People

John Hennessy

Medical Student Representative

University of Michigan

John Hennessy is an educator, entrepreneur, and leader with more than a decade of experience in teaching, mentoring, and innovation. He began his career in education in 2009 as the founder of a tutoring company while an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, expanding it into a multi-state enterprise with a team of more than 50. This experience sparked a passion for teaching that evolved beyond content delivery into the development of effective instructional methods.

Since 2015, Hennessey has served as a lecturer at the University of Michigan, where he has taught more than 1,000 students and developed new curricula, including as an instructor for the NSF I-Corps program, helping academic researchers bridge the gap between research and commercial application.

In addition to his work in education, Hennessey is the CEO and co-founder of a battery and membrane technology startup, leading interdisciplinary research teams and fostering collaborations across university departments and external partnerships. As he transitions to a medical career in emergency medicine, he hopes to apply his expertise in critical thinking, resourcefulness, and education to improve healthcare outcomes and drive innovation in the field.

Eileen Williams, MD

Member-at-Large

University of Texas Southwestern

Dr. Williams is a second-year emergency medicine resident at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She completed her undergraduate studies at Stanford University before working as a medical scribe and high school tutor. She earned her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Dr. Williams plans to pursue a fellowship in medical education and a career in academic emergency medicine. She is passionate about advocacy for marginalized populations, particularly incarcerated individuals.  

Sara Schulwolf

Member-at-Large

University of Connecticut School of Medicine

Sara Schulwolf is a dual MD/MPH student at the University of Connecticut, currently applying into emergency medicine. This is her second year serving on the SAEM-RAMS Board, after previously holding the role of medical student representative.

Juliet Jacobson, MD

Member-at-Large

New York Presbyterian Cornell Columbia

Dr. Juliet Jacobson is a third-year emergency medicine resident at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell and Columbia University.

Before pursuing medicine, Dr. Jacobson taught sixth-grade math and science in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. As a teacher, she recognized the disconnect between students’ assumed needs and their actual experiences, leading her to foster an open and communicative classroom environment. This dedication to effective communication continues to shape her approach in emergency medicine.

Indrani Guzmán Das, MD

Member-at-Large

Stanford University

Dr. Guzmán Das is a PGY-2 at Stanford Health Care. She earned her medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College and a Master of Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

At Stanford, Dr. Guzmán Das serves on the program evaluation committee to identify areas for residency improvement, the recruitment committee, and as a mentor for programs that expand opportunities for underrepresented students.

Before medical school, she worked as a management consultant at Bain & Company, advising S&P 500 corporations and international nonprofits on strategic goals and operations. She later joined the International Rescue Committee, focusing on global refugee resettlement programs.

Dr. Guzmán Das’s research has examined how rising healthcare costs create barriers to access for underserved populations. She has collaborated with Johns Hopkins University on hospital billing practices and worked with Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Partners in Health to expand emergency care access in international development programs.

Dr. Guzmán Das is passionate about making high-quality health care more affordable and accessible. She views the emergency department as a front line for addressing systemic health inequities and is committed to building a better healthcare system.

Ethan Grant, MD

Member-at-Large

University of Utah Health

Dr. Grant is a second-year emergency medicine resident at University of Utah Health. A native of rural West Texas, he earned his medical degree from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in 2023.

Dr. Grant’s path to medicine began as an emergency department scribe at Denver Health, where he developed a passion for the fast-paced, ever-changing environment of emergency medicine. During medical school, he served as the wilderness medicine liaison for the emergency medicine interest group and quartermaster for the school’s Wilderness Medicine Club, working to break down barriers that prevent students from training in austere environments.

As a resident, Dr. Grant has coordinated education month to improve learning for incoming interns and has been actively involved in the residency interview process and medical student education.

Mel Ebeling, MD

Member-at-Large

University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Mel Ebeling is a PGY-1 at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. Mel recently graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where they also earned a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience as part of the BS/MD program.

With extensive experience in prehospital emergency medicine, Mel has worked as an emergency medical technician in fire-based 911 emergency response, ground ambulance operations, and event medicine. They have a strong interest in disaster and counterterrorism medicine, holding certification as a Hazardous Materials Specialist through the Department of Homeland Security.

Mel also has expertise in simulation-based medical education, having developed high-fidelity immersive simulations. They are particularly proud of publishing a simulation for emergency medicine residents on acute radiation syndrome.

