After retirement, Marilyn was on the PA History Society Board of Trustees, serving as newsletter editor.

Involved in her local metropolitan Washington DC community, she volunteered in the White House Office of Presidential Correspondence during the President Obama administration, answering phone calls on current events and personal needs from concerned US citizens.

She has served on the Board of Directors of The Women's Home of Arlington, VA for 30 years.

Travel, gardening, photography, friends and family are her other passions.

She and her husband, Mike (married 51 years), just moved from their 45-stair townhouse in McLean, VA to a one level condo in The Jefferson, a senior living community in Arlington, VA. Please join us for this exciting MasterClass.

Teresa Holler is a Family Practice Physician Assistant in Wilmington, NC, a former Assistant Professor of Medicine, and Author of Cardiology Essentials, Holler for Your Health, and On Medicine and Miracles. Teresa founded and owned CME Opportunities, LLC, and Victory Health, PLLC.

She is a member of the International Society of Environmentally Acquired Illness and has been featured on NPR, FOX TV, Good Morning Arizona, Advance for Physician Assistants, and more. She has been a keynote speaker for both professional and consumer audiences. She has presented at the American Academy of Physician Assistants, Virginia Academy of Physician Assistants, Medical Academy of Pediatric Special Needs, North Carolina Integrative Medicine Society, Holistic Moms Network, and more.

But what sets Teresa apart is her heart. Teresa truly cares about helping practitioners help patients. Despite seeking different treatment approaches, her concern has provided health and hope to many patients who have lost both.

John Byrnes graduated from the University of Florida Physician Assistant Program in 1979, and has worked in Orlando, Florida, as a surgical PA for the last 44 years. After starting out in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery for his first 13 years, John then developed one of the very first PA-owned surgical assisting practices in the country in 1992 and managed this group up until May of this year when the largest health care system in Florida, AdventHealth, acquired his group. Along the way John worked tirelessly with CMS, national and state legislatures and private insurance companies to develop reimbursement for physician assistants, first in surgery and then in all areas of medicine.

John’s involvement with the PA profession extended from the AAPA where he served on numerous committees and councils, to the PA Foundation where he served on the board and as president, and to the Florida Academy of Physician Assistants where he served as president and received the Lifetime Achievement Award. John was also the co-founder of the Association of Physician Assistants in Cardiothoracic Surgery in 1982 and is an Honorary Fellow of that organization.

In 2020 John was appointed by the Florida Surgeon General to the Council on Physician Assistants of the Florida Board of Medicine, where he currently serves as Chair. He also serves on several leadership committees of local hospitals, including credentialing and campus leadership.

In addition to his clinical and professional work, John joined the FSU College of Medicine PA Program as an Associate Clinical Professor in 2018, and serves as the Associate Clinical Education Director of the Orlando campus.

John has always been interested in charitable endeavors and medical missions, and has traveled to many countries, primarily in eastern Europe, on behalf of the US States Department. As a member and now the Grand Prior of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem, an ancient knighthood dating back to the Crusades, John has traveled to India and Mexico to work in leprosy facilities and most recently has traveled to war-torn Ukraine on medical missions to the front lines.

For the past 30 years John has worked with the Orlando-based Florida Citrus Sports Foundation in providing physical exams for underprivileged kids by putting together medical volunteers several times a year. For the last 10 years John has organized volunteer PA students from the three PA Programs in Orlando to perform these exams, easily doing more than 1000 exams each day of each event.

Today, John continues to direct his surgical PA group within AdventHealth and has been tasked with building this new service line “bigger and better”, and in between work enjoys traveling and spending time with his wife, Anna, who has joined him on many of his humanitarian trips.

James F. Cawley, MPH, PA-C, DHL (hon) is Visiting Professor and Scholar-in-Residence at the Physician Assistant Leadership and Learning Academy (PALLA) in the Graduate School at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. He is also Professor of PA Practice in the College of Medicine at the Florida State University. Cawley taught and conducted research on the PA profession for nearly 40 years at The George Washington University Physician Assistant Program where he founded the PA/MPH Program and remains Professor Emeritus and past Chair of the Department of Prevention and Community Health in the Milken Institute School of Public Health.

Following his graduation from the Touro College PA Program in 1974, he began his career as a primary care PA at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, earned his MPH in epidemiology from the Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and pursued doctoral study in health policy at The George Washington University.

In 2013, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Cawley has also held appointments on the PA faculty at Johns Hopkins, Stony Brook University, and Yale University School of Medicine. Cawley has co-authored five books on PAs with more than 150 peer-reviewed publications on the PA profession and health workforce policy. He is a past President of the Physician Assistant Education Association, was twice a President of the PA Foundation, and has served as a Senior Research Fellow at the American Academy of Physician Assistants. In 2011 received the prestigious Eugene A. Stead Award of Achievement from the AAPA.

Ann Davis, MS, PA-C, retired in February 2019 after more than 20 years of distinguished service at the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA). Renowned for her legislative and advocacy work, Ms. Davis was a key figure in advancing the PA profession across the United States. As the AAPA Vice President of Constituent Organization Outreach and Advocacy, she educated state and national health organizations about PA utilization and regulation, developed best practice models, tracked health law and policy trends, and drafted legislation to enhance state laws.

Dr. Dawn Morton-Rias is the first PA President/CEO of NCCPA. She is a certified PA and has practiced in family medicine, addictive medicine, GYN, and care for the homeless. Dawn is a long-time PA educator and former PA program director program. Among several leadership roles, she has served as President of PAEA and an ARC-PA Commissioner. She is an extended member of the NYS Board for Medicine.

Dr. Morton-Rias is nationally recognized for her leadership in curricula innovation, certification, organizational leadership, diversity, equity and inclusion, and expansion of educational access.

