People

Nancy Jacobson, MD

Froedtert Hospital

Dr. Nancy Jacobson received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2009 and her Doctor of Medicine degree at the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2014. She went on to complete an emergency medicine residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin, ending in 2017. She splits her clinical practice between Froedtert Hospital and the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center. She is committed to improving patient quality safety and experience in the emergency medicine department, as well as being dedicated to resident education and wellbeing.

Martin Huecker, MD

Associate Professor & Research Director, Department of Emergency Medicine

University of Louisville

Dr. Martin Huecker, MD, is co-editor in chief of the free, open access Journal of Wellness. He is an Associate Professor and the Research Director and Wellness Director in the Emergency Medicine department at the University of Louisville. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Alpha Omega Alpha honor societies. Dr. Huecker graduated from U of L's EM residency program (Chief Resident) in 2011. He works full-time seeing patients and teaching residents in the emergency department. His diverse research interests include substance use, accidental hypothermia, and healthcare professional wellness. Dr. Huecker is also a Certified Lifestyle Medicine Physician (DipABLM). He loves books, trail runs, dogs, and coffee. His wife is an OB/GYN and they have 4 children with cool names.

Susan Wojcik, PhD, ATC

Associate Professor & Director of Research, Department of Emergency Medicine

SUNY Upstate Medical University

Dr. Susan Wojcik is an Associate Professor in the Emergency Medicine Department at SUNY Upstate Medical University with over 23 years of emergency medicine research and education experience. She holds a PhD in Health Sciences from Trident University, a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Kentucky, a Bachelor of Science in Ceramic Engineering from Alfred University, and was a certified athletic trainer for 32 years. As the Director of Research since 2017, she provides oversight, leadership, and mentorship in all aspects of research and scholarly activities for the department. Dr. Wojcik is also the director of many educational programs including a fellow research seminar series, the residency research requirement, and a medical student research elective. When she is not conducting research and teaching, Dr. Wojcik enjoys doing home improvement projects and horseback riding.

Megan Rybarczyk, MD, MPH, FACEP

University of Pennsylvania

Megan Rybarczyk, MD, MPH, FACEP is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and is the Global Emergency Medicine Fellowship Director. Her experiences in the field of Global Health have involved clinical work, research, and/or education all over the world in countries such as Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, India, Pakistan, South Africa, and Uganda. Her research and academic interests are currently focused on EM education and training and emergency care systems development, particularly in low resource settings. 

Rmaah Memon

Medical Student/Resident Representative

Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency (MGH and BWH)

Megan Rybarczyk, MD, MPH, FACEP

PGEM Program Director; GEMFC Past-Chair

University of Pennsylvania

Megan Rybarczyk, MD is from Muncie, Indiana and graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a major in the Biological Sciences and a minor in Anthropology. She received her medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed her residency training in emergency medicine at Boston Medical Center, serving her final year as a chief resident. She completed the Global Emergency Medicine Fellowship at the Harvard/Brigham and Women's Hospital Program, with a focus on education/curriculum development, EM program development, and emergency care systems development. Her experiences in the field of global health have involved clinical work, research, and/or education all over the world, and her research and academic interests are currently focused on EM education and training, particularly in low resource settings. She is currently the Academic Lead for the Certification Program in Emergency Medicine (CPEM) running in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Now at Penn, she is the Global EM Fellowship Director, and she is working to develop Global EM programming within the Department of Emergency Medicine and across the institution.

She has been an active member of GEMA for many years and she most recently served on the GEMA Global Engagement Committee, the WHO/ICRC BEC Course Workshop Task Force, the Fellowship Committee, and the GEMA Global EM Resources Handout Task Force. She has also been on the Business Meeting Planning Committee in the past. Additionally, she has served as Secretary to the Global Emergency Medicine Fellowship Consortium (GEMFC) for the last two years. Finally, she is also a member of AWAEM.

