Award Recipients

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Recipient(s)

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  Cali Myers, MHA

  University of Alabama at Birmingham

  Cali Myers, MHA, is a dedicated healthcare executive currently serving as executive administrator for the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. In this role, she oversees a $20+ million annual budget, supports over 60 faculty members, and leads efforts across financial, operational, and human resources functions. She also serves her institution as a member of both the Health System Financial Stewardship Committee and the Provider Practice Optimization Committee. She joined the Academy of Administrators in Academic Emergency Medicine (AAAEM) in August 2021 as an associate member, at the time serving as the associate administrator in her department. She became the interim executive administrator in June 2023 and took on the permanent role in March 2024, at which time she became an active member of AAAEM.

  She has served on the Strategic Planning Committee, Membership Committee, and Education and Professional Development Committee. Most notably, she has served on the Communications Committee, becoming Chair for the committee in the 2022 and continuing to serve in this capacity to this day. Cali also participated in the Member Insider Program as a mentee in its inaugural year, and is currently enrolled as a Certificate in Academic Emergency Medicine Administration (CAEMA) participant. Finally, she was recently elected to serve on the Executive Committee as a member-at-large for the 2024-2025 year.

  Outside of her professional life, she contributes to community service through the Junior League of Birmingham, currently serving as the assistant chair of the Grace Klein Community Food Rescue and Delivery Committee. She also serves as a foster for Kitty Kat Haven and Rescue.

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  Kashwayne Williams, MBA, MHA

  Washington University

  Kashwayne Williams, MBA, MHA, is the executive director for business affairs and strategic planning in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Washington University (WashU) School of Medicine. With a background in economics, business, and health administration from Georgia State University, he is also a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

  Williams has extensive experience in academic medicine, previously serving at Morehouse School of Medicine before joining WashU in 2014. Over the years, he has held leadership roles in the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, the Department of Pediatrics, and now Emergency Medicine.

  Beyond his professional work, Williams is actively involved in healthcare management education as an adjunct professor at Saint Louis University and serves in leadership roles with the Academy of Administrators in Academic Emergency Medicine. Originally from Jamaica, he enjoys soccer and family life with his wife, Shedeka, and their daughter, Remi.

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  Sara N. Engel, MBA, CAEMA

  Medical College of Wisconsin

  Sara N. Engel, MBA, CAEMA, currently serves as the administrator in the Department of Emergency Medicine and as the unit executive administrator of the Departments of Anesthesiology and Emergency Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). With over seven years at MCW, Sara has held roles of increasing responsibility, demonstrating her dedication and expertise.

  In her role as department administrator, Sara has been instrumental in building a robust leadership team, significantly enhancing operations and support across all missions. Her strategic efforts have been pivotal in achieving both MCW’s overarching strategic goals and the specific goals of the department's chair. Under her guidance, the department's operations and financial standing have been notably strengthened, and the administrative team has expanded in both size and expertise.

  Sara's leadership journey spans over 12 years in the healthcare sector, with a strong emphasis on team building, engagement, and results-oriented operations leadership. She has been recognized for her steady fiscal management and innovative approaches. An active member of the American Academy of Academic Emergency Medicine (AAAEM) since her start in Emergency Medicine, Sara graduated from the Certified Academic Emergency Medicine Administrator (CAEMA) program in 2024.

  Sara's diverse background includes growing up in Egypt and immigrating to the United States during her junior year of high school. She is a native Arabic speaker and attended a French immersion school in Cairo before moving to the U.S. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from Liberty University. Outside of work, Sara enjoys watching basketball with her husband and friends, spending quality time with loved ones, and exploring new cities around the world.

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  Alyssa Tyransky, MTDA

  The Ohio State University

  Alyssa Tyransky, MTDA, has been with emergency medicine since age 18 and hasn’t looked back! Throughout her time at The Ohio State University, she has been involved in special projects and supportive roles with the residency program, undergraduate medical education, coding and billing, finance, physician productivity and incentive, research, and administration. With her background in multiple missions throughout the department and data analytics, she has been answering and acting as point for Ohio State’s benchmark surveys with Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine/Academy of Administrators in Academic Emergency Medicine (AACEM/AAAEM) since 2017. In 2022, she became the manager of the benchmark survey and data analytics. Her main roles as the manager have been overseeing the survey answers from institutions across the country, data cleaning and preparation for the retreat presentations, teaching and guiding AACEM and AAAEM members on the benchmark insights portal, and any ad hoc requests that come her way. Through her time as data manager, she has gotten to see the surveys grow in depth and complexity, creating two new surveys: the Fellow Salary Survey and the Urgent Care Operations Survey. She has enjoyed seeing how academic emergency medicine is changing and growing, and she is honored to be part of such a wonderful specialty!