Prior to joining NCCPA, she served as a Professor and Dean at SUNY Downstate in NY where she still serves on the faculty. Dr. Morton-Rias holds a BA from Stony Brook University, BS and PA Certificate from Howard University, and a Doctorate in Education from St. John’s University. She is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE) and an Institute of Credentialing Excellence, (ICE) Certified Credentialing Professional (CCP).

A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Dr. Richard C. Vause Jr., is the first born of a Philadelphia police officer and a talented seamstress and homemaker. Education being paramount in the family philosophy, he received his elementary and secondary education in the Philadelphia Catholic School System. Dr. Vause became excited about medicine as a summer nursing aide at the Philadelphia VA Hospital, where he worked on the orthopedic ward caring for veterans of the Vietnam Conflict. He received his initial B.S. in Biology from St. Joseph’s University in 1974 and went into medical research on an NIH grant at Philadelphia General Hospital (PGH). While at PGH he learned of the physician assistant program at Hahnemann University and Medical School (now Drexel University). With the encouragement of his primary care physician, he entered the program in 1976, graduating in 1978 with a B.S.P.A. He received an M.P.A.S. from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 2000, and a Doctor of Health Science (D.H.Sc.) from Nova Southeastern University (NSU) in 2004. After graduation from Hahnemann, he worked in multiple clinical settings in and around the Philadelphia Metro area in Hospital Medicine, Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation and ultimately, in 1985, completed an Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine residence for PAs.

In 1982, he joined the Pennsylvania Army Reserve National Guard (PAARNG) as a weekend warrior, and served with the 108th Combat Support Hospital, as a Warrant Officer until 1985. In February 1985, he entered active duty with the PAARNG and was sent to Fort Rucker, Alabama to complete the Army Flight Surgeon Course, earning his wings as an Aeromedical Physician Assistant. Chief Warrant Officer II Vause, then served with the Eastern ARNG Aviation Training Site (EAATS), Fort Indiantown Gap, PA, in the Aeromedical Services Branch as the Assistant Branch Chief until August 1990, when he was given the opportunity to transfer to the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service (USPHS), where he was commissioned a Lieutenant/03 on September 1, 1990

Initially assigned as a staff PA with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), he reported to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City. Over the next two years, he would become the Senior Supervising PA, and Assistant Health Services Administrator in New York, and be promoted to Commander/05 (CDR). In 1993, he was transferred to the BOP, Central Office in Washington, D.C. serving as a medical recruiter and the lead PA recruiter. In February 1994, he was appointed Chief PA for the BOP and served in this position until May of 1998. Having completed his tour of duty as Chief PA, CDR Vause transferred to the Health Resources & Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions, Division of Health Professions Diversity. Initially assigned as a Project Officer/Public Health Analyst, he provided oversight for a portfolio of 24 Health Careers Opportunity Program grants (HCOP) at colleges and universities across the country. July 1, 1998, he was promoted to Captain/06 (CAPT) with the distinction of being one of the first PAs in the uniformed services ever to achieve that rank.

In February of 1999, he became the (HCOP) Section Chief, and in September of 1999, the Chief for Program Operations Branch, which included not only the HCOP, but the Centers of Excellence, and the Minority Faculty Fellowship Programs.

CAPT Vause’s HRSA responsibilities included overseeing multiple grant programs, conducting grant writing seminars and technical assistance workshops. He also served as grant peer reviewer and chaired multiple Peer Review Committees. He is the principal author of the Comprehensive Approach, that is now part of Title VII of the Public Health Act. In October, of that same year, he was named the first commanding officer of the newly formed Surgeon General’s Honor Cadre (a position he held until he retired), by Admiral David Satcher, the 16th Surgeon General of the U.S. and Assistant Secretary for Health.

In August 2000, he transferred to the Office of Field Operations, Northeast Cluster, in Philadelphia, to serve as the Health Professions Consultant to the Cluster Director. Additionally, he led review teams that conducted sites visits on HRSA grantees to insure compliance with HRSA requirements and was the regional Federal Tort Claims Coordinator. During this period, he also earned his Doctor of Health Science From NSU. He retired from the USPHS as the senior ranking PA in March 2005.

After retiring, Dr. Vause, became the Clinical Director for the Nova Southeastern University PA program Naples, Florida Campus, transitioning to the Academic Director position the following year. He served in this position until the end of August 2009.

In September 2009, Dr. Vause became the PA Program Director, Associate Dean for Program Development, and Associate Professor, at Salus University, in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. He remained at Salus University until August 2016 when he made the decision to return to full time clinical practice and accepted a position in Family Medicine, in Henderson, Nevada. In May 2018, he accepted a position with MedExpress Urgent Care, in Las Vegas, NV, and became a platform traveler for MedExpress providing coverage in multiple states where he holds current licenses as a Physician Assistant.

Dr. Vause retired from active practice in May 2021. He and his wife MarLee (also a retired PA and former HOD officer and Board member of the AAPA), split their time between homes in Las Vegas, NV and Island Park, Idaho. His daughter Rayna is a PA living and practicing in Florida, and step-son Todd and his wife are in St. Louis working for the VA Hospital System.

He served many years in the House of Delegates (HOD) of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), eight years as Chief delegate of the PHS Academy of PAs (PHSAPA). He also served two terms as President of the PHSAPA. Dr. Vause was twice elected to the Nominating Committee of the HOD, and additionally served on the Public Education Committee and the Conference Education Planning Committee of the AAPA.

He is the 1994 Veteran’s Caucus of the AAPA, Uniformed Services PA of the Year, the 2001 AAPA Federal Services Paragon Award winner, 2016 PHS Retired Officer of the Year recipient, a Distinguished Fellow of the AAPA, a Life Member of the Society of Army PAs, Honorary Member of the PHSAPA, a Fellow of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, a member of Pi Alpha (the PA National Honor Society), and a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.

