrator
Eastern Virginia Medical School: Catherine Derber, MD, Associate Professor & Clerkship Director
Family Health Center at NYU Langone: Neil Allen Pasco, MD, Faculty
Florida Atlantic University Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine: Jennifer G. Foster, MD, MBA, FACP, Director, Year 3-4 Curriculum
Florida State University College of Medicine (Tallahassee): Brenda MacLean, Program Coordinator
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth: Darci Blanchard, Program Coordinator
Geisinger Health System: Dan Dometita, DO, Associate Program Director
Geisinger Health System: Jamie Hood, DO, Associate Program Director
Georgetown University School of Medicine: Nili Sommovilla, MD, Acting Internship Director
Hackensack Meridian Health Mountainside Medical Center: Jeanette Richardson, Lead Residency Coordinator and Program Administrator
Harvard Medical School Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: Judi Hansjon, C-TAGME, Fellowship Program Coordinator
Harvard Medical School Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: Daniel Ricotta, MD, Associate Program Director
Harvard Medical School Brigham and Women's Hospital: Maria C. DeOliveira, EdD, Director, Education Administration
Harvard Medical School Massachusetts General Hospital: Sandra Patricia Ordonez, Program Manager
HCA Healthcare Sunrise Health Graduate Medical Education: Ali R. Rahimi, MD, MPH, FACC, Professor of Medicine
HCA Healthcare/Tristar Nashville: Quintin Gillum, Manager Administrative Services, GME
HCA Healthcare/Tufts University School of Medicine: Portsmouth Regional Hospital: Abdullah Chahin, MD, Faculty
Hennepin Healthcare: Nina Louise Setala, Internal Medicine Residency Program Coordinator
Henry Ford Health/Henry Ford Hospital Program: Odaliz Abreu Lanfranco, MD, Program Director
Howard University College of Medicine: Mary B. Jackson, MPA, Department Executive Officer
Howard University College of Medicine: Daniel Larbi, MD, Program Director
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai: Harish Jasti, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine
 and Co-Director for Ambulatory Care-Geriatrics Clerkship
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (Ridgewood): Reham Shaaban, DO, Program Director
Indiana University School of Medicine: Heather Hennen, Division Administrator
Indiana University School of Medicine: Megan Donovan, 
Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo: Regina Makdissi, MD, Faculty
Kaiser Permanente Hawaii: Jennifer Katada, MD, FACP, Program Director
Kaiser Permanente Mid-Atlantic States: Charu Maheshwary, MD, Clerkship Director
Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California: Nancy G. Shepherd, MSEd, Director Educational Affairs
Lakeland Regional Health: Melissa Rusli, MD, Program Director, Transitional Year
Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine: Anthi Katsouli, MD, MPH, Associate Program Director
Magnolia Regional Health Center: Gena A. Lindsey, Designated Institutional Official
Maimonides Medical Center: Edward K. Chapnick, MD, Professor of Medicine; Associate Residency Program Director; Division Chief; Vice Chair of Medici
Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine: Samson T. Teka, MD, Associate Program Director and Sub-I Clerkship Director
Marshfield Clinic: Ateeq U. Rehman, MD, FACP, Internal Medicine Program Director
Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine: Lisa Thornton, Program Coordinator
McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston: Renee J. Flores, MD, 
McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston: Santhosshi Narayanan, MD, FACP, Associate Program Director
McLaren-Flint/Michigan State University: Kavitha Kesari, MD, Associate Program Director
Medical College of Wisconsin: Robin Karst, C-TAGME, Program Manager
Medical College of Wisconsin: Tracy M. Stasinopoulos, C-TAGME, Program Manager
Memorial Health-University Medical Center/Mercer School of Medicine (Savannah): Chad Martins, MD, Internal Medicine Clerkship Director
Mercy Hospital (St. Louis): Katherine Garland, MD, FACP, Residency Program Director
Michigan State University College of Human Medicine: Supratik Rayamajhi, MD, FACP, Interim Chair
Morehouse School of Medicine: Claudia Fotzeu, MD, Associate Professor 
Mount Sinai Hospital Medical Center of Chicago: Trina L. Coleman, Director, GME/UGME and Institutional Coordinator
New York Medical College at St. Michael's Medical Center: Linda Gradaille, Program Coordinator
Northside Hospital Gwinnett: Beth Boord, MEd, Education Coordinator
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine: Kelly Hrdy, C-TAGME, Residency Program Administrative Manager
Norwalk Hospital/Yale University: Dawn DeSantis, MS, Program Manager
Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine: Pradeep Kaminoulu, MD, Hospitalist
Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine: Bhavin Dalal, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine
Ohio State University College of Medicine: Kim Tartaglia, MD, FACP, FAAP, SFHM, Academic Program Director of Med-3 Year
Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine: Maureen D. Lyons, MD, Associate Program Director, Ambulatory Medicine
Piedmont Macon Medical Center: Muhammad Awais, MD, Residency Program Director
Quinnipiac University Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine/St Vincent's Medical Center: Judy Aquino, C-TAGME, GME Manager
Ramon Betances Hospital-Mayaguez Medical Center/Ponce School of Medicine Consortium: Vanessa M Ruiz, C-TAGME, Program Administrator
Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania: Stefanie Cordoue, C-TAGME, Program Coordinator, Sleep Medicine Fellowship
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University: Susan Lane, MD, FACP, Program Director and Vice Chair for Education
Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University: Kaveh Sadigh, MD, MPH, Co-Director Introduction to Clinical Medicine: Course Director of Cardiology Pathophysiology Course
Riverside Community Hospital/University of California Riverside School of Medicine: Alina Stanca Popa, MD, FACP, FHM, Program Director
Riverside Methodist Hospitals (Ohio Health): Sanjay A Patel, MD, FACP, SFHM, Associate Program Director
Riverside University Health System (Moreno Valley): Mariam Gilmore, DO, Internal Medicine Physician
Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at the University of Vermont: Allen Mead, Director, Medicine Health Care Service
Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at the University of Vermont: Mark E. Pasanen, MD, Program Director
Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center: Viju John, MD, Assistant Director of the Core Clerkship and Longitudinal Integrated Course  Co-Director
Rutgers Health/Jersey City Medical Center: Louis Alerte, Instructor
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School: David A. Cohen, MD, FACE, ECNU, Faculty - Vice Chair, Education
Spectrum Health Lakeland: Kimberly Wright, IM Residency Program Manager
St Joseph's Medical Center: Mrinmayee V Naik, MD, APD
St. Barnabas Hospital: Victoria Bengualid, MD, Program Director
St. Elizabeth's Medical Center: Claudia Nader, MD, Program Director
St. Mary's Hospital (Waterbury): Shawnette Alston, MD, Residency Program Director
Stanford University School of Medicine: Bhuvana Ramachandran, MBA, MPH, Administrator Division Director, Hematology, Immunology & Rheumatology
SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine: Gwendolyn McMichael, Administrator
Texas Health Resources/Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth: Mehnaz F Roshani, MD, Core Faculty
Texas Health Resources/Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth: Heather P. Shelton, MD, Ambulatory Associate Program Director
Texas Health Resources/Presbyterian Hospital of Plano: Hassan Qadir, MD, Associate Program Director
Texas Health Resources/Presbyterian Hospital of Plano: LaTosha Smith, Program Coordinator
Texas Institute of Graduate Medical Education and Research (Tigmer) (San Antonio): Bernard Hildebrand, Jr., MD, Program Director
Texas Tech University (Permian Basin): Barath Rangaswamy, MD, Clerkship Co Director
Trinity Health Oakland/Wayne State University: Jacky Duong, DO, Associate Program Director
Tulane University School of Medicine: Deepa Bhatnagar, MD, Program Director
UAB Huntsville Regional Medical Campus: Lisa M. Williams, MA, Education Administrator
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences: F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine: Jamie Lynn Geringer, DO, Assistant Professor & Associate Clerkship Director
United Health Services Hospitals: Thomas O. Genese, MD, MBA, CPE FACP, Program Director
University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine: Winter Williams, MD, FACP, Clerkship Director
University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine: Martha Veazey, Fellowship Program Coordinator
University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine: Starr Steinhilber, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine 
University of Alabama Medical Center (Montgomery): Cassandra Whatley, Education Adminiatrator
University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix, Ricardo Correa, MD, Es.D, FACP, FACE, FAPCR, CMQ, Endocrinology Program Director
University of California (San Francisco)/Fresno: Serena Loya, MS-HAIL, Department Administrator
University of California, Davis School of Medicine: Catherine Theresa Cuellar, Fellowship Coordinator
University of California, Irvine School of Medicine: Alpesh N. Amin, MD, MBA, MACP, MHM, FACC, FHFSA, FRCP , Chair
University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine: Laurae Pearson, Director of Administration & Finance
University of Central Florida College of Medicine: Olga Karasik, MD, Associate Program Director
University of Central Florida College of Medicine: Jianna Lin, Faculty
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine: Elizabeth Bauke, MHA, Program Manager
University of Colorado School of Medicine: Benjamin S. Vipler, MD, MEd, FACP, Hospitalist 
University of Connecticut School of Medicine: Robert J. Nardino, MD, MACP, Program Director 
University of Florida College of Medicine: Chris Pintado, MPH, Division Administrator
University of Florida College of Medicine Jacksonville:, Lorna Matos, C-TAGME, MSML, Program Administrator
University of Florida College of Medicine Jacksonville: Elisa M. Sottile, MD, Associate Program Director & Clerkship Director
University of Illinois College of Medicine: Christopher Zell, MS, Administrative Program Director
University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria: Manajyoti Yadav, MD, Clerkship Co-Director
University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine: Jennifer Strouse, MD, Assistant Program Director
University of Kansas (Wichita): Tiffany Elisse Schwasinger-Schmidt, MD, PhD, Neuro Clerkship Director
University of Kansas (Wichita): Aastha Vinaykumar Bharwad, MD, Resident
