PISACANO LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION NAMES 2015 PISACANO SCHOLARS

The Pisacano Leadership Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), recently selected its 2015 Pisacano Scholars. These 6 medical students follow in the footsteps of 100 scholar alumni who are practicing physicians and 19 current scholars who are enrolled in medical schools or family medicine residency programs across the country. The Pisacano Leadership Foundation was created in 1990 by the ABFM in tribute to its founder and first executive director, Nicholas J. Pisacano, MD (1924–1990). Each Pisacano Scholar has demonstrated the highest level of leadership, academic achievement, communication skills, community service, and character and integrity.

Paige Bennett is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Paige graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder (CU Boulder) with distinction with a Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Physiology.

As an undergraduate Paige received multiple scholarships and served on the student government board at CU Boulder. She also worked throughout college as a medical assistant at a free teenage gynecology clinic.

Paige developed and has been involved in a teen obesity community-based research project since beginning medical school. The inspiration for this project came from repeated experiences of witnessing conversations between health care providers and teenagers that humiliated the teens, rather than empowering them to make better choices.

As a military scholar through the Navy Health Professions Scholarship Program, Paige has committed to at least 4 years of active duty and 4 years in reserves following the completion of training. As the granddaughter of a military veteran, Paige quickly realized the greatest way she could serve was to provide medical care for sailors and their families who are sacrificing for our country. Following her military career, Paige intends to pursue rural medicine where she can be a town doctor and community liaison who supports the health care needs of her community, provides exceptional primary care for her patients, and continues to promote the future of family medicine through medical student education.

Margaret (Maggie) Chen is a fourth-year medical student at David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She graduated with honors from Stanford University, earning degrees in both Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity and Human Biology. Maggie is also pursuing a concurrent Master of Public Policy at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs.

At Stanford, Maggie was recognized with the Excellence in Honors Thesis Presentation award, and an award for Community Engagement upon graduation. She served as a Counselor and Program Coordinator for the Stanford HIV Peer Counseling Program. Maggie also served as Chair of the Multiracial Identified Community at Stanford. While studying abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, Maggie researched gender-based HIV testing at a men’s clinic.

After graduation from Stanford, Maggie served as a John Gardner Fellow in Public Service with the White House Council on Women and Girls. Prior to medical school, Maggie developed leadership programs for Crittenton Services of Greater Washington, DC, a nonprofit that serves at-risk young women and teen mothers.

Since her first year of medical school, Maggie has been involved with the newly-developed Primary Care Preceptor Continuity Program intended for students interested in primary care as well as with UCLA’s Family Medicine Interest Group. Maggie helped found Primary Care Progress at UCLA, an organization that works to bring together the next generation of primary care providers. Recently Maggie was inducted into UCLA’s inaugural Gold Humanism Honor Society.

Maggie’s vision for her future career in family medicine is to provide effective, engaging primary care for women, while promoting the role of family physicians in women’s lives.

Trevor Dickey is a fourth-year medical student at Duke University School of Medicine. He graduated from the University of Washington (UW) with a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and earned his Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina, Gillings School of Global Public Health.

Trevor was elected to the Phi Lambda Upsilon Chemical Honor Society his senior year of college and worked as a researcher in the Department of Neurosurgery at UW. His research resulted in multiple publications, and he was awarded the Mary Gates Research Scholarship in support of his research.

Trevor was one of a select group of students admitted to Duke’s inaugural class in the Primary Care Leadership Track. Through this program, Trevor has gained experience working with the underserved through programs such as LATCH (Local Access to Coordinated Healthcare), a case management program for the uninsured in Durham County. As an Albert Schweitzer Service Fellow last year, Trevor cofounded the Duke chapter of the Refugee Health Initiative, which pairs health professional students with newly resettled refugees. Trevor worked on a pilot trial with a health services lab researching medication adherence in a Medicaid population using a telehealth messaging program. Trevor currently serves as Treasurer of Duke’s Family Medicine Interest Group and 2 years ago was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society by his peers.

Trevor would like to maintain a strong clinical presence in his career by working at one of the nation’s many federally qualified health centers, while also working to become involved in a public health organization.