Greg Thomas in addition to being a PA for more than 45 years, has been a leader in the field of CME and education. Throughout his career he has worked with numerous organizations to promote the PA profession.

Mr. Thomas received his bachelor’s degree in natural sciences magna cum laude in 1975 from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, an additional bachelor’s degree in 1977 from the Physician Assistant Program of the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas and a master’s degree in public health with focus on health care administration in 1978 from the University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston, Texas.

Mr. Thomas began his PA career as a Clinical Instructor of Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine in 1978 and as the Associate Director of the University of the Texas Health Science Center — Dallas PA Program the following year.

Mr. Thomas then moved to the George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, DC in 1979. For 13 years, Mr. Thomas served as Assistant Director (1979-1982), Associate Director, (1983-1987) and Director (1988- 1992) of the Office of Continuing Medical Education. Mr. Thomas was the first PA in the country to hold such a position in a major medical center. Mr. Thomas’s impact on the PA profession continued at the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), where he worked in many different roles, including the Director of Industry Relations (1992-1994) and Assistant Vice President of Industry Relations and Development (1995). He served as Vice President of Clinical Affairs and Education (1996-2001), Professional Education and Industry Relations (2002-2004) and Professional Education and Alliance Development (2004-2008). From 2008-2011, Mr. Thomas was the Senior Vice President of Education, Membership and Resource Development.

In September of 1992, Mr. Thomas, became one of the first PAs employed full-time by the AAPA to serve as an external representative of the profession, with a focus initially on the health care. The role at AAPA expanded to include both this external focus and his interest and expertise in CME.

Stephen D. Wilson, PA-C, has had a distinguished career in surgery spanning over 45 years. Steve’s journey into the PA profession began at Alderson-Broaddus College, where he was introduced to the newly established PA program. His career in surgery took him to various hospitals and roles where he made a significant impact on the profession. Steve has also been actively involved in professional service, contributing to organizations such as the Pennsylvania Society of Physician Assistants (PSPA) and the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA). His dedication to the profession has earned him several prestigious awards, recognizing his lifetime achievements and service.

Dave Mittman, DMSc (H), PA-C, DFAAPA has been a PA leader for over 48 years. Dave co-founded the LIU PA Program student society in 1973, was President of the New York State Society of PAs from 1978-1979 and served on the AAPA Board of Directors, twice, thirty-five years apart. Dave also has won the AAPA Public Education award for leading the march in Trenton NJ to establish PA practice. Dave was introduced to medicine as a medic in the USAF. He later had the distinction of becoming the first PA allowed to practice in the USAF Reserves. Dave spent almost 9 years in a primary care group practice in Brooklyn, N.Y., and left to begin a career in medical publishing with Physician Assistant (PA) Journal in late1983.

Dave left PA Journal to co-found Clinicians Publishing Group in 1990 and Clinician Reviews Journal in 1991. This was the first journal written for both NPs and PAs. Dave and his partners took Clinicians Group and built it into a major publishing business launching eight journals in six different physician specialties within an eight-year period, something never done before in the history of medical publishing. In 2001, the Clinicians Group was acquired by Jobson Publishing. Dave left in 2004.

Dave completed his term as President of the AAPA in 2020 after serving on the AAPA Board for 5 years. Dave also previously served on the AAPA Board from 1982-84. Dave was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Medical Science in 2020 by the Trustees of Lynchburg University, in Lynchburg, VA.

In 2008, Dave co-founded Clinician1, which was the largest NP and PA informational/clinical/social community on the web. Clinician 1 was acquired by a private firm and Clinician 1 ceased publication in late 2019. Dave is now involved with a video Q and A feature on POCN and serves as a consultant for a number of corporations.

Dave has also served as Treasurer of the Association of Family Practice PAs. A co-founder of the American College of Clinicians and PAs for Tomorrow (PAFT), the first President for Executive and Administrative PAs.

Dave has authored numerous papers and studies in publications as diverse as "Chicken Soup for the Expectant Mothers Soul", "U.S. Pharmacist", “Medical Marketing and Media” and many others. He was the primary author of the first international paper on PAs published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

Dave is a noted expert in PA and NP practice both in the U.S. and worldwide. He has published papers on both NP and PA prescribing. He has consulted for many companies on NP and PA practice and has spoken at numerous PA and NP meetings with audiences ranging from 5 to 8,000. Dave is also an adjunct faculty member in the Doctorate Program (DMSc) at Lynchburg University specializing in PA Advocacy.

Dave is married to his high school sweetheart Bonnie for over 47 years and has two wonderful adult children.

Rick Rohrs is a 1977 graduate of the Johns Hopkins PA program and has practiced internal medicine in a hospital setting for the last 45 years, transitioning from a clinical to an administrative role during that time. He has held various positions within Northwest Hospital and LifeBridge Health provider leadership.

His current role is Assistant Vice President of Provider Operations where he has been responsible for the administration of employed and contracted provider services such as Hospitalists, Anesthesia, PAs, Emergency Providers, Hospice, and Surgical assistants. He works in close collaboration with the President, CMO, and medical staff leadership to align provider and hospital goals. He also oversees the medical education department as well as serving as community liaison for the Magnet School partnerships with Baltimore City and County public schools.

Mr. Rohrs has a long record of professional involvement having served at President and Board Chair of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, the National Commission on the Certification of Physician Assistants, and the Maryland Academy of Physician Assistants. He was named Outstanding PA of the Year by the Maryland Academy in 1987 and by the AAPA in 2000. Most recently he served as President of the national PA Foundation and currently serves on the Board as Chair Elect of the NCCPA Health Foundation.