Rmaah Memon

Fellow (2024-2026

Rmaah Memon,MD obtained both her undergraduate and medical degree through the Six-Year BA/MD Program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and completed her residency training at the Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency at MGH/BWH. Her interests include emergency medicine capacity building and curriculum development in low- and middle-income countries, and she has worked on capacity building projects in Pakistan and Iraq during residency. Her prior work has also focused on improving access to refugee care through the implementation of health screening fairs. She has an interest in digital education and telehealth, and is currently leading a telemedicine initiative in Pakistan, primarily aiming to connect physicians in larger urban areas in Pakistan to patients who live in more rural areas. Through this project, she plans to create the first open-source educational curriculum for urgent care telemedicine for a global audience.

David Wright, MD

Member-at-Large

Emory University School of Medicine

Dr. Wright, a tenured Professor and Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, boasts a distinguished career that intertwines education, innovation, and clinical excellence. As the director of both the Center for Innovation and Discovery in the Acute and Emergent Sciences (IDEAS) and the Emergency Neurosciences Clinical Laboratory, Dr. Wright's expertise is at the forefront of acute neurological conditions research. His leadership in significant clinical trials, such as ProTECT III, and his role in networks like SIREN and Georgia StrokeNet, highlight his substantial clinical trial experience. He also brings inventive prowess, with patents to his name, and collaborative skills through adjunct faculty roles across prestigious institutions like the Georgia Institute of Technology.

With over three decades of involvement in the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM), Dr. Wright has contributed extensively to various committees and editorial boards, underscoring his dedication to the field. His candidacy for the SAEM Foundation Board of Trustees is driven by a desire to leverage his extensive network, fundraising capabilities, and a fervent belief in the vital role of academic emergency medicine. Dr. Wright seeks to guide and support the next generation of emergency medicine professionals, aiming to enhance innovation, education, and patient care within the discipline.

Stephen J. Wolf, MD

Member-at-Large

Denver Health Medical Center

It would be an honor to represent you as a Member-at-Large on the AACEM Board of Directors. For the past 5 years, I have served as Director of Service for Emergency Medicine at Denver Health while being significantly involved in our Academy. Currently, I have the honor of co-directing our SAEM/AACEM Emerging Leaders Development (eLEAD) Program and leading our AACEM Leadership Development Working Group.

My background is one that prioritizes service and commitment to our patients, learners, providers, and specialty. I am passionate about developing and aligning effective individuals, teams, and communities, to multiply their impact and achieve outcomes. Each of my past and current roles have helped me to develop my own skills to this end. In addition to those mentioned above, I have served locally as a Program Director, Director of Education, Assistant then Associate Dean of UME, Vice Chair of Academic Affairs, and an appointed member on our hospital board’s finance and academic committees. Nationally, I have served as an ACEP state chapter president, chair of CORD’s Academy for Scholarship, and Chair of ACEP’s Clinical Policy Committee. Additionally, I continue to serve as an ABEM oral certification examiner and a member of ABEM’s Key Advanced Practice Committee.

As each of you know, AACEM is a remarkable community with profound commitment to supporting and developing, not only our academic departments, but also our specialty as a whole. We are unique in the power of our voice; AND we must use that voice to have influence and impact in the areas that matter most to our learners, faculty, and departments, particularly as they shape the future of Emergency Medicine. Our learners must feel drawn to an inclusive and vibrant specialty; our faculty must have wellness, safety, and developmental opportunities; and our departments must be equipped with the resources needed to address challenges and have significant impact both within our institutions and communities.

If elected, I would apply my passion and skills to continue the incredible work our Academy has been doing to date, with particular focus on strengthening our internal developmental opportunities and amplifying our external impact, using our collective influence. I see these two areas as closely related as growing our members will strengthen our voice.

Again, it would be an honor to serve our Academy in the role of Member-at-Large on the BOD.

