Olamide Alabi is a first generation American of Nigerian immigrants. She received her medical degree from the University of Nebraska College of Medicine, trained in general surgery at Loma Linda University Medical Center in Southern California, and completed a fellowship in vascular surgery at Oregon Health and Science University. She is an academic surgeon at Emory University Hospital and the Atlanta VA HealthCare System and serves as a clinician, educator, and physician-scientist in health services research. Her academic platform is focused on peripheral artery disease, quality of care, and health equity and she has received funding from both intramural (Emory HSRC, PeRSEVERE) and extramural sources (NHLBI and VA ORD supplements) to study variation in peripheral artery disease care and develop novel interventions towards improved, patient-centered care.

Dr. Arora is an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at Augusta University at the Medical College of Georgia and the Program Director of the General Surgery Residency.  She has completed ABS Certification in General Surgery and Complex General Surgical Oncology.  Her clinical interests include breast cancer and complex GI oncology.  In surgical education, she is interested in curriculum development, evaluation and methods of coaching. She is working on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at local and national levels. She was the inaugural  GME subcommittee Chair of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Health Disparities for Augusta University and now serves as the Assistant Dean of Learner DEI for the Medical College of Georgia. In surgical organizations, she is the Vice Chair of the Association of Program Directors in Surgery’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusion and a member of the Diversity Taskforce for the Academic Association of Surgeons and the American College of Surgeons Committee on Diversity.  She is the Vice Chair for the Association of Surgical Education Committee on Citizenship and Global Responsibility.

Dr. Chu received his B.S. from California Institute of Technology and his M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine. He completed general surgery residency at University of California San Diego Medical Center and his thoracic surgery residency at Baylor College of Medicine training with Dr. Michael E. DeBakey and Dr. Denton Cooley. Dr. Chu has authored over 190 peer-reviewed articles, abstracts, book chapters, and invited editorials. He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Vascular Medicine and Research and serves as an editorial board member of over 15 peer-review journals (including The American Journal of Cardiology, JAMA Surgery, The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, and World Journal of Surgery). He has also been elected membership to the prestigious American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS), American Surgical Association (ASA), Association of Veterans Affairs Surgeons (AVAS), Society of Asian Academic Surgeons (SAAS), Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), and Society of University Surgeons (SUS). On the national platform, Dr. Chu serves as the President-Elect of AVAS 2023-2024 and the President-Elect of SUS 2024-2025. Dr. Chu is a Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (UPSOM), the Director of Cardiac Surgery at Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, and the Chair of the Clinical Competency Committee for the Integrated 6-year Thoracic Surgery Residency of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at UPSOM. He was the site Principal Investigator of a $15 million multi-center prospective randomized control trial sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs Cooperative Study Program investigating the effect of open versus endoscopic saphenous vein harvest techniques for patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting operations. As an internationally recognized expert proctor, Dr. Chu has special clinical interest and expertise in the novel technique of aortic valve reconstruction using autologous pericardium (Ozaki procedure) for the treatment of aortic valve diseases.

Dr. Callisia N Clarke completed her medical degree at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine where she was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honors Society.  She completed a general surgery residency at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2013 and a fellowship in Complex General Surgical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2016. She joined the faculty at the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2016 as an Assistant Professor of Surgery in the Division of Surgical Oncology with a clinical practice focused on Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of the Pancreas and GI tract, melanoma and sarcoma. With her academic efforts centered on around NET cancer epigenetic regulation and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Academic Surgery.

Dr. Hu is a pediatric surgeon and a health services researcher. She is co-PI of the SECOND Trial, a cluster-randomized controlled trial of 212 general surgery residency programs, focused on resident well-being. She is also co-PI of the upcoming THIRD Trial, which focuses on inclusion in departments of surgery. Her work has been funded by grants from the American College of Surgeons, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, the Association for Surgical Education, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. 

Brenessa Lindeman, MD, MEHP, is an Assistant Professor of Surgery and Associate Designated Institutional Official for the Clinical Learning Environment at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. A native of eastern Kentucky, she completed her undergraduate training summa cum laude at the University of Louisville and was the Founder\’s Medalist at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.  She completed residency training in General Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she served as an Administrative Chief Resident, and completed a fellowship in Endocrine Surgery at Brigham and Women\’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School.  Brenessa earned a Masters of Education in the Health Professions from Johns Hopkins University and completed Surgical Education Research Fellowships with the Association for Surgical Education and Massachusetts General Hospital.  She served as a member of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Core EPAs for Entering Residency Drafting Panel as well as the Resident Member of the AAMC Board of Directors from 2012-2016 and has worked with the American Board of Surgery to define EPAs for General Surgery.  Her research interests are in development and assessment of competency in surgical trainees, resident supervision and autonomy, and evaluation of the learning climate/physician wellness as an academic surgeon.

Dr. Thomas Varghese Jr. is the Chief Value Officer and Interim Executive Medical Director at Huntsman Cancer Institute; Head of the Section of General Thoracic Surgery, Program Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency, and a Professor (Tenure-track) in the department of Surgery at the University of Utah.  Dr. Varghese holds national leadership positions in the Society of University Surgeons, Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), Thoracic Surgery Directors Association (TSDA), American College of Surgeons (ACS), and the National Cancer Care Network (NCCN). He serves as the Deputy Editor for Digital Media and Digital Scholarship for the Annals of Thoracic Surgery. He is a health services researcher who helped create the American College of Surgeons Strong for Surgery program (https://www.facs.org/quality-programs/strong-for-surgery and is a co-PI on the National Cancer Institute RO1-funded clinical trial on the role of Precision Exercise Prescription (PEP) for elective lung cancer surgical resection (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03306992 ). Tom spends his free time with his family, as well as actively engaging on social media.

Tracy S. Wang, MD, MPH, FACS is a Professor of Surgery, Vice-Chair of Strategic and
Professional Development, and Chief of the Section of Endocrine Surgery in the
Department of Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin (Milwaukee, WI). She leads
the Department’s CAPTAINS (Career Advancement and Professional Training Academy
IN Surgery) course.

She completed her residency in General Surgery at Long Island Jewish Medical Center
and fellowship in Endocrine Surgery at Yale University. Her clinical practice is focused
on the surgical endocrine disease of the thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal glands,
including inherited endocrine syndromes. Dr. Wang has published 150 peer-reviewed
manuscripts and book chapters.

She is a Councilor and member of the Executive Council for the Central Surgical
Association and is the Association’s Representative to the American College of
Surgeons’ Board of Governors. She is on the Executive Council for the International
Association of Endocrine Surgeons and is the immediate past-Treasurer of the American
Association of Endocrine Surgeons. She is a past-President of the Society of Asian
Academic Surgeons. She also serves as an Associate Editor for the American Journal of
Surgery and on the Editorial Boards of World Journal of Surgery, Surgery, and the
Journal of Surgical Research.