Committed to becoming a physician leader, scholar, and educator, Mel looks forward to leveraging their diverse experiences to provide outstanding emergency medical care and train the next generation of physicians.

Alison Bonner, MD

Member-at-Large

New York Presbyterian Cornell Columbia

Dr. Bonner is a second-year emergency medicine resident at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell and Columbia University. She earned her bachelor’s degree and medical degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating in 2023 as a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.

As a member-at-large on the SAEM-RAMS Board, Dr. Bonner acts as liaison to the SAEM Program Committee, where she has been developing a yearlong mentorship program for medical student ambassadors. She is also a member of the SAEM Education Committee and has contributed to the Strategic Planning and Regional Ambassadors Task Forces.

Jared A. Escobar, MD

Member-at-Large

Rutgers - New Jersey Medical School

Dr. Escobar is a PGY-2 resident at New Jersey Medical School with a unique background shaped by military service, health care experience, and a strong commitment to leadership and education. After high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he served in the Marine Special Operations community. Toward the end of his enlistment, Jared began cross-training with Navy Corpsmen, which set the stage for his transition into medicine.

After completing military service, Jared pursued undergraduate studies at Fordham University before attending Robert Wood Johnson Medical School for medical education. While in medical school, Jared received a commission into the U.S. Army, further developing his leadership skills and applying military principles to health care. As a Curriculum Research Fellow, Jared helped integrate teamwork and leadership training into the residency curriculum, publishing research on these topics. Dr. Escobar was honored to be inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha and named a Rutgers Rising Star Scholar for his academic and leadership achievements.

Now in his second year of residency, Jared continues to apply these leadership lessons in emergency medicine. Jared has contributed to initiatives focused on improving patient care in high-acuity settings, including the development of critical airway equipment and enhancing team performance through briefing and debriefing.

Dr. Escobar is eager to contribute to the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) by advancing research, education, and leadership initiatives. Through RAMS, Jared aims to advocate for policies that improve the educational experience for residents and medical students while fostering collaboration and community within the specialty.

Emily (Ly) Anne Cloessner, MD, MSPH

Immediate Past President

Washington University in Saint Louis

Dr. Ly Cloessner is a fourth-year emergency medicine resident at Washington University in St. Louis, where she serves as a chief resident. Her path to emergency medicine began with a career in public health and public service, rooted in a strong commitment to community engagement. This dedication led her to emergency medicine, where she values the ability to care for all patients, regardless of condition or circumstance.

Dr. Cloessner earned her medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina and her undergraduate degree from the College of Charleston. Her academic interests include point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS), emergency medicine system development in resource-limited settings, and public health, particularly infectious disease management.

Lauren Diercks, MD

Secretary-Treasurer

Stanford University

Dr. Diercks is a first-year emergency medicine resident at Stanford University. She previously served as the SAEM-RAMS medical student representative for two years and as a member-at-large for one year.

Her work with the RAMS Board has focused on enhancing the value of SAEM membership for residents and medical students. She helped create short-term volunteer opportunities, led a national survey assessing the emergency medicine interest group (EMIG) experience, and initiated a collaboration program between EMIG leadership and SAEM.

Daniel Jose Artiga, MD

President

University of Cincinnati Medical Center/College of Medicine

Dr. Artiga is a fourth-year emergency medicine resident at the University of Cincinnati. He earned his medical degree as a David Geffen Medical Scholar at the University of California, Los Angeles, and holds a bachelor's degree in molecular and cellular biology from Harvard University.

A first-generation Latino, Dr. Artiga developed an early interest in emergency medicine through childhood experiences in the emergency department. He is dedicated to serving resource-limited communities and plans to pursue a fellowship in ultrasound.

Dr. Artiga has served on the RAMS Board for four years. His work as a RAMS Board member has led efforts to develop best practices for preparing for ABEM’s new Certifying Exam and previously served as liaison to the SAEM Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. He also contributed to SAEM’s Virtual Presence Committee to launch the organization’s Instagram, co-hosted the Ask-A-Chair educational podcast series, and was a member of the RAMS Resident Labor Task Force.

Bryn Mumma, MD, MAS

Member-at-Large

University of California, Davis

Dr. Mumma is a faculty member at the University of California, Davis, where she serves as the director of the Women in Medicine and Health Sciences program at the UC Davis School of Medicine. She is also the physician lead for the Emergency Medicine Data Curation Unit and chair of the Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity in Emergency Medicine Research Committee.