As part of the PA profession’s celebration of the 50th anniversary, he was named one of “50 PAs making a difference” by the NCCPA and received the first ever distinguished life service award from the Maryland Academy. In 2015, he was named a Senior Fellow in Hospital Medicine by the Society of Hospital Medicine. He was the second PA to have received this prestigious honor. In 2020, he was named Outstanding Alumnus of the Community College of Baltimore County.

Rick has been instrumental in many PA regulatory and legislative efforts on both a local and national level. He has served as the chair of the AAPA Government Affairs Committee and well as chair and member of the MAPA Legislative Committee. He has testified countless times on behalf of PA and healthcare legislation.

Additionally, he co-founded the Maryland Educational conference, Trends in Patient Management and managed the program for over 25 years. He has also been a delegate or alternate to the AAPA House on many occasions since the early 80’s. He is a national thought leader on the PA profession and especially their role in Hospital Medicine.

In the past twenty years, he has been involved in international workforce development serving as the first chair of the AAPA International Affairs committee and then working as a consultant to many countries throughout the world. He has led delegations to the Netherlands, Taiwan, Great Britain, China, Canada, Cuba, and Brazil. He has also done humanitarian missions to Africa.

Rick holds multiple faculty appointments including George Washington University and Towson University. He chairs the Towson PA Program Advisory Committee and, in the past, chaired the self-study committee for GWU where he was awarded the Outstanding Community Service award in 2019. He has been actively involved as a lecturer and preceptor for PA and Medical Students for over forty years.

Ron Rosenberg, P.A., M.P.H., began his healthcare career as a U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman in 1965. After discharge from the Navy he entered the Physician Assistant training program at the Dartmouth College Medical School, and graduated in 1972 as one of the first Physician Assistants in the United States. Over the next ten years he practiced in a variety of clinical settings, including rural primary care, academic cardiology and family practice, and urban urgent care.

While on the clinical staff of the University of Utah College of Medicine, Ron completed his Masters in Public Health degree, with a concentration in Health Services Research.

In 1982 Ron left clinical practice and moved to the business side of medicine, first in developing and delivering health risk-appraisals and health promotion programs, and then in developing and marketing market analysis reports using data files from the Healthcare Finance Administration (HCFA).

In 1986, Ron began consulting in the management of medical practices, and was a partner in Consulting Concepts, Inc. (CCI), a practice management consulting firm. CCI evolved into as specialty firm, concentrating in advising medical school faculty practices on reimbursement, compliance with HCFA’s teaching physician guidelines, business office operations, and managed care.

In 1992, Ron left CCI and founded the Practice Management Resource Group (PMRG), a consulting firm providing practice management services to physicians’ practices of all specialties and organizational structure (i.e., private, academic, and institutional practices). Ron has successfully completed various engagements, including reimbursement enhancement, practice financial performance assessments, physician compensation systems, practice valuations, managed care strategic planning and marketing, alliance formation, practice mergers, and managed care (capitation) contracting.

Beginning in the 1990s, Ron’s consulting focus shifted to the subspecialties of Ophthalmology, concentrating on financial performance and strategic management, assessing merger and acquisition opportunities, and re-structuring business operations. Ron has a deep relationship with the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), and has delivered courses and writing for the AAO.

Ron has written book chapters on "practice financial policies and fee schedules” and "physician compensation in managed care”, and articles on physician alliance development. He co-authored a book for the (AAO) on capitation for medical-surgical eye-care. He also authored a series of financial management modules for the AAO.

Ron Rosenberg brings his blend of clinical background and practice management experience to all his consulting engagements. His success is based on the premise that in the currently evolving medical environment, that blend of clinical and business skill is required for the success of any practice.

Anthony A. Miller (Tony) is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus and former director, Division of Physician Assistant Studies at Shenandoah University, and president of T&T Education Consulting, LLC. He has over 44 years’ experience in PA education and has held educational leadership positions including Associate Dean, School of Allied Health and Founding Chair, Department of PA Studies at the Medical College of Ohio (now University of Toledo). He has been a leader for state and national physician assistant professional associations including the President of the Physician Assistant Education Association and President of the Ohio Association of Physician Assistants. He is currently a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Physician Assistant Education.

Professor Miller was a trustee for the PA Foundation and served on several AAPA councils and commissions. He currently serves as board member the Sinclair Health Clinic in Winchester, VA. He served on PAEA’s Doctoral Degree Task Force. From 2012 through 2016, Mr. Miller served on senior staff for the Physician Assistant Education Association including Chief Policy and Research Officer.

In 2000, Mr. Miller received the Association of Physician Assistant Programs’ Master Teacher Award and the PAEA Distinguished Service Award in 2023. He has many scholarly articles and presentations including chapters in PA books. He was an editor of Lange’s: Q&A Physician Assistant Examination for editions two through six.

Dr. William C. Kohlhepp grew up in South Plainfield New Jersey. He completed his undergraduate work at the University of Connecticut in 1974 and enrolled in the Rutgers/UMDNJ Physician Assistant (PA) Program in 1977. To advocate more effectively for licensure of PAs in New Jersey, Kohlhepp and several of his classmates formed the Physician Assistant Student Society of New Jersey in the fall of 1977. Soon thereafter, he and Maryann Ramos, one of the few PAs working in the state at the time, started the New Jersey State Society of Physician Assistants. In October 1978, Kohlhepp testified as a student before the New Jersey State Assembly’s Institutions, Health, and Welfare Committee in support of PA Legislation.