Elizabeth Looney is a fourth-year medical student at Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED). Elizabeth graduated summa cum laude from the University of San Francisco with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and Latin American Studies. She received her Master of Arts in Community Social Psychology from the University of Massachusetts, Lowell.

As an undergraduate, Elizabeth volunteered as resident advisor and community head with the Martín-Baró Scholars Community, a living-learning community of students dedicated to social justice and academics. She was recognized for her work with the Jesuit Leadership Award from the University of San Francisco. She spent her junior year in San Salvador, El Salvador with a study-abroad program run through Santa Clara University, managing a community house and mentoring students.

While completing her Master’s degree at the University of Massachusetts, Elizabeth interned with the Lowell Community Health Center in the HIV department. Prior to medical school, Elizabeth worked as a program manager where she managed federally-funded after school tutoring programs in 4 low-performing Cleveland public elementary schools.

During her first year of medical school, Elizabeth was selected to receive the Choose Ohio First Scholarship, granted to students who exemplify leadership and commitment to primary care in Ohio. Elizabeth was selected and featured in Crain’s Cleveland Business Who to Watch in Medicine, 2014, and was recently elected to the national medical honor society, Alpha Omega Alpha, as well as the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

Elizabeth believes the full scale responsibility of a family physician extends beyond the office door to be an agent for change in her community and beyond.

Sara Martin is a fourth-year medical student at Harvard Medical School. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Biochemistry and History. She recently completed her Master of Science in Comparative Social Policy at Oxford University and is currently working on policy for the Health Foundation in London.

At Mount Holyoke, Sara received a 4-year Mount Holyoke Leadership Scholarship and an American Chemistry Society scholarship. Sara served as co-chair of C.A.U.S.E. (Creating Awareness and Unity for Social Equity), the largest community service organization on campus. After graduation Sara received the Kelly Sottile Community Service Award.

At Harvard Sara received the Linnane Scholarship for Leadership, was named a Primary Care Master’s Scholar, and received the Dean’s Community Service Award. Through her involvement with Primary Health Care International, Sara has been a part of developing a leadership program for students interested in global health and has assisted in writing grants and the application for non-profit status for this organization. For a summer project, Sara traveled to Zimbabwe as part of research for Partners in Health.

Sara was a co-leader of Harvard’s Family Medicine Interest Group and a member of the Student Leadership Committee at the Center for Primary Care. Sara received 2 Agents of Change Challenge Grants from the Center for Primary Care to utilize the resources of Cambridge Health Alliance to establish an innovative School-Based Health Center, now named the Starr Center. She served as program manager of the center, which provides comprehensive health services within a local high school. Sara has presented a number of posters, including at the Society for Teachers of Family Medicine’s Conference on Medical Student Education.

As a future family physician, Sara’s mission is to advocate for her patients’ health by examining and improving the intersection between health care and education.

Diana Wohler is a fourth-year medical student at Harvard Medical School. She graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a Bachelor of Science in Molecular and Cellular Biology and a minor in Music. She was a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa her senior year.

As a college student, Diana volunteered weekly at the Baltimore Rescue Mission Clinic, a primary care clinic predominantly for homeless men. She served as the Community Service Coordinator for the Women’s Pre-Health Leadership Society at Johns Hopkins. Diana was also a member and co-captain of the Women’s Ultimate Frisbee team.

At Harvard, Diana has been an active member and leader of the Family Medicine Interest Group. She served as a research and life mentor at a high school enrichment program and recently as a preceptor and bedside teacher for first-year medical students with Harvard’s patient interviewing course. Diana served as Director of Patient Education for the patient education and counseling program at a student-run faculty collaborative clinic, Crimson Care Collaborative’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center site, which focuses on chronic medical conditions. She then served as Senior Director at Crimson Care Collaborative’s Cambridge Health Alliance Site, Harvard’s first family medicine student-run clinic, which she co-founded. In her first year at Harvard, Diana was selected as an inaugural member of the Student Leadership Committee of the Harvard Center for Primary Care. She served as Family Medicine Committee Chair last year and is currently serving as co-leader of the Student Leadership Committee.

Diana has presented at numerous conferences, including the Society of Teachers in Family Medicine’s National Conference. Her current research interest is in leadership training for medical students. Diana intends to incorporate medical education into her future practice, delivering interprofessional, team-based care to her patients.

• © 2015 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.