ACGME Announces 2023 Award Winners and New Patient Safety Award

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) is proud to announce its 2023 Award recipients, recognizing the strength, innovation, and commitment to the graduate medical education (GME) community these recipients have displayed. The winners will be formally recognized at the 2023 ACGME Annual Educational Conference, being held in Nashville, Tennessee February 23-25, 2023. 

“The award recipients truly embody this year’s conference theme, Meaning in Medicine: Making a Difference, and have made immeasurable contributions to the graduate medical education community. We are proud to have such accomplished individuals and programs supporting the medical education continuum while navigating a great deal of uncertainty,” said ACGME President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas J. Nasca, MD, MACP. 

John C. Gienapp Distinguished Service Award 
Honoring individuals who have dedicated their careers to GME and made outstanding contributions to the enhancement of residency and fellowship education and ACGME accreditation activities, the John C. Gienapp Distinguished Service Award is presented to Elias Traboulsi, MD, MEd of Cleveland Clinic and Cole Eye Institute. Dr. Traboulsi is recognized for his significant systematic changes to training and education programs at Cleveland Clinic, where he served as designated institutional official for 16 years and was instrumental in developing interprofessional collaboration services for programs and learners. Dr. Traboulsi completed his residency in ophthalmology at American University of Beirut Medical Center and Georgetown University Medical Center; has won numerous awards, including the Sam and Maria Miller Master Educator Award from Cleveland Clinic, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and the ACGME Parker J. Palmer Courage to Lead Award (2019); and has supported ACGME International and the ACGME’s Pursuing Excellence in Clinical Learning Environments initiative.  

Barbara Ross-Lee, DO Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award  
The Barbara Ross-Lee, DO Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award honors ACGME-accredited Sponsoring Institutions and programs, as well as specialty organizations working to diversify the underrepresented physician workforce and create inclusive workplaces that foster humane, civil, and equitable environments. The 2023 recipients are:  

• Association of Pediatric Program Directors (Specialty Organization)  
• Cleveland Clinic, Family Medicine (Program)  
• Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Sponsoring Institution)  
  
  

David C. Leach Award   
The David C. Leach Award recognizes residents and fellows who have fostered innovation and improvement in their programs, advanced humanism in medicine, and increased efficiency and emphasis on educational outcomes. The 2023 recipients are:  

• Abhiram M. Kondajji, DO, MS; Cleveland Clinic South Pointe Hospital;  
  Warrensville Heights, Ohio; Surgery 
• Evelyn Obregon, MD; University of Florida; Gainesville, Florida; Pediatrics 
• Manogjna R. Prasad, MD; New York Medical College at Saint Michael's Medical Center; Harrison, New Jersey; Internal Medicine 
• David R. Velez, MD; University of North Dakota; West Fargo, North Dakota; Surgery 
  
• Christina Baxter Vernace, DO; University of Florida; Team: Angelina Bernier, MD; Mary Catherine Hart; Lindsay Thompson, MD; Keiaria Williams; Gainesville, Florida; Pediatrics 

Debra L. Dooley GME Program Coordinator Excellence Award  
The Debra L. Dooley GME Program Coordinator Excellence Award is given to program coordinators in recognition of their in-depth understanding of the accreditation process, excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and projects to improve residency and fellowship programs. The 2023 recipients are:  

• Juliet A. Arthur, MHA, C-TAGME; SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University; Brooklyn, New York; Psychiatry 
• Sherry Bucholz, BA, C-TAGME; Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center; Spokane, Washington; Diagnostic Radiology 
• Sharon M. Ezzo, MA, C-TAGME; Cleveland Clinic; Cleveland, Ohio; Epilepsy 
• Bernadett R. Mahanay, C-TAGME; Stanford University School of Medicine; Stanford, California; Anesthesiology Fellowships  
• Bethany J. Millar, C-TAGME; Washington University School of Medicine; St. Louis, Missouri; Internal Medicine  
  
  

GME Institutional Coordinator Excellence Award  
The GME Institutional Coordinator Excellence Award recognizes institutional coordinators who demonstrate in-depth knowledge of graduate medical education and the process for internal review. These people skillfully manage the multiple roles of administrator, counselor, enforcer, coordinator, organizer, and scheduler. The 2023 recipients are:  

• Leslie Caulder, MS, C-TAGME; University of Florida College of Medicine Jacksonville; Jacksonville, Florida 
• Bret Stevens, MBA, C-TAGME; McLaren Health Care; Grand Blanc, Michigan 
• Michael A. Venten, MBA; Stony Brook Medicine; Stony Brook, New York 
  
  

Parker J. Palmer Courage to Lead Award   
The Parker J. Palmer Courage to Lead Award honors designated institutional officials who have demonstrated strong leadership and astute resource management, and encouraged innovation and improvement in residency and fellowship programs and their Sponsoring Institutions. The 2023 recipients are:  

• Kimberly M. Baker-Genaw, MD, FACP; Henry Ford Health; Detroit, Michigan  
• Susan E. Kirk, MD; University of Virginia; Charlottesville, Virginia 
• Antoinette Spevetz, MD; Cooper University Health Care, Cooper Medical School of Rowan University; Camden, New Jersey  
  
  

Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award   
The Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award recognizes program directors who have fostered innovation and improvement in their residency/fellowship programs and served as exemplary role models for residents and fellows. The 2023 recipients are:  

• Karen J. Brasel, MD, MPH; Oregon Health & Science University; Portland, Oregon; Surgery 
• Christine S. Cho, MD, MPH, MEd; Children's Hospital Los Angeles; Los Angeles, California; Pediatric Emergency Medicine 
• Deborah J. Chute, MD; Robert J. Tomsich Institute of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Cleveland Clinic; Cleveland, Ohio; Pathology-Anatomic and Clinical 
• Richard G. Ellenbogen, MD, FACS; University of Washington; Seattle, Washington; Neurological Surgery 
• Shashank Kraleti, MD, FAAFP; University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences; Little Rock, Arkansas; Family Medicine 
• Timothy R. Long, MD, FASA; Mayo Clinic; Rochester, Minnesota; Anesthesiology 
• Adriana K. Malone, MD; Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; New York, New York; Hematology and Medical Oncology 
• Alisa A. McQueen, MD; University of Chicago; Chicago, Illinois; Pediatrics 
• Alec B. O'Connor, MD, MPH; University of Rochester; Rochester, New York; Internal Medicine 
• Sandor H. Shoichet, MD, FACP; Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak; Royal Oak, Michigan; Internal Medicine  

ACGME Awards honor the best in GME. The ACGME Blog will feature interviews and more information about this year’s exceptional awardees during the coming months. 
 
Nominations for the 2024 ACGME Awards open in January 2023. New for the 2024 cycle is an award the ACGME is excited to share with the GME community, named in honor of Lewis Blackman, a vibrant, intelligent young man who died when a series of post-operative issues following elective surgery in a teaching hospital were not recognized by the nurses and residents caring for him. The Lewis Blackman Patient Safety Award will be awarded to residents and fellows who demonstrate exemplary skills in leading projects or programs to improve education in patient safety for clinicians, which can include residents, fellows, or other health care workers.  

Learn more about the ACGME Awards program on the ACGME website.