Dr. Mumma earned her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and completed her residency at the University of Pittsburgh Affiliated Residency Program. She then completed a research fellowship at UC Davis, earning a Master of Advanced Studies (M.A.S.) in clinical research before joining the faculty.

Within the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM), Dr. Mumma has held numerous leadership roles, including vice chair and chair of the Grants Committee, chair of the Bylaws Committee, and course faculty for the SAEM Grant Writing Workshop, ARMED Course, and SAEMF/EMF Grantee Workshop.

Her academic work focuses on outcomes and systems of care in cardiovascular emergencies, with particular interest in sex and gender differences, cardiac biomarkers, and myocardial infarction. In addition to her work in faculty development, she has co-authored clinical guidelines for the SAEM Guidelines for Reasonable and Appropriate Care in Emergency Medicine (GRACE) and the American Heart Association.

Nicholas M. Mohr, MD, MS

Member-at-Large

University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine

Dr. Mohr is a professor of emergency medicine, anesthesia critical care, and epidemiology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. He also serves as vice chair for emergency care research.

Dr. Mohr earned his medical degree and completed residency training at Indiana University, where he served as chief resident. He then completed a fellowship in critical care medicine at Washington University in St. Louis.

He currently directs the Physician-Scientist Training Pathway in the University of Iowa Emergency Medicine Residency Program and the Emergency Medicine-Anesthesia Critical Care Fellowship Program.

Dr. Mohr’s research focuses on systems of regionalized emergency care, and he is the director of the Telehealth Research Center at the University of Iowa. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

He has served on several committees within the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM), including the Grants Committee, Research Committee, and Program Committee. In 2021, he was awarded the SAEM Mid-Career Investigator Award in recognition of his contributions to emergency medicine research. In 2023, Dr. Mohr received the University of Iowa's Award for Early Career Achievement. 

Ryan L. LaFollette, MD

Member-at-Large

University of Cincinnati

Dr. LaFollette is an associate professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Cincinnati. Dr. LaFollette graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s Emergency Medicine Residency program, where he served as chief resident in 2016. Upon graduation, he became an assistant program director, a role he continues to hold. He also serves as a flight physician and a physician member of the Cincinnati SWAT team.

Dr. LaFollette chaired the SAEM Program Committee for SAEM23 in Austin, Texas, and SAEM24 in Phoenix, Arizona. He has held various roles within the Program Committee, including chairing the Medical Student Ambassadors, where he helped double the medical student presence at the annual meeting. 

From 2018 to 2022, he led the didactics program, revamping grading and selection processes and significantly increasing the number of didactic offerings. He also chaired the Virtual Presence Committee from 2018 to 2021 and oversaw the expansion of the SAEM podcasts and the new website. Additionally, he has been a member of the Awards and Education Committee, where he created the FOAMed Excellence in Education Award, first awarded in 2019.

Dr. LaFollette’s academic interests focus on resident education and knowledge translation. He is a leader of the Education Leadership Academy at UC and serves on the UC GME Executive Committee. He is also on the executive board of the UC Emergency Medicine Program Of Women in LeadERship (EMPOWER) and serves as editor-in-chief of TamingtheSRU.com. He has received both the Faculty of the Year (2019) and Mentor of the Year (2023) awards.

Jeffrey Druck, MD

Member-at-Large

The University of Utah

Dr. Druck is the vice chair for faculty advancement, DEI, and wellbeing in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Utah School of Medicine, and a professor within the department. Dr. Druck earned his undergraduate degree from Rice University and his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine. He completed his residency at the Denver Health Residency Program in Emergency Medicine. Dr. Druck is board certified in emergency medicine and has served as an oral examiner for the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) for the past 15 years.

Dr. Druck is an expert in emergency medicine education and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Before moving to Utah, he served at the University of Colorado as chair of the department’s DEI committee, associate residency director, president of the faculty senate, student affairs dean, and co-director of the Office of Professional Excellence.

In addition to serving on the SAEM Board of Directors, Dr. Druck has served as president of the Academy for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Medicine (ADIEM) and co-chair of the SAEM consensus conference on racism in emergency medicine. He has also served on SAEM’s awards committee, program committee, consultation committee, and faculty development committee, and previously directed the Chief Resident Forum, a platform for training and networking among senior residents.

Cassandra Bradby, MD

Member-at-Large

East Carolina University

Dr. Bradby is an assistant professor and residency program director in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University and ECU Health Medical Center.