Ralph Riviello, MD, MS

Member-at-Large

UT Health San Antonio

I have had over 26 years of academic emergency medicine experience. After graduating from Hahnemann University SOM, I completed my EM residency at Allegheny General Hospital in 1997 and served as Chief Resident in my final year of residency. I received a Master's Degree in Clinical Forensic Medicine in 2006, and have applied that experience in building my academic niche. During my career, I have held various roles in several spheres including, Director of Clinical Research, Associate Program Director, Vice Chair of Clinical Operations, and now Chair of Emergency Medicine. My experience as Chair as been in both the community academic and university settings. I am currently the Chair of EM at UT Health San Antonio. I have been a long-standing member of SAEM and AACEM. I currently serve on the AACEM Leader Development Workgroup and DEI Workgroup. I did complete the Chair Development Program and found it invaluable in the transition to Chair, and feel it is one of the most important aspects of what AACEM does. Though I have not served in an SAEM leadership role, I am Past-President and former board member of the Pennsylvania ACEP chapter, and have been a ACEP Section Leader. I am running for office as I feel that giving back to our organizations and my colleagues is an important role. I have benefited from the mentorship, wisdom, and counsel of many past and current members of this organization, that I feel it is my time to pay it forward and help shape the future of the organization. I hope to continue the good work AACEM has done and to move us even further. For me, priorities include increasing DEI across the specialty, especially in the face of hostile state environments and enhancing leader development through the CDP and our newest, eLEAD program. Creating, building, and sustaining a leader pipeline is so crucial for our organization and specialty, that is why I feel the eLEAD program is so important for the continued success of EM. As Chairs, with our various experiences and backgrounds, I think we are crucial in analyzing and responding to what happened in the last match and developing a comprehensive plan, with our other EM organizations, to analyze it, temporize it, and prevent it from ever happening again. Also, with the many other threats to and attacks on Academic EM, I feel the organization needs to be nimble and facile at responding to them, and arming chairs with the tools to help advance their departments at their own institutions. Additionally, my experience on community-based, Board of Directors, and leadership roles in these agencies will provide me a unique perspective in serving in this role.

Andra L. Blomkalns, MD, MBA

Member-at-Large

Stanford University School of Medicine

Ambrose H. Wong, MD, MSEd, MHS

SAEM Nominating Committee Member

Yale School of Medicine

My name is Ambrose Wong, MD, MSEd, MHS, and I am an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and an academic physician-scientist at Yale School of Medicine. I have been active with SAEM and have been involved in leadership positions consecutively since senior year of residency in 2014. I was on the executive board for the SAEM’s Simulation Academy for the past seven years, including President for 2022-23. My focus has been to support national simulation-based research collaborations, which has led to multiple academy-based publications on topics ranging from virtual mentoring to assessment of models for procedural competency training. I was the recipient of the inaugural Simulation Academy Change Agent Award in 2021, which recognizes transformational leadership in the service of SAEM and the Simulation Academy. I also serve on the SAEM Research Committee, focusing on increasing the pipeline for career development awards in academic emergency medicine and chairing the objective for submitting high-quality research didactics during the Annual Meeting.

My research focuses on teamwork, patient safety, behavioral health, and healthcare disparities. As the Research Director and Fellowship Director at Yale Center for Medical Simulation, I use healthcare simulation technology to improve teamwork and patient safety. I am the recipient of a career development (K23) award from the National Institute of Mental Health to use informatics for preventing symptoms of psychomotor agitation in patients with behavioral crises. I also received an R21 exploratory research award from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities to address disproportionate use of physical restraints on historically marginalized populations in the emergency department. This year, I received approval for funding from PCORI for a $6.9 million, five-year broad pragmatic study to implement peer support enhanced behavioral crisis response teams in the emergency department.

I attended Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. I obtained my Emergency Medicine residency training at NYU & Bellevue Hospitals Center in New York City, serving as chief resident physician in my final year. I subsequently completed a medical simulation fellowship at NYU School of Medicine & New York Simulation Center for the Health Sciences. I received a Master of Science in Health Professions Education at Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions and a Master of Health Sciences from Yale School of Medicine.

I am honored to be considered for a position on the SAEM Nominating Committee. As an elected member of the Nominating Committee, I hope to help ensure that candidates from a wide spectrum of expertise and interests across the society are represented in candidates running for leadership positions. This is especially important for groups with smaller memberships or are otherwise underrepresented within SAEM. In addition, I will aim to objectively represent the broad interests of general membership when assisting in selecting nominees for the Board and elected positions of standing committees.