After graduating in 1979, he moved to Connecticut but continued to fight for enabling legislation in New Jersey. He chartered a bus and organized the Connecticut contingent that participated in the “March on Trenton” in support of New Jersey PA legislation. Concurrently, he testified before the Connecticut State Legislature’s Public Health Committee in support of the initial enabling legislation for PAs in Connecticut. In 1985, Kohlhepp and one other member of the Connecticut Academy of Physician Assistants (CONNAPA) met with an Assistant Attorney General of the State of Connecticut to gain an opinion about the legality of nurses taking orders from PAs. Based on that meeting, Attorney General Joe Lieberman wrote a favorable opinion which has influenced PA practice in the state immeasurably.

Kohlhepp started his professional career as an Emergency Medicine PA at the Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, CT. In 1983, he became a primary health care provider at the Community Health Care Plan in New Haven, CT, where he eventually became a manager. In 1989, he moved on to become the Operations Manager of Occupational Health Plus at the Hospital of Saint Raphael in New Haven, CT.

In 1996, Kohlhepp joined the faculty of Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT and more was appointed Dean of the University’s School of Health Sciences. Before that, he served as the Associate Director and Academic Coordinator of the PA Program, the Director of the Pre-Professional Phase of the PA Program, Associate Dean of the School of Health Sciences and Associate Vice President for Faculty Affairs. He continues to serve as a Professor of Physician Assistant Studies at Quinnipiac University. He holds a Doctorate in Health Sciences from Nova Southeastern University.

Kohlhepp has been actively involved in local, state and national organizations. He served on the CONNAPA Board of Directors as Secretary (1982-83), President (1983 and 1992) and Treasurer (1990-91 and 2000-06). Kohlhepp has served the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) as a Student Academy Board Member (1978), the AAPA House of Delegates as Secretary (1992), Second Vice Speaker (1993), First Vice Speaker (1994-and 1995), Speaker (1996, 1997 and 1998), Vice President (1996, 1997 and 1998), President Elect (1999), President (2000) and Board Chairman (2001). He served as Editorial Board Member (2000-2001) and Peer Reviewer (2001-Present) of the Journal of American Academy of Physician Assistants. He was a Board Member (2001-2009), Chairman-Elect (2005), Chairman (2006) and Immediate Past Chairman (2007) of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. Kohlhepp has served on the Board of Directors of the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) as Secretary/Treasurer (2010-2015) and President (2006). Interestingly, he was the PAEA representative from Student Academy of AAPA (78-79). He is an Associate Member of the Connecticut Medical Society (2009-present).

His recent professional activities are as follows: 1. As AAPA President, Kohlhepp traveled to the White House in 1999 to participate in the release of the first Surgeon General Report on Mental Health. 2. In 2000, Kohlhepp, AAPA Past President Ron Nelson and AAPA staff member Michael Powe met with high level officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to discuss the use of high level Evaluation and Management CPT Codes by PAs. Doing so would allow clinical practices to be reimbursed for services delivered by PAs, including consultations, home health care, hospital H&Ps, mental health care, treatment of fractures and performing sigmoidoscopies. In addition, PAs would be allowed to order physical therapy, hyperbaric oxygen, and restraint and seclusion. The officials responded positively to the issues of E/M codes, consults, hospital H&Ps, mental health, fracture care and outpatient PT. 3. In 2000, he testified before the Connecticut State Legislature’s Public Health Committee in support of an act allowing controlled substance prescriptive authority for PAs. The legislation was eventually adopted. 4. In 2005, Kohlhepp testified before the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. The hearings explored amending the Federal Workers’ Compensation Act to allow clinical practices to be reimbursed when PAs provide care to injured federal workers.

Kohlhepp is well published in peer-reviewed clinical and academic journals and has co-authored three textbook chapters. He has given many invited educational, clinical and professional presentations at state and national events.

Kohlhepp has been recognized for his clinical, academic and volunteer achievements. He was the recipient of the President’s Award from CONNAPA in 1985. In the same year, he was the recipient of the Outstanding Service Award from the AAPA House of Delegates. In 1992 he received the Quinnipiac College Faculty Fund for Excellence Award. Kohlhepp was elected to the Delta Mu Delta Honor Society for Business Administration in 1995. CONNAPA recognized him again with their 1997 Leadership Award. The School of Health Related Professions at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey acknowledged his achievements with the 1999 Distinguished Alumnus Award. CONNAPA recognized Kohlhepp’s many contributions with the 2005 Founder’s Award. He was named the 2006 PA of the Year by the AAPA Occupational Medicine Caucus. Kohlhepp became a Distinguished Fellow Member of the AAPA in 2008. In 2009 he received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from the AT Still University in Mesa, Arizona. He received the 2010 James Marshall Award for Outstanding Service from Quinnipiac University. The Student Academy of the AAPA awarded him the Student Academy President’s Award in 2010. For the fourth time CONNAPA recognized Kohlhepp with the 2011 President’s Award. He was inducted into Alpha Eta Honor Society for Allied Health Professionals in 2013.

Maha Lund, DHSc, PA-C, DFAAPA, has had a distinguished career as an educator and a certified physician assistant. Dr. Lund was raised in Osnabrück, Germany where she completed the equivalent of an American pre-med program at the Medizinische Hochschule Hannover before moving to the United States. Lund graduated with a master’s degree in physician assistant studies from Chatham University in 2001. She later earned her Doctor of Health Science from NOVA Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale in 2012. Dr. Lund currently serves as dean of the School of Health Sciences at Elon University overseeing the nursing, PT, and PA programs.

Prior to becoming a certified PA, Dr. Lund worked as a self-employed German translator and interpreter specializing in medical and technical translation work and taught German in the Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Dr. Lund moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as a project manager for curriculum development and an instructor for Languages by Nicole, an international language instruction and consulting company in the Pittsburgh area.