A graduate the College of William & Mary where she studied biology, she earned her medical degree from Meharry Medical College. Dr. Bradby completed her emergency medicine residency at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University and Kings County Hospital, where she served as education chief resident in her final year.

Dr. Bradby’s research focuses on medical education, with an emphasis on recruitment, retention, and the impact of diversity, equity, and inclusion. She was an active contributor to the 2022 Consensus Conference on Developing a Research Agenda for Addressing Racism in Emergency Medicine.

Since joining the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) in 2014, Dr. Bradby has taken on multiple leadership roles, particularly within the Academy for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Medicine (ADIEM). She has served on the ADIEM executive board since 2019, holding positions as member-at-large, secretary-treasurer, president-elect, president, and immediate past president. She played a pivotal role in developing the Leadership, Engagement, and Academic Pathway Program (LEAP), which supports underrepresented-in-medicine students pursuing careers in academic emergency medicine. As an inaugural member of SAEM’s Equity & Inclusion Committee, she has contributed to strategic planning and the development of DEI curricula.

Pooja Agrawal, MD, MPH

Member-at-Large

Yale Department of Emergency Medicine

Dr. Agrawal is an associate professor at the Yale Department of Emergency Medicine, where she serves as the director of global health education. She completed her residency at the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency, earned a Master of Public Health at the Harvard School of Public Health, and completed a global health fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Dr. Agrawal has been involved with many aspects of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) since her residency and credits SAEM with both shaping and launching her career. She has held various leadership roles within the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine (AWAEM), including serving as president. In this capacity, she created new programs, celebrated successes, and recognized the potential for SAEM to accomplish even more. She is particularly proud of the AWAEM Internal Funding Award, which has supported over 20 principal investigators in its first four years.

Additionally, Dr. Agrawal has actively contributed to the Academy for Diversity & Inclusion in Emergency Medicine (ADIEM), the Global Emergency Medicine Academy (GEMA), the SAEM Equity and Inclusion Committee, the Wellness Committee, and several other interest groups. In recognition of her contributions, she was awarded the AWAEM Momentum Award in 2018 and the AWAEM Social Advocacy in Medicine Award in 2023.

Patricia Hernandez, MD

Resident Member

Massachusetts General Hospital

Dr. Patricia Hernández is a third-year resident in the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency Program at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Dr. Hernández earned her Bachelor of Arts in molecular biology and global health policy from Princeton University before obtaining her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.

She is deeply committed to addressing healthcare disparities, advancing medical education, and serving vulnerable communities. Dr. Hernández became involved with the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) as a medical student ambassador, which provided invaluable exposure to the organization’s mission of advancing academic emergency medicine.

Since then, Dr. Hernández has served in several leadership roles within SAEM, including as a former RAMS Board Member-at-Large, resident liaison to the SAEM Education Committee, and resident reviewer for the SAEM Grants Committee. She is also an active member of the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine (AWAEM) and the Academy for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Medicine (ADIEM).

In these roles, Dr. Hernández has contributed to projects ranging from developing educational roadmaps, reviewing grants, to organizing national webinars for medical students and residents.

Jane H. Brice, MD, MPH

Chair Member

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine

Dr. Brice is a professor and chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine. She holds adjunct appointments in the Department of Epidemiology and the Department of Social Medicine. Dr. Brice earned her medical degree from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and her Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology from the UNC School of Public Health.

Dr. Brice’s clinical and research interests focus on prehospital care, particularly the care provided by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel. Her work aims to improve the quality and efficiency of trauma care, pediatric care, and stroke care in the prehospital environment. Dr. Brice is also passionate about health equity, with a focus on health literacy and addressing disparities in emergency care. She has led multiple federally funded research projects in these areas.

Dr. Brice is an active member of several professional organizations, including the Association of Academic Chairs of Emergency Medicine (AACEM), the National Association of EMS Physicians, the Society of Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM), and the American College of Emergency Physicians. She has served SAEM in multiple capacities, including as a member of AACEM, where she has contributed significantly to advancing academic emergency medicine. Additionally, she is a fellow of the American Heart Association and a member of the American Public Health Association. 

In addition to her academic and clinical responsibilities, Dr. Brice serves as an EMS medical director in North Carolina. Her leadership extends to national programs, including participation in the AACEM Chair Development Program and the Emerging Leader Development Program (eLEAD). Dr. Brice is a former paramedic and remains actively engaged in EMS-related initiatives.