Leon D. Sanchez, MD, MPH

SAEM Nominating Committee Member

Brigham & Womens Hospital/Harvard Medical School

I am currently the Chief of Emergency Medicine at the MGB Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital. Prior to that I was the Vice Chair for Network Operations at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. I am an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Harvard Medical School with expertise in the field of Emergency Medicine Operations.  I have  over 20 years of healthcare administration experience. Areas of recent focus include operational improvement, patient flow and throughput optimization, queuing, and schedule optimization.

I am interested in continuing my leadership and service contributions to SAEM. I have been a member of several SAEM committees and currently serve as the Chair of the operations committee. I have also contributed to didactic presentations at SAEM and strive to develop and mentor more junior faculty. If elected I hope to help advance the SAEM mission and help develop the future leaders of Emergency Medicine.

Angela Jarman, MD, MPH

SAEM Nominating Committee Member

University of California, Davis

I am a fellowship-trained physician-scientist (University of California, Davis) who strongly supports the mission of SAEM as the premier professional organization for academic emergency physicians. My commitment to SAEM began in 2013, as a resident at the University of Utah and since that time I have maintained an active role within the organization. I recently completed a three-year term as the Chair of the 260-member Sex & Gender Interest Group (SGIG), and despite the challenges of the COVID years, under my leadership we had some of the most successful years since the group’s inception. In the past year alone, the SGIG has developed and sponsored four well-attended and collaborative didactics at our annual meeting, published five peer-reviewed manuscripts focused on sex and gender-specific topics, and led one of ten subgroups at the 2023 consensus conference on precision emergency medicine. I am committed to an academic career and am currently supported by an NIH funded K12 award (Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health) to study sex differences in pulmonary embolism.

Previously I have held leadership positions within the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine (AWAEM) and led the 2021 pre-conference workshop. I am an active member of both AWAEM and the Academy for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (ADIEM) and have been a featured speaker on national webinars sponsored by each group. In addition, I have served on numerous SAEM committees through the years, most recently I was selected as a member of the inaugural Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion committee. I am additionally committed to a research career in women’s health.

My extensive SAEM experience has helped me understand the needs of the organization and has given me a front-row seat to observe the traits of highly effective leaders. This insight coupled with my history of building curricula, designing and conducting research studies, and supporting professional development, particularly for underrepresented groups has helped me build a broad professional network that I will deploy to ensure the highest quality of ongoing leadership within SAEM.

Service to SAEM as a member of the nominating committee will allow me to have a significant ongoing impact on the organization and thus the advancement of academic EM. My broad experience across all domains of the SAEM mission makes me an excellent candidate to serve on the nominating committee and I would appreciate your support.

Katherine E. Stewart, MD, MEHP

Fellow

Brown University

I am a fourth-year resident at Brown Emergency Medicine and am currently completing my first year of our two-year Medical Simulation Fellowship at Brown. To further enhance my training in becoming a researcher and educator, I am also a Fellow in the Masters of Education in the Health Professions program through Johns Hopkin’s University. Whether engaging with large, multidisciplinary teams or small groups of medical students, I have always found it very rewarding to create opportunities for learning and reflection through simulation and have continually sought involvement in medical education, research design, and quality improvement during my residency. Additionally, I have led multiple committees locally including our Brown Emergency Medicine Recruitment Committee, Resident Wellness Committee, Pediatric Lifepact Critical Care Ambulance Transport, and Critically Important Peer Support Program (our local network of trained peer supporters for residents, advanced practitioners, and faculty in Emergency Medicine). These experiences have allowed me to develop as a leader, communicator, organizer, and mentor. I am a current member of the Young Physicians Subcommittee and would be honored to expand my role within SAEM Simulation as a Fellow on the Executive Committee. I feel my background in medical education, research, and peer mentorship will allow me to cultivate stronger connections and collaboration between students, residents, and early career physicians invested in simulation across the nation.