University of Kansas School of Medicine: Abby Hyde, C-TAGME, Senior Residency Coordinator
University of Louisville School of Medicine: Laura Chady Workman, MD, Medicine-Pediatrics Program Director
University of Louisville School of Medicine: Tyler Sharpe, MD, Associate Program Director 
University of Maryland Capital Region Health: Angelique Norfles, Program Coordinator
University of Maryland Medical Center Midtown Campus: Miriam Michael, MD, Student Educator
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School: Andrea Poisson Irani, MD, Associate Program Director
University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate: Raquel Belforti, MD, Faculty
University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate: Yesenia Greeff, MD, Assistant Program Director
University of Miami Hospital and Clinics/Holy Cross Hospital: Nemer Dabage-Forzoli, MD, FACP, Residency Program Director
University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine: Stefanie R. Brown, MD, FACP, FAAP, Program Director
University of Michigan Medical School: Richana Gaskin, GME Program Administrator
University of Minnesota Medical School: Sarah Johnson Sexton, C-TAGME, Program Administrator
University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine: Julia Halsey, MD, Hospitalist
University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine: Emily Haury, MD, MHPE, FAAP, FACP, Internal Medicine Clerkship Director and Associate Program Director Med-Peds Residency
University of Nebraska College of Medicine: Andrea Zimmer, MD, Assistant Professor
University of North Carolina School of Medicine: Ammaris Jordan, MS, Program Coordinator- IM Residency Program
University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences: Dinesh Bande, MD, FACP, Chair
University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine (Tulsa): Ginger L. Wilson, ACUME, Lead Student Program Coordinator
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry: Jennifer K. Readlynn, MD, FHM, Assistant Professor of Medicine/Medicine Sub-I Director
University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine: Mycesha M. Romeo, Assistant Director, Human Resources and Communications
University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School: Brandon Altillo, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine: Ambili Ramachandran, MD, MSc, FACP , Chief, Division of General Internal Medicine
University of Texas Southwestern Medical School: Kimberly A. King, C-TAGME, GME Program Coordinator III
University of Virginia School of Medicine: Karen Ward, ACUME, CGEA, Medical Education Program Administrator
University of Virginia School of Medicine: Franco Musio, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine
University of Washington School of Medicine: Monica Fawthrop, Division Administrator
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health: Laura J. Zakowski, MD, Vice Chair of Education
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine: Katherine Walsh, MD, Associate Professor
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine: Laura Paletta-Hobbs, MD, Associate Program Director 
Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine: Janice Gleisner, MBA, C-TAGME, Senior Program Manager
Wake Forest School of Medicine of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center: Alycia S. Smith, Administrative Manager, Medical Education Office
Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University: Alisha Maureen Crowley, MD, Clinician Educator
Washington State University Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine: Lonika Sood, MBBS, MHPE, IM Clinical Education Director/ Vice Chair
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine: Bethany Millar, C-TAGME, Manager, Education
Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine: Katie Sidler, C-TAGME, Education Manager
Weill Cornell Medicine: Christine A. Garcia, MD, MPH, Asst Professor of Medicine: Director of Hematology & Oncology Fellowship Program
Weill Cornell Medicine: Patrycja Golinska, Administrative Manager
WellStar Kennestone Regional Medical Center: Jennifer Headrick, MD, Residency Program Director
White River Health System: Gilbert-Roy Bukenya Kamoga, MD, FACP CPE, Residency Program Director
Yale-New Haven Medical Center (Waterbury): Medhat Ghaly, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor
York Hospital: Robert I. Pargament, MD, Program Director
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell at Lenox Hill Hospital: Ethan D. Fried, MD, MACP, Residency Program Director; Associate Chair for Education
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell at Mather Hospital: Marilyn Temkin, MD, Core Faculty
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell at Mather Hospital: Alan T. Kaell, MD, Clinical Professor of Medicine
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell at Northern Westchester Hospital: Gary Stallings, MD, MPH, Residency Program Director, Director of Medical Education
Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell at Northern Westchester Hospital: Daly Ocinaldi, Residency Program Coordinator

Volunteer to Be an Alliance Ambassador!

Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct

AAIM is committed to promoting an inclusive and welcoming environment. Participation in AAIM events, leadership opportunities, and engagement programs constitutes an agreement to adhere to the AAIM Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct Policy.