Dr. Lund became interested in the PA profession through her mother, a nurse and nurse educator. After graduating with her master’s degree, Dr. Lund worked as a physician assistant in hospital medicine at Saint Elizabeth’s Medical Center and then at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, also in hospital medicine. Dr. Lund was a founding member of the Physician Assistant Clinical Educator (PACE) team – the first internal medicine PA team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She also initiated the PA student precepting program with MCPHS University, co-chaired PA Grand Rounds for approximately 120 PAs, and represented the PACE team at hospital-wide Chief PA meetings.

Dr. Lund’s first faculty position was at MCPHS University from 2004-2014. She started as a preceptor and adjunct faculty member and eventually became program director in 2011. Dr. Lund transferred to Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta in 2014, where she served as program director until 2023.

Dr. Lund is a member of the North Carolina Association of Physician Assistants, the American Academy of Physician Assistants, and the Physician Assistant Education Association. She served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Three Rivers Area Health Education Center and of the Board of Trustees for the Physician Assistant History Society. She is also an Accreditation Site Visitor and commissioner for the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA).

Dr. Lund has two siblings: an older sister and a younger brother. She is married to Mack Lund and they have two daughters.

Reprinted from: https://pahx.org/bios/lund-maha/ (edited by Dr. Lund)

Dr. Kenneth Harbert has over forty years of health care experience as a clinician, educator, researcher, legislator, and administrator. His clinical experience started as one of the first Physician Associates (PA) in psychiatry, then providing continuity in patient care as a hospitalist, a hospital team member of a trauma team, then acting as the medical commander for programs working with patients after disasters and public health emergencies, an occupation travel clinic, and finally international medicine. His educational experience included training and managing physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and paramedics. He was the director of medical education for post graduate physician residence programs in internal medicine, general surgery, orthopedics, and family medicine. He was instrumental in the development of eight PA programs in the United States and acted as a consultant for twenty other national and international programs. He assisted in the development and implementation of the PA profession in the Netherlands.

His research activities involved health care policy regarding the utilization of PAs. Dr. Harbert is well published acting as a speaker and committee member of several national and international organizations including the AAPA, the Association of Medical Educators in Europe, the Physician Assistant Educational Organization, the Netherlands Association of Physician Assistants, the Department of Health and Human Services, the American Red Cross, the Department of Defense, the Veterans Health Council, the PAs in Virtual Telemedicine. Dr. Harbert is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University where he obtained a Doctorate in Health Education, Central Michigan University where he obtained a Master of Arts with a concentration in Health Administration, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook where he graduated as a Physician Associate. He was nationally board certified as a PA for over 35 years and is now a PA-C Emeritus. Currently, he is one of the partners of a Health Care Consortium in the American Virgin Islands focusing on health care access and education. He served in the United States Navy as an enlisted corpsman, the United States Coast Guard Reserve as a Physician Assistant Medical Officer, and the United States Public Health Service Inactive Reserve as a Physician Assistant Medical Officer.

Dr. Alfred M. Sadler, Jr., MD, FACP, (1941- ) first became acquainted with the physician assistant concept on a visit from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to Duke University in 1968. He has been involved in some aspect of the PA world ever since and has been a strong advocate for the Profession.

In 1970, Dr. Sadler was appointed Assistant Professor of Surgery and Public Health and Director of the Yale Trauma Program by Dr. Jack W. Cole, Chairman of Yale’s Department of Surgery, do develop a statewide system for EMS in Connecticut. During that year he founded and directed the Physician Assistant Program at the Yale University School of Medicine. He was ably assisted by Paul Moson, a graduate of the second class of the Duke PA Program. In 1971, he coauthored the “White Paper on Physician’s Assistants: Looking at the Future” with his brother, Blair, and associate, Ann A. Bliss, a nurse and psychiatric social worker. This was prepared at the request of five foundations. The white paper became the book “The Physician’s Assistant: Today and Tomorrow”; the first book on PAs. The book addressed important policy issues relating to PAs and emphasized the importance of interdependence among health professionals. You may click here to read the second edition of the book.

Dr. Sadler helped establish and served as the first president of the Association of Physician Assistant Programs (APAP, now PAEA) in 1972 – 1973. He played a key role in establishing the organization and worked with the American Medical Association and the Association of American Medical Colleges to develop accreditation standards for PA programs. He was instrumental in launching the first certifying examination for PAs by the National Board of Medical Examiners in 1973. With Dr. Thomas Piemme, he helped found the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) in 1974 and obtained foundation support to open a national executive office in Washington, DC for APAP and the Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA). Under his leadership, the first annual conference on New Health Practitioners (later to be named the annual conference on Physician’s Assistants) was held in 1973.

Dr. Sadler is a graduate of Amherst College, Amherst, MA in 1962 and the Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA. In 1967, after completing a Surgical Internship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, he joined the U.S. Public Health Service at the National Institutes of Health. He and his twin brother Blair, a lawyer, analyzed medical-legal issues including: the procurement and use of human tissues and organs for transplantation; the use of human subjects in clinical research; and the licensure and certification of allied health personnel. Together they helped draft the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act in 1968 which was adopted by all 50 states during the next three years and provides the legal underpinning for the national network of organ sharing that we have today. They also worked as special assistants to Dr. Roger O. Egeberg, Assistant Secretary for Health and Scientific Affairs, preparing a position paper on the credentialing of PAs and Nurse Practitioners. Dr. Sadler is a Founding Fellow of the Institute of Society, Ethics and the Life Sciences (Hastings Institute) in 1969.

In 1973, Dr. Sadler joined the Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Foundation, in Princeton, NJ, as a Senior Officer. At RWJF he worked to foster the training of physicians in primary care, encourage the further development of physician assistants, expand the Clinical Scholars Program, and enhance the field of emergency medicine. RWJF replicated the Yale Trauma Program’s regional EMS model in 44 areas of the country. The Physician’s Assistant: Today and Tomorrow was completed by Sadler, Sadler and Bliss in 1975 and published by Ballinger Press.