Salil Phadnis, MD

Fellow

Florida Atlantic University

Hello! My name is Sal Phadnis, I'm a third year EM resident at Florida Atlantic University. In 2024, I'll be starting a simulation fellowship at Indiana University with the goal of pursuing a career in EM GME. I'm currently a vice-chair on EMRA's simulation committee. I offer the perspective and feedback of a resident who has benefited significantly from a strong home sim program and recently traversed the fellowship app cycle.

It seems that a priority for the sim world right now is developing a more collaborative leadership body across different organizations and institutions that can collectively advocate for sim programs, establish standards for sim training, and foster interest in sim/med-ed among medical students and residents. I want to contribute to that goal by using my background to build stronger ties between Sim Academy and EMRA's sim committee, the latter of which i believe has the potential to reach a broader population of residents by virtue of ACEP's sheer size. In particular, my intention is to foster a more visible pathway to sim mentorship for residents and collaborate on exhibits for students and residents at EM conferences to build interest in the various career opportunities in the sim world.

Nora McNulty, MD

Fellow

Vanderbilt

I am Nora McNulty, current PGY4 and Conference Education Chief Resident at the Jacobi-Montefiore emergency medicine residency program. I have also been honored to have been chosen as the simulation fellow for Vanderbilt University Medical Center for the 2024-25 year. My role as chief resident, specifically in the world of conference education, has given me experience in a developing a year-long curriculum for junior and senior residents, developing new and innovative ways to teach emergency medicine topics, and to invite lecturers from outside institutions to our program. This experience has given me many tools in the fields of planning/development, communications and public & media relations, and organizational development.

I am running for office in an effort to build on the goals already set in place by the simulation academy through its mission statement. The portion of the mission statement most important to me and why I am running is to advance the role of simulation as an effective method for competency in emergency medicine among learners. Throughout my time in residency, I have played a role in designing unique simulation experiences that use simulation not only as a tool to grasp bread and butter emergency medicine topics, but also to develop a greater understanding of the greater world of medicine - one outside of diagnosis and treatment. My interest in simulation lies in how simulation can be used as a tool to bridge the gap between patients and their providers; opening up worlds to our learners that they may not have otherwise come in contact with.

Andrew Melendez, DO

Fellow

Yale Center for Healthcare Simulation

I am excited to express my interest in the Fellow position for the Simulation Academy Executive Committee. Throughout my journey, I've consistently sought out opportunities to expand my knowledge of simulation as a powerful tool for education, training, and quality improvement. I had the wonderful opportunity during my residency training to rotate at the second-largest simulation center in New England. The Center for Education, Simulation, and Innovation serves a diverse range of learners that includes residents, nursing, medical students, S.W.A.T., EMS, the United States Armed Forces, and other continued medical education learners. This experience pushed me to increase my creativity in teaching approaches to a wide audience of learners and further demonstrated to me the impact Simulation education can have on healthcare.

I have also discovered several areas of interest while building my foundation in simulation-based education. One area is the professional development of the next generation of residents and medical students, especially those who are underrepresented in medicine. Simulation offers an opportunity to level the playing field for underrepresented students who may have faced barriers or disparities in their education by providing a standardized environment. I have been involved in this area through various positions, such as my national role as a residency liaison for the Latino Medical Student Association in medical school, leading a Latinx Affinity Group during residency, and participating in the Emergency Medicine Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee at the University of Connecticut. Moreover, it has also been my goal as a Chief Resident to provide mentorship for the personal and professional development of residents and medical students interested in pursuing academic careers to increase diversity among faculty in medical education. I strongly believe that simulation can equip students with the tools to reduce health disparities and promote health equity.

If elected, I aim to contribute to the committee's mission and to represent the voice of residents and fellows in our joint goal for the advancement of Simulation in Emergency Medicine.

