People

Nicolas Ellis, MD

Pennsylvania State University

Dr. Ellis is an Assistant Professor in emergency medicine at Penn State University.

Lawrence E. Kass, MD, MEd

Penn State Hershey Medical Center

I completed my MD at Boston University in 1987, and residencies in Internal Medicine (University of Maryland, 1990) and Emergency Medicine (York Hospital, 1993). I have been a practicing academic emergency physician since then and have been a medical student Acting Internship Director, Associate Residency Program Director, and Residency Program Director (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and the Penn State Hershey Medical Center). I have been at Penn State for the last 20 years, where I also obtained my Masters in Adult Education (2020). I am currently a co-director of the Junior Faculty Development Program of the College of Medicine and Vice-Chair for Faculty Affairs of the Department of Emergency Medicine.

Liz Leenellett, MD, FACEP, CPE

University of Cincinnati

Dr. Elizabeth (Liz) Leenellett, Professor and Vice Chair of Academic Affairs and Inclusive Excellence at the University of Cincinnati, also serves as Chief of Staff for UC Health-West Chester Hospital and holds the W. Brian Gibler, MD, Endowed Chair for Education in Emergency Medicine.

Her training includes the University of Michigan's Inteflex program, the University of Cincinnati's emergency medicine residency, the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) fellowship, and Certified Physician Executive (CPE) designation.

In 2018, she founded the Emergency Medicine Program Of Women in leadERship (EMPOWER) and established the Leadership Excels with Achievement of Diversity (UC LEADs) endowment fund.

Dr. Leenellett's leadership has been recognized with the 2021 Ohio ACEP Physician Leadership award, 2022 UC College of Medicine Grace LeMasters “Lift While You Climb” award, 2022 EMRA Faculty Mentor of the Year award, and 2024 AAWEP Community EM Champion award.

Jessica Baez, MD, AEMUS-FPD

University of Cincinnati

Dr. Baez is an Assistant Program Director at the University of Cincinnati Department of Emergency Medicine. She completed Emergency Medicine residency and an Ultrasound Fellowship at the University of Cincinnati and focuses primarily on resident education.

Carlisle Topping, BA

Yale-New Haven Medical Center

Carlisle is a research year medical student at the Yale School of Medicine pursing an MHS degree. She graduated with a degree in Biology from Columbia University. Prior to medical school, she worked in the Cancer Outcomes Research and Education Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. Her introduction to emergency medicine was at Bellevue Hospital where she worked as a patient advocate and was witness to the impact of social forces and systems on health. She is interested in emergency medicine with a dedication to advancing equitable healthcare for individuals from low-income areas. This drove her to Dr. Arjun Venkatesh and Dr. Hazar Khidir's research, focusing on health services and health policy projects that address overlapping geographic and socioeconomic health inequities.

Abagayle Bierowski, MD

Thomas Jefferson University

Dr. Abagayle 'Abby' (Renko) Bierowski is an Emergency Medicine physician and second year medical education fellow at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. A Baltimore native, Dr. Bierowski graduated summa cum laude from the Pennsylvania State University's Schreyer Honors College with a degree in Psychology prior to attending Penn State College of Medicine. She subsequently trained in Emergency Medicine at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, NJ, where she also served as chief resident. She graduating with a Master of Education in the Health Professions (MEHP) degree though Johns Hopkins University in May of 2025. While her passion for scholarly work began in the prehospital sphere, her research interests have since expanded to include gender disparities in patient care, medical and trainee education, leadership development, graduate medical education, and the role of uncertainty in medical decision-making. She is particularly interested in supporting junior faculty development and assimilation into academia, as well as advocating for transparent and equitable family leave policies and pregnancy/postpartum accommodations across all stages of medical training. Dr. Bierowski's most notable passion lies within mentorship, and she aspires to work within residency program leadership following completion of her fellowship and master's degree program. Outside of work, she enjoys thrifting and spending time with her family and son. Dr. Bierowski is honored to be presenting at SAEM’s 2025 annual meeting.