By 1976, Dr. Sadler’s clinical interests evolved from surgery to primary care. He completed an internship, residency and clinical fellowship in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. In 1979, he was appointed the first chief of Geriatric Medicine at the Center for the Health Sciences at the UCLA School of Medicine and helped establish its geriatric medicine division.

In 1981, he left academic medicine for private practice on the Monterey Peninsula. During the next 35 years, he practiced general internal medicine in Monterey; established, with a PA, a health center for the underserved in Marina; served as Medical Director of a retirement community in Carmel Valley; directed an urgent care center in Salinas, staffed in part by PAs; directed the Employee and Occupational Health Department of the Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital; and precepted PA and nurse practitioner students from Stanford and San Jose State Universities.

As a regional and national leader in health policy, emergency medical services, primary care and the PA profession, Dr. Sadler has received many awards and recognitions which include membership in Alpha Omega Alpha, the National Kidney Foundation’s Award for Distinguished Service, the Jack W. Cole award at Yale University, and membership in the Amherst College Copeland Colloquium. In 2014, Dr. Sadler received the Distinguished Service Award from PAEA. You may see a video of his acceptance speech here. He is an honorary member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (1975). He is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, a recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award of its Northern California Chapter and one of 40 “Luminaries” selected by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation at its 40th anniversary in 2012. He joined the PA History Society as a Trustee in 2009, serving as Historian in 2010-2011, and President in 2014. In 2018, he was recognized as “Physician of the Year” by the Monterey County Medical Society.

He is a coauthor with Thomas Piemme, Reginald Carter, and Ruth Ballweg of “The Physician Assistant: An Illustrated History,” (2013) supported by the grants from the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. In 2017 he cofounded a new MSPA Program at the California State University Monterey Bay where he also serves as Associate Medical Director. He is an active speaker at PA Commencements and White Coat ceremonies as well as a teacher of PA History at many PA Programs. He remains active in the fields of Bioethics and organ transplantation.

In 2022, Dr. Sadler wrote with his brother, Blair Sadler, the book “(P)Luck: Lessons Learned from Improving Healthcare and the World”. You may also learn more about the book and the Sadler brothers’ impact on healthcare and organ donation laws by clicking here. (This bio is credited to the PA History Society)

Dr. Lohenry joined the University of Arizona in 2022 after serving as the associate dean for graduate student affairs at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. He also served as program director for the Primary Care Physician Assistant Program at USC from 2011-2022. He has received $6.3 million in funding from federal and state organizations with a focus on interprofessional education and health workforce. He is the co-founder of the Keck Street Medicine program at USC, which provides care for unsheltered individuals living on the streets of Los Angeles. He is a veteran of the United States Navy and has served as a Physician Assistant since 1996. Lohenry is a past-president of the Physician Assistant Education Association and former director-at-large for the board of directors for the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). In 2012, Lohenry served the as a member of the Joining Forces Initiative with the First Lady’s Office. He practiced family and internal medicine.

Gregory Davenport has more than 40 years of professional experience in emergency medicine working in combat, disaster, and wilderness settings. Davenport began his career in the military, serving for nine years in Combat Casualty Care and as a Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape (also known as SERE) and personnel recovery specialist. In 1991 he left the military to attend PA education at the University of Washington.

Davenport believes in ‘service through medicine’ and since completing his medical training has done that, working in extremely underserved areas and underserved populations. Also, as a humanitarian, Dr. Davenport has traveled around the globe, providing medical care in areas of combat disaster, and medical insecurity. Most recently, this service has taken him to Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Haiti, India, Nepal, Vanuatu, and twice to Mosul Iraq during its liberation from ISIS. In addition, he has written six books on his concept of survival, primitive medical care, and navigation and provided survival and medical training to multiple corporate and government agencies, in the U.S. and abroad, and hosted several televised adventure shows.

Davenport has a Doctorate degree in Health Science with a concentration in Leadership and Organizational Behavior; a master’s degree in PA Medicine with a concentration in Wilderness and Emergency Medicine; a PA Certificate focused on Rural Primary Care; and an Associate of Applied Science degree in Search and Survival Rescue. Dr. Davenport has built three physician associate (aka assistant) programs through medical and regional accreditation and one Doctors of Medical Science degree through regional accreditation. Currently, Davenport is building an online CME awarded “prepared service” curriculum due for release in early 2024 (www.gregdavenport.com).

Learn more about Dr. Davenport at: https://www.gregdavenport.com/about-greg

Richard Muma, PhD, MPH, PA-C, is the first PA to be named president of a university when the Kansas Board of Regents appointed him as president of Wichita State University in 2021. Wichita State University is a Division I research university located in Wichita, Kansas.

Dr. Muma held a number of positions at WSU since he joined the faculty of the PA program in 1994. He was the PA director from 2002–2008, followed by the chair of the Department of Public Health Sciences, then advancing to the assistant provost and, in 2018, becoming the provost. He has been a prolific researcher, contributing many articles to the Journal of Physician Assistant Education, and other journals over his career, and editing four books on HIV infection and patient education. He earned his PhD in 2004 from the University of St. Louis, Missouri.

Dr. Muma was drawn to education early in his career, becoming associate faculty just a year after his graduation from the University of Texas Medical Branch- Galveston PA Program in 1987. This was at the height of the HIV epidemic, and Muma, then working in infectious diseases, was invited to help develop HIV curriculum for a HRSA grant. In 1994 he joined the faculty at WSU, where he has remained ever since, with the exception of a two-year stint as director of the Saint Louis University PA Program, 1999–2000.