Taylor Cesarz, MD

Fellow

University of Central Florida

My name is Taylor Cesarz and I am running for a fellow position on the SAEM Simulation Academy Executive Committee. I am currently the academic chief resident at the University of Central Florida/HCA GME Consortium of Greater Orlando Emergency Medicine Residency Program. I have accepted a position for a simulation fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for the 2024-2025 academic year. During residency, I have had the opportunity to explore my passion for education and found a perfect fit within simulation. Early on in residency, as a learner, I found myself gravitating toward simulation as a way to explore knowledge deficits and enhance my own learning in an engaging way that provided an element of safety while emulating a real-life environment. As I progressed through residency, I found myself becoming even more passionate about simulation from the perspective of an educator, and I began getting involved in simulation education for medical students and co-residents. Being able to work closely with my program’s director of simulation inspired me to pursue further training in simulation and to work toward making a difference on a national level.

As my program’s academic chief resident, part of my role is to create ways to make our didactics and simulation days more interactive. One of the ways I have tried to accomplish this is through the design of an EM Pearl of the Week, aimed for our interns to review core EM content. I am also in the process of working with our simulation director to add a longitudinal gamification curriculum to our monthly simulation sessions in order to encourage resident motivation, satisfaction, and engagement.

Throughout residency, I have been fortunate to have had a lot of exposure to simulation, providing me the chance to continually develop and learn new skills to use during simulation education. I have had numerous opportunities to both design and run scenarios as well as practice important simulation principles such as pre- and debriefing. I was also able to help write and facilitate a case for the 2023 SAEM SimWars, which further sparked my passion for simulation. Perhaps my favorite project, and the one which solidified my decision to pursue simulation as a career, was creating a multi-institutional gamified simulation race for Emergency Medicine residents. My motivation for this project stemmed from my enthusiasm for both innovation as well as gamification in resident education. Both SAEM SimWars as well as EMRA MedWars played a part in my inspiration to create a large-scale competition between residency programs in Orlando. I designed a simulation race, focused on environmental medicine, with stations involving team building exercises, simulation scenarios, and procedural challenges for our residents. While I was creating this race, I scoured the internet for resources to help me in the design; while there were some resources available, they were not very easy to find. While designing this project, I quickly learned how many hours of dedication and resources it takes to host a successful simulation event. With a national network like SAEM, I believe there are likely many projects that have been done that may be useful or helpful to other members of the simulation academy and programs across the country. As medical education continues to evolve, and as the next generation enters residency, I foresee many more innovative and gamified simulation projects on the horizon. With that being said, it would be my goal to bring this spirit of innovation to the committee and develop forums for members to easily search for and/or exchange ideas of projects and resources to promote simulation and further improve and advance medical education, national collaboration, as well as simulation research and scholarly activity.

Christina Matulis, MD

Vice President of Social Media & Communication

Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center

My name is Christina Matulis and I am applying for the position of Vice President of Social Media and Communication. I completed my emergency medicine training at the Alpert School of Medicine of Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital followed by a simulation fellowship at Yale University and the Yale Center for Healthcare Simulation. Currently, I am practicing as an emergency physician at Kaiser Permanente San Diego Medical Center where I am also involved in simulation for the residency program and have an interest in expanding interprofessional simulation at our community sites.

Previously, I served as the inaugural fellow on the SAEM Simulation Executive Committee for the 2022-2023 year. During this time, I established an early career physician subcommittee within the Simulation Academy to provide mentorship, support, and networking opportunities for medical students, residents, and early career physicians. Through collaboration with the SAEM committee at large, I helped increase membership and helped host several mentorship talks throughout the year with leaders in the simulation community. In the past year, I have stayed active in the SAEM simulation academy.

As an early career physician, the SAEM Simulation Academy has provided me with crucial mentorship and networking opportunities that have fostered career growth. I want to ensure that we continue to grow our presence within the emergency medicine community so that as many members can benefit from the Academy’s offerings as possible. If elected as the VP of social media and communication, I will continue to grow the presence of the SAEM Academy to increase our membership, with a particular emphasis on early career physicians who are shaping the future of simulation in emergency medicine. Early on in my position, I will assess areas of success as well as improvement for communication, so that we ensure we are reaching all eligible SAEM members who could benefit from membership to our Academy. I will also continue to increase awareness of our committee at national conferences so that we can create meaningful collaborations nationally, both virtually and in-person.