AAAEM Candidate Statements

Home / About SAEM / Leadership / Elections / AAAEM Candidate Statements


Secretary Candidates

 

  • Frank J. Jurkiewicz, MBA

    AAAEM Secretary Candidate

    University of Florida, Gainesville

    I am honored to submit my nomination for consideration as a valuable member of the executive committee. With over 15 years of distinguished leadership experience in academic and community healthcare, particularly in emergency medicine administration, I bring a wealth of expertise to the table. Holding a Master of Business Administration and an Academic Emergency Medicine Administration Certification, I have successfully served as the Executive Administrator/Vice Chair for Administrative Affairs, playing a pivotal role as the foremost non-faculty executive in our department. In this capacity, I have reported directly to the department Chair and collaborated closely with a diverse range of stakeholders, including the Chair, Executive Vice Chair (EVC), and Vice Chairs (VCs). My core mission revolves around the development and execution of strategic initiatives aimed at advancing our department's clinical, education, and research missions. This multifaceted task requires a deep commitment of time and effort, as I actively engage with leaders from the Department of Emergency Medicine (DEM), the College of Medicine (COM), and UF Health Shands to expand and enhance the delivery of emergency services. I have played a central role in ensuring the financial and operational integrity of the Department of Emergency Medicine (DEM). Through prudent stewardship of institutional resources, proactive recruitment of a professional senior management team, and implementation of rigorous budget controls, I have effectively managed financial resources to support our missions and meet fiscal targets. Currently serving as the Chair of the AAAEM Education Committee, I have impacted emergency medicine administration through the establishment of educational webinars and moderation of national retreat sessions. These initiatives reflect my commitment to fostering a knowledgeable and collaborative community within AAAEM. My prior role as Chair of the AAAEM Communication Committee further demonstrates my dedication to improving communication and engagement strategies. Beyond AAAEM, my four-year tenure as the Assistant Program Director for the Administrative Fellowship at the University of Florida in Gainesville highlights my commitment to developing emerging professionals in healthcare leadership. Notably, my visionary decision to outsource coding services for emergency services professional billing resulted in a 30% increase in patient collections year-over-year, showcasing my strategic thinking and positive impact on the institution's financial health. This achievement, coupled with collaboration with key stakeholders, highlights my ability to drive positive change in complex academic medical centers. Furthermore, my role involves developing comprehensive business plans and program/practice development strategies, serving as the roadmap to guide our department towards achieving its goals. These efforts collectively represent my dedication to driving our department's success, not only in financial and operational terms but also in its overall performance. I am committed to advancing healthcare services, maintaining financial stability, and excelling in our multifaceted mission to improve patient care, education, and research in the field of emergency medicine. In summary, my multifaceted roles as a leader in AAAEM, mentor in academic medicine, and innovator in healthcare leadership make me an ideal candidate to serve our members on the executive committee. I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to contribute my skills and experience to further the committee's objectives and advance the goals of our organization.


  • Head Shot - Brendan Russell
    Brendan Russell, MBA

    AAAEM Secretary Candidate

    Mass General Brigham

    I currently serve as the Vice President of Enterprise Emergency Medicine for the Mass General Brigham health system in Boston, MA, where we are building an integrated enterprise emergency medicine service comprised of 2 academic medical center EDs, 7 community hospital EDs, and 1 specialty hospital ED. I hold an MBA from Boston College (’15) and am a graduate of the AAAEM CAEMA program (’21). For the past year, I’ve had the pleasure and the privilege to serve the AAAEM as a Member-at-Large of the Executive Committee, a member of the Finance Committee, a member of the Benchmark Committee, and for the past two years, as Vice Chair of the Education Committee. I’m proud of the work that we’ve done on these teams, and I am excited at the opportunities we have ahead of us as a specialty and as an academy. The AAAEM stands out among the various healthcare administration industry groups for its track record of providing relevant and actionable data, educational and professional development opportunities, and most importantly, a sense of community and camaraderie. It would be an honor to continue to serve our membership and build upon this strong foundation. Thank you for considering me for this opportunity. This is a challenging time for our specialty, and I want to do my best to ensure our members continue to have access to any and all resources to support their departments to the best of their abilities.


