The first board of directors of the American Academy of General Practice was formed in June 1947. Since then, our board has shaped the American Academy of Family Physicians into what we know today.
The board of directors carries out activities and resolutions in between Congress of Delegates meetings and on behalf of family medicine and the Congress of Delegates. The board, in turn, appoints commissions to help carry out its activities. Board members meet in person five times annually and virtually up to two times annually to accomplish the organization's business.
In addition to carrying out the directives of the Congress of Delegates, the board is also responsible for a periodic review of non-clinical AAFP policy statements, strategic planning, board metric development, and recommendations from the eight commissions.
Sarah C. Nosal, MD, FAAFP
President
Sarah C. Nosal, MD, FAAFP, is Vice President for Innovation & Optimization and Chief Medical Information Officer at The Institute for Family Health, an FQHC network with 27-plus Mid-Hudson, Bronx, Manhattan, and Brooklyn locations. Nosal's focus is on the care of marginalized communities with two decades of practice in the South Bronx. She has served as medical director for NYU and Einstein student-run free clinics. As CMIO she secured financial support for IT infrastructure and helped her institution become a regional leader in data sharing and ensuring equitable information access.
Kisha Davis, MD, MPH, FAAFP
President-Elect
Kisha Davis, MD, MPH, FAAFP, is the chief health officer for Montgomery County, Maryland. She previously served as Vice President of Health Equity at Aledade in Maryland and was the medical director for CHI Health Care. She was vice chair of the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), advising Congress, the Secretary of Health and Human Services and states on Medicaid policy. Dr. Davis served as a White House Fellow at the US Department of Agriculture. Davis has served numerous roles within the AAFP, notably as new physician director and later convener of the National Conference of Constituency Leaders. She is a past president of the Maryland Academy of Family Physicians.
Jennifer L. Brull, MD, FAAFP
Board Chair
Jen Brull, MD, FAAFP, is a family physician and health system leader based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After more than 20 years in rural Kansas practice, she now serves as Senior Advisor for Clinical Strategy and Physician Well-Being at Aledade and is Board Chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians.
Russell W. Kohl, MD, FAAFP
Speaker
Russell W. Kohl, MD, FAAFP, is a family physician living in Stilwell, Kansas, and a member of the Oklahoma Academy of Family Physicians. He is Chief Medical Officer with TMF Health Quality Institute, a Medicare quality improvement organization serving Arkansas, Nebraska, Mississippi, Texas, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He also cares for patients with the non-profit Care Beyond the Boulevard, providing direct medical care to those living in homeless encampments throughout the Kansas City metro area, as well as serving as a Colonel, Chief Flight Surgeon, and State Air Surgeon within the Missouri Air National Guard.
Daron W. Gersch, MD, FAAFP
Vice Speaker
Daron W. Gersch, MD, FAAFP, is a family physician with CentraCare hospital in Long Prairie, Minnesota. He works full-time as the ER medical and trauma director and provides ER care at CentraCare - Long Prairie, Melrose, and Sauk Centre hospitals. He also currently serves as the medical director at the nursing homes in Albany and Long Prairie, Minnesota. He was most recently on the PROTECT Initiative for the CDC and served on the medical review panel for familydoctor.org.
R. Shawn Martin
Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer
R. Shawn Martin serves as executive vice president and chief executive officer for the American Academy of Family Physicians. He works with the AAFP Board of Directors on the mission, strategy, and vision for the AAFP and provides representation to other organizations, including medical, public and private sectors. He also serves on the board of directors of the AAFP Foundation, the charitable arm of the AAFP.
Shannon Dowler, MD, CPE, FAAFP
Director
Shannon Dowler, MD, CPE, FAAFP, is a family physician in Marshall, North Carolina. She currently serves as Acting CMO and STI consultant in the Office of Assistant Secretary U.S. Health and Human Services (Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy). Other consulting roles currently include supporting philanthropy focused on behavior health and maternal child health initiatives at the state level as well as driving population health advancements with the state primary care association. She was previously the chief medical officer of North Carolina Medicaid, a $30 billion program responsible for 3 million lives. She maintains a teaching faculty appointment, prioritizing precepting and mentoring students and residents and keeps clinically active with a focus on sexual health and sexually transmitted infections.
Tracy Hendershot, DC, MD, FAAFP
Director
Tracy Hendershot, DC, MD, FAAFP, is a family physician in Parkersburg, West Virginia. He attended Marshall University and Palmer College of Chiropractic, later returning to Marshall for medical school after starting a chiropractic practice. Dr. Hendershot co-developed the Paul Ambrose Health Policy Fellowship and focused on state health policy, especially elder care. As CMO of Coplin Clinic, he advocated for legislation establishing Wirt County's only skilled nursing facility.