Sierra A. Hajdu, MD

University of Cincinnati Medical Center/College of Medicine

Dr. Sierra Hajdu, MD is a third-year emergency medicine resident at the University of Cincinnati. She will serve as one of her program's Chief Residents for the upcoming academic year. Originally from New York, she obtained her undergraduate degree at the University of Notre Dame and subsequently moved to Ohio where she completed medical school at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Her interests include graduate medical education and social emergency medicine.

Alyssa Valentyne, MD

University of Michigan

Alyssa Valentyne is a chief resident at the University of Michigan. She is also chair of the SAEM Climate Change and Health Interest Group. Alyssa is passionate about healthcare sustainability and how climate change impacts health. She helps lead the EM Green Team and assisted in developing a Climate Health & Sustainability Professional Development Track at the University of Michigan. She also helps lead the medical student wilderness medicine elective and is working towards her Fellowship in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine (FAWM). Alyssa earned her medical degree, path of distinction in public health, and global health certificate from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. 

Joshua C. Timpe, MD

Medical College of Wisconsin

Dr. Joshua Timpe is an emergency medicine physician and educator at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), where he serves as the Assistant Program Director for the Emergency Medicine Residency program and the Director of the Wilderness and Environmental Medicine program.

He is actively involved in resident and medical student education at MCW, where he directs the Wilderness Medicine Elective and the Wilderness Medicine track, preparing future physicians for the unique challenges of practicing medicine in austere environments.

Kevin Watkins, MD, FACEP, FAWM

Cleveland Clinic Akron General

Kevin Watkins is APD at Cleveland Clinic Akron General, where he is ultrasound faculty, leads EKG education, and is director of wilderness medicine. He is a WLS-MP instructor and serves as Research Director for the Cuyahoga Valley Wilderness Medicine Group. He serves on the Wilderness Medical Society student/resident education committee and is Chair Elect for the SAEM wilderness medicine interest group.

Mit Patel, MD

Henry Ford Hospital

Dr. Patel is a Senior Resident Physician at Henry Ford Hospital, Class of 2025. He plans on pursuing Advanced Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship. At Henry Ford, he initiated research into portable ultrasound devices on resident education, presented work on ED-Initiated Buprenorphine and ED-Based HIV Screening.

Michelle Slezak, MD

Henry Ford Health System

Completed Emergency Medicine Residency at Henry Ford Hospital in 2008. Staff physician at Henry Ford since that time. Associate Medical Director for Quality 2015-2022 and Medical Director 2022-present.

Justin Bright, MD

Henry Ford Hospital

Dr Bright is an attending physician and assistant medical director for patient experience for Henry Ford emergency medicine in Detroit. He is obsessed with the intersection of patient experience and physician engagement.

Sean S. Michael, MD, MBA

University of Colorado

Sean Michael is an academic emergency physician with dual-board certification in clinical informatics. He was previously the emergency department director at the University of Colorado Hospital and continues to practice clinically and serve on the faculty of the University of Colorado School of Medicine alongside his service as Regional Chief Medical Officer in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Joe Gannett, MD

Los Angeles General Medical Center

Dr. Joe Gannett is an emergency medicine physician currently serving as the Assistant Medical Director of Patient Flow at Los Angeles General Medical Center. Dr. Gannett has a strong background in healthcare operations, patient safety, and social emergency medicine, focusing on improving care for underserved communities.

Dr. Gannett earned his Doctor of Medicine with distinction from Cooper Medical School of Rowan University in Camden, NJ. He then completed his residency at the LSU Spirit of Charity Emergency Medicine Residency in New Orleans, LA, where he served as Chief Resident in his final year. During residency, he received several prestigious awards, including the LSU Spirit of Charity Albert J. Lauro Award for Outstanding Graduating Emergency Medicine Resident. He also received the Louisiana Quality Network Target Guideline Top Performer Award and the Low Value Care Excellence Award for Leadership in Assisting Low Performers, recognizing his leadership in clinical excellence and quality improvement.

Following his residency, Dr. Gannett completed the Health System Leader Fellowship at Los Angeles General Medical Center (formerly LAC+USC Medical Center). This fellowship focused on patient flow, operations, and quality improvement, where he led efforts to streamline clinical workflows and enhance care transitions.