 

Member-at-Large Candidates

 

  • Sara Engel, MBA

    AAAEM Member-at-Large Candidate

    Medical College of Wisconsin

    It is my honor to be considered to serve on the AAAEM Executive Committee as member-at-large. It has been one of the greatest pleasures of my career so far to be part of this group and I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting my colleagues, learning as part of the CAEMA program, and serving on both the benchmark and the education committees over the last few months. I believe my combination of education (MBA), healthcare industry experience ( and leadership experience (12 years, 10 of which in management roles) have equipped me well to serve this great organization as we continue to grow and expand. I hope to be able to bring useful outside perspective as I am new to Emergency Medicine, but have worked in the department of medicine and especially in internal medicine prior to joining emergency medicine. My goal would be to help further the goals of the board and especially continue to engage current and future members. I would hope to engage organizations that are not currently members, showcasing the benefits of membership as I have experienced them. Thank you for your consideration.

  • Diane C. Lee, DBA, MBA

    AAAEM Member-at-Large Candidate

    Jefferson Einstein Hospital

    I am currently the Administrator for the Department of Emergency Medicine at Jefferson Einstein Hospitals (JEH), a safety net hospital, now part of Jefferson Health System providing a leadership role in alignment of health services operations and processes across all sites, outreach, financial oversight, strategic planning, research, program development and clinical service delivery. Additional core responsibilities extend to support for the department divisions to include emergency medical services, informatics, ultrasound sonography, toxicology services, clinical research studies, and medical education programs. Revenue cycle management has been another key area of focus building a collaborative infrastructure to provide direction in support of billing education and high-quality clinical documentation. I explore opportunities for partner relationships, oversee grants and contracts to ensure timely completion of promised deliverables and communication with funders. Most interesting has been civic engagement and the opportunity to work with Vot-ER, a nonpartisan organization that works to bring voter registration into health care settings with the goal of giving patients a voice in the policies that directly impact them. Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia was an early adopter as a model site for registering underrepresented patients through the emergency department. I have held positions in diverse healthcare environments involving varied disciplines. Among my significant accomplishments are implementing monitoring systems and processes to optimize operational and financial performance and collaborative strategies to enhance the delivery of patient centered care; organizational initiatives employing population health management as a key strategy to enhance patient centered care delivery, control cost of care, and impact health outcomes; and identified care transition coordination opportunities to improve patient care and services between hospitals and community service providers to improve quality of care. Driving innovative health solutions for underserved populations has also involved supporting community health opioid use disorder programs and trauma intervention services. I earned a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA), a Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Marketing and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA. I have been an active member of AAAEM for the past six years benefiting greatly from participation at the annual retreats, utilizing data from the benchmark surveys, and serving on the IDEA Committee. These activities have promoted my professional growth and have allowed me to make positive contributions in the decision-making process at my institution on various projects. This past year as a Member-at -Large of the Executive Committee (EC), I had the opportunity to participate in leadership and strategic initiatives of the Academy. Serving a second year will be even more valuable. I am more prepared and equipped to participate to a higher degree having gained experience in setting priorities that align with the Academy mission in maintaining a community forum for dissemination of information and exchange of ideas among administrators within emergency medicine academic programs. I would be honored to serve another year in EC leadership fulfilling the Academy mission and contributing to the success of committee and project related activities.


  • Kashwayne Williams, MBA, MHA, FACHE

    AAAEM Member-at-Large

    Washington University in St. Louis - SOM

    My educational background includes holding a master’s in business administration and master’s in healthcare administration. I’m also a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives. I have an established background working in academic medicine, having spent ten (10) years working for Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) in various roles spanning clinical operations, education and research. In 2014, I moved from Atlanta to St. Louis to join Washington University, in St. Louis School of Medicine (WUSM) as the executive management fellow in the Dean’s Office and since had several roles leading to my current role in emergency medicine (nearly another 10 years). The past two decades of working in academic medicine has been extremely rewarding both personally and professionally. As part of my commitment to community health, I have served as board member for the National Association of Healthcare Services Executives (NAHSE) St. Louis Chapter and as fund allocations committee member for the United Way of St. Louis. Also intricately involved in education and the field of healthcare management and serve as an adjunct professor at Saint Louis University (SLU) where I teach healthcare economics and analytical methods in healthcare. I joined the Academy of Administrators in Academic Emergency Medicine (AAAEM) in March 2022 and have since currently serve on both the Strategic Planning Committee and the Education Committee.