Robyn Liu, MD, MPH, FAAFP
Director
Robyn Liu, MD, MPH, FAAFP, is a family physician in Portland Oregon, where she leads a large primary care clinic and helps improve community health. She has extensive experience caring for rural communities. Dr. Liu subsequently was a faculty member at Oregon Health and Science University, focusing on health policy, medical education and residency program administration. She earned an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and a medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine.
Elisabeth Fowlie Mock, MD, MPH, FAAFP
Director
Elisabeth Fowlie Mock, MD, MPH, FAAFP, is a family physician in Bangor, Maine. She works as an independent contractor in state public health and with several continuing education and professional development programs. She has worked in several clinical settings, including outpatient and inpatient medicine, a low barrier addiction clinic, a public health clinic and full scope residency faculty.
Kathleen N. Mueller, MD, FAAFP
Director
Kathleen N. Mueller, MD, FAAFP serves as the system director for integrative medicine and cancer survivorship for Northwell/Nuvance, a seven-hospital health system in Connecticut and southeastern New York. She is also the lead editor of Core Content Review of Family Medicine, a medical education program written by and for family physicians and teaches in the New Milford Family Medicine Residency program in New Milford, CT. Mueller speaks on health, wellness, preventive care and integrative medicine topics both regionally and nationally.
Sarah Sams, MD, FAAFP
Director
Sarah Sams, MD, FAAFP, is a board-certified family physician, educator and advocate for family medicine. She is an associate director and full-time faculty member at Grant Family Medicine Residency in Columbus, Ohio where she provides full-spectrum family medicine care, including obstetrics and minor office-based procedures. She has trained over 180 family medicine residents and helped to showcase how bonds built through the patient-physician relationship are the true joy in family medicine.
Brent Smith, MD, MSc, MLS, FAAFP
Director
Brent Smith, MD, MSc, MLS, FAAFP, is a family physician in Greenville, Mississippi, and a member of the board of directors of the American Academy of Family Physicians. He balances community service with serving as the Program Director/DIO for the Mississippi Delta Family Medicine Residency.
Douglas Spotts, MD, FAAFP
Director
Douglas Spotts, MD, FAAFP, is a family physician in Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Juniata College and Penn State University College of Medicine and completed his residency at the Harrisburg Hospital Family Practice Residency in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Spotts established the Meritus Family Medicine Residency in 2019 and now teaches full-time at Penn State University’s MHA program and in clinical settings.
Jeffrey Zavala, MD, FAAFP
Director
Jeffery Zavala, MD, FAAFP, is a family physician in Billings, Montana. Zavala is an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine in the Department of Clinical Sciences at Rocky Vista University Medical College of Montana in Billings. He has long been involved with the AAFP and state chapters with the goal of serving his fellow family physicians. He was previously the Montana/Northern Wyoming Chief Medical Officer for the Medical Group for Intermountain Health and the Chief Medical Officer for the medical group at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Billings, Montana.
Payal Morari
Student Member
Payal Morari is the medical student member of the American Academy of Family Physicians Board of Directors. She is currently a fourth-year medical student at the Kansas City University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Morari has pursued leadership roles within the AAFP, as a scholar with the Foundation’s Emerging Leaders Institute and Student Delegate to the Congress of Delegates.
Jane Simpson, DO
New Physician Member
Jane Simpson, DO, is a family physician practicing in Watertown, New York, and is the new physician member of the American Academy of Family Physicians Board of Directors. She earned her undergraduate degree from Clarkson University and her medical degree from The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine at Virginia Tech. She completed her residency at United Health Services in Binghamton, New York and her fellowship at Brown University in Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
Derek B. Southwick, MD
Resident Member
Derek B. Southwick, MD, is the resident member of the American Academy of Family Physicians Board of Directors. He is a PGY2 resident at Indiana University Health Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie, Indiana. He received his medical degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine and his undergraduate degree from Brigham Young University—Idaho.
Conflict of Interest
In accordance with AAFP policy, members of the AAFP Board of Directors are required to provide AAFP with a statement regarding actual or potential conflicts of interest. Conflict of interest statements for individual directors are available upon request. Requests should be directed to the General Counsel and Senior Vice President for Administration and Human Resources at HLeith@aafp.org.
Hear from Sarah C. Nosal, MD, FAAFP, your AAFP president.
Learn more about the responsibilities, including time commitment and remuneration, for each position. You can also find out how to get involved.