The American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) is pleased to announce the election of four new officers and three new board members. The new officers elected at the ABFM's spring board meeting in April are Warren P. Newton, MD, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, elected as Chair; Samuel Jones, MD, of Fairfax, Virginia, as Chair Elect; Arlene Brown, MD, of Ruidoso, New Mexico, as Treasurer; and Michael Workings, MD, of Detroit, Michigan, as Member-at-Large, Executive Committee. In addition, the ABFM welcomes this year's new members to the Board of Directors: Laura M. Brooks, MD, of Lynchburg, Virginia; James Kennedy, MD, of Winter Park, Colorado; and Jimmy H. Hara, MD, of Los Angeles, California.
The New ABFM Officers Will Each Serve a 1-Year Term
Warren Newton, MD, Chair, has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2007. Dr. Newton is the Executive Associate Dean for Medical Education and William B. Aycock Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has held local, state, and national leadership positions within family medicine and has been involved in the development of the North Carolina Governor's Quality Initiative. In addition to serving as Board Chair, Dr. Newton will serve as an ex officio member of all ABFM committees and as a representative to the American Board of Medical Specialties.
Samuel Jones, MD, Chair-Elect, has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2008. Dr. Jones has practiced at the Fairfax Family Practice Centers in Fairfax, Virginia, for the past 20 years, in addition to serving as the Secretary/Treasurer for its Board of Directors. He is also the Program Director and a member of the teaching faculty of the Virginia Commonwealth University Fairfax Family Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Jones will serve the ABFM on the Executive Committee, the Credentials Committee, the Information and Technology Committee, the Examination Committee, the Audit/Finance Committee, the Communications/Publications Committee, the MC-FP Committee as its Chair, and as a representative to the American Board of Medical Specialties.
Arlene M. Brown, MD, Treasurer, has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2007. Dr. Brown is a practicing family physician with over 20 years' experience caring for her patients and her community. She has taught medical students, residents, and mid-level students and has been involved in quality improvement initiatives. She is a recipient of the New Mexico Family Doctor of the Year Award. Dr. Brown will serve the ABFM on the Executive Committee, the Bylaws Committee as its Chair, the Examination Committee, the Audit/Finance Committee as its Chair, the Communications/Publications Committee, and the MC-FP Committee.
Michael G. Workings, MD, Member-at-Large of the Executive Committee, has been a member of the Board of Directors since 2008. Dr. Workings is affiliated with the Henry Ford Health System and is an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, Wayne State University, the Medical College of Ohio, and the Chicago Medical School. Dr. Workings is also the team physician for the Detroit Tigers. Dr. Workings will serve the ABFM on the Executive Committee, the Bylaws Committee, the Credentials Committee, the Information and Technology Committee as its Chair, the Examination Committee, the Audit/Finance Committee, the Communications/Publications Committee, and the MC-FP Committee.
The Following New Board Members Will Each Serve a 5-Year Term
Laura M. Brooks, MD, is a practicing pediatrician at F. Read Hopkins Pediatric Associates in Lynchburg, Virginia, where she has been since 2000. Dr. Brooks has also been a member of the Board of Directors of the American Board of Pediatrics since 2009. Dr. Brooks previously served as the medical co-director of the newborn nursery and as an associate in pediatrics at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Brooks will serve the ABFM on the Examination Committee and the Communications/Publications Committee.
James Kennedy, MD, is a practicing family physician in Winter Park, Colorado, where he started a new Advanced Idealized Micropractice in 2005. Dr. Kennedy is also the Chair of the County Medical Society and the Rural Health Network in his community. In addition, Dr. Kennedy has served as an Assistant/Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center since 1994. Dr. Kennedy will serve the ABFM on the Credentials Committee and the MC-FP Committee.
Jimmy H. Hara, MD, serves as the Regional Lead Physician for Community Benefit for Southern California Kaiser Permanente and is the Residency Program Director Emeritus, after serving 25 years as Director for Kaiser Los Angeles. Dr. Hara is also the clinical professor of family medicine for the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. In 2006, he received the AAFP's Nikitas Zervanos National Outstanding Residency Program Director Award and in 2009 received the Physician Humanitarian Award from the Medical Board of California. Dr. Hara will serve the ABFM on the Research and Development Committee and the MC-FP Committee.
Remaining Current Members of the Board
The remaining current members of the Board are Diane K. Beebe, MD, of Jackson, Mississippi; Howard Blanchette, MD, of Valhalla, New York; Erika Bliss, MD, of Seattle, Washington; Thomas H. Cogbill, MD, of LaCrosse, Wisconsin; Craig W. Czarsty, MD, of Oakville, Connecticut; Alan David, MD, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Susan C. Day, MD, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Carlos Roberto Jaén, MD, of San Antonio, Texas; and Kailie R. Shaw, MD, of Tampa, Florida.