Dr. Gannett's research and professional work focus on health equity, quality improvement, and language justice. He has contributed to key publications, including "EMRA Practice Essentials of Emergency Medicine," and actively shared his insights at national forums. Notably, in 2024, he presented on the impact of language barriers on emergency department throughput at the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine. His recent projects include a significant redesign of triage processes at UT Southwestern’s Clements University Hospital, which substantially increased physician productivity and earned a Top 5 Service Improvement Award.

Dr. Gannett is dedicated to improving hospital operations and patient care as the Assistant Medical Director of Patient Flow at Los Angeles General Medical Center, striving to make a meaningful difference in the health of underserved communities.

Nicholas R. Stark, MD, MBA

Mercy Medical Center Merced

Nicholas Stark, MD, MBA, is a board-certified Emergency Physician working at the intersection of clinical care, administration, and innovation. A former Chief Resident at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), he works clinically at UCSF and serves as the Assistant Director of UCSF's Acute Care Innovation Center. Nicholas also works clinically and serves as the Chair of Emergency Medicine and Director of Operations at Mercy Medical Center in Merced, CA. At Mercy Merced, Nicholas is the founding director of the Acute Care Innovation Center and is currently reconstructing their triage and vertical care processes as well as working across disciplines to streamline the admission process and invigorate patient experience efforts. Nicholas has extensive experience leading health system-wide quality improvement initiatives and has received the prestigious Patient Safety Movement’s Leadership Award. Nationally, Nicholas is the founding co-director of a digital-based business curriculum sponsored by ACEP & EMRA, co-founder of the Emergency Medicine Innovation Collaborative, and serves on several boards and committees.

Wendy C. Coates, MD

University of California, Los Angeles

Wendy C. Coates, MD is Emeritus Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in the UCLA Department of Emergency Medicine. She served as Dean of the UCLA Acute Care College and Director of Education at Harbor-UCLA where she founded the first Fellowship in Medical Education Scholarship in 1997. She enjoys continued active mentorship of promising academic emergency medicine academic physicins. She graduated with honors from Allegheny College, earned her MD from Case Western Reserve University, and completed the EM residency at the Medical College of Pennsylvania/Allegheny General.

Dr. Coates is an education scientist whose research focus is Health Professions Education with an emphasis on faculty and learner development, mentorship, curricular innovation and evaluation, creativity in medicine, and qualitative methods. In addition to several peer reviewed publications and textbook chapters, she is a founding member of the Editorial Board for AEM Education & Training, member of the AEM Editorial Board, Associate Editor for the Journal of Dance Medicine and Science and was an ABEM Item Writer for 9 years.

Dr. Coates is past-president of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) and has dedicated many years of active service and leadership activities within the Society that focus on advancing its mission of supporting research and education in EM.

Eileen S. Williams, MD

University of Texas Southwestern

Eileen is a currently second-year emergency medicine resident at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and completed her undergraduate education at Stanford University. After working as a medical scribe and high school tutor, Eileen attained her medical degree at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Now living in Dallas, she plans to apply for fellowship in medical education and pursue a career in academic emergency medicine. In addition to teaching, she is passionate about advocacy for marginalized populations, particularly incarcerated persons. In her free time, she loves to read psychological thrillers and write crossword puzzles.

Rachel Boxer, MD

Emory University School of Medicine

Rachel Boxer is a current Emory Emergency Medicine PGY-2.

Dustin B. Williams, MD, FACEP

UT-Southwestern

I am an Associate Professor and the EM Residency Program Director at UT-Southwestern, with a deep commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and LGBTQIA+ advocacy. I previously served as the chair of the LGBTQIA+ committee as part of ADIEM and was honored with the 2024 ADIEM Outstanding Academician Award for my contributions in these areas.

I completed my undergraduate studies in Biomedical Science at Texas A&M University, followed by medical school at UT-Health Science Center San Antonio, and then EM residency at Indiana University. My clinical interests focus on medical education, DEI, LGBTQIA+ advocacy, faculty development, and emergent ocular complaints.