COL (Ret) Pauline Gross was born and raised in Nebraska on a small dairy farm. She joined the Army in 1974, attending Basic Combat Training at Fort Jackson, SC as a member of the Women’s Army Corps (WAC). After graduating from 91B Combat Medic Training in February 1975 she went on to train as an Operation Room technician. COL Gross was selected to attend the Army Physician Program, Fort Sam Houston, TX in 1982 as one of only two females selected for her class. During the late 70s and early 80s there were few PA positions open to females, limiting the number of women who could be selected. Upon completion of Phase 1 and the Warrant Officer Candidate Course, she was promoted to Warrant Officer One. On 1 October, 1984 she graduated Phase 2 and promoted to Chief Warrant Officer Two (CWO). While serving at the rank of CWO3, the Army transitioned PA warrant officers to commissioned officers and she was promoted to Captain on 4 February 1992.

As a PA she has worked in a variety of assignments to include: Staff PA, Officer in Charge (OIC) of Troop Medical Clinics, Phase 2 site clinical coordinator, Phase 2 Clinical Coordinator/Instructor Military PA Program, Senior Battalion PA, PA Program Director Army Recruiting Command, Deputy Specialist Corps Branch/Career Manager/Assignments Officer, Human Resources Command, Special Staff Officer – Office of the Army Surgeon General, and Medical Advisor Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq.

In 1986 she was the first female PA deployed to Palmerola (now Soto Cano) Air Force Base, Honduras. During her assignment to South Korea in 1997 she became to first PA to be a Clinic OIC. Soon after more PAs took on that role at other clinics there. As the first PA assigned to US Army Recruiting Command, she was responsible for assisting soldiers in the application process to attend the Interservice PA Program (IPAP). During her tenure, the first US Army Reserve Soldiers were approved to apply and attend IPAP. Twenty months later she was selected, then assigned to the US Army Personnel Command, now Human Resources Command as the first female PA Career Manager. This usual two year assignment became four and 1⁄2 years because of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). During this tour she was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel (LTC). Her next assignment was at the Officer of Army Surgeon General-Pentagon as part of the Medical Holdover Assistance Team working with the Assistant Secretary of the Army Manpower and Reserve Affairs traveling to Army installations in support of soldiers from all three components, (Active duty, Reserves, and National Guard) returning injured or ill from OIF and Afghanistan.

During her time as a Branch Chief, Senior Army Service representative at IPAP, she oversaw the hiring of the first civilian PA instructors and the addition of three more Phase 2 clinical due to the need to increase student throughput. In 2015, COL Gross was selected by TSG to be the Installation Management Command (IMCOM) Surgeon and as the senior medical advisor to the IMCOM Commander and his staff.

COL Gross holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology and a Master of Public Health. She is a graduate of the Army PA Program, Command & General Staff College, and the Defense Strategy Course.

Her awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, Combat Action Badge, the Order of Military Medical Merit, and the Surgeon General’s 9A Proficiency designator. She was selected as the 2017 AAPA Military Service Awardee based on her contributions to Army Medicine and the PA profession. COL Gross retired from the Army in July 2018 after 44 years of active duty service.

COL Gross and her husband Larry have three daughters, one son, and 5 grandchildren.

PA Donna Seton has been practicing in the specialty of Hospice & Palliative Medicine for over 13 years and is the senior PA in her department in a large academic institution. She is the Charter/Founding Member and Past-President of PAs in Hospice and Palliative Medicine (www.pahpm.org) a national non-profit specialty organization affiliated with the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) whose mission is education and advocacy both by and for PAs in the specialty. She is a Chart/Founding Member of the PA SIG group in the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM). She graduated from the A.T. Still University PA program in 2001.

Today Donna is a Voice Actor. Donna’s voice has been described as trustworthy, warm, relatable, and professional. With her years of experience in the healthcare/medical field, Donna is a natural choice for those seeking an educated, skilled, and clear female voice for medical and healthcare clients looking for professional voiceover talent for instructional and educational videos, podcasts, narration, or commercial projects. With her background in acting, she is also ready and able to bring improvisational skills to any project to assure a variety of reads and can take direction well to help your project be successful. From narration and commercials, to IVR, e-learning and corporate audio, Donna has a voice you can count on. Friendly, easy to work with, and flexible, Donna can provide quick turnaround on professional quality dry audio from her on-site studio where she works with a MacBook Pro running Audacity and Focusrite Scarlett Solo equipment. She has volunteered in giving back to her community and has served as a reader and broadcaster for Sun Sounds of Arizona, a non-profit organization that provides audio access to print information to people who cannot read or hold print material due to a disability.

Dr. Nowak works clinically and has enjoyed helping thousands of patients, including many at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He has extensive experience in Family Medicine, Hospital Medicine, and Surgery, including Cardiothoracic Surgery. Dr. Nowak is active in different medical organizations, has received various awards, and has spoken at numerous state and national conferences.

Besides being passionate about medical education, Dr. Nowak is also passionate about medical missions and started a yearly Medical Mission Trip to Guatemala. For over a decade, he has taken PA students and other volunteers to the poor mountain villages (aldeas) and/or small community hospitals to help the medically underserved by providing free medical care. https://www.certifiedmedicaleducators.com/medical-mission-trip/

Ken Korber is a Clinical Assistant Professor with over two decades of medical & surgical PA experience in hospital-based and outpatient care settings. Ken is an experienced grant-writer & former biomedical industry medical science liaison; as well as a certified hypertension clinician and a 2016 Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. His research interest are in consumer health literacy, and measuring the effectiveness of pediatric patient education

Ken found a second career as a children’s book author. His published writings have led to the formation of The Healthy Music Project through the Center for Functional Learning. The project uses children’s books as resources and education tools for reading skills, music appreciation, and wellness advocacy for the general public, and within at-risk vulnerable communities of children and their families.