The Pisacano Leadership Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), recently selected its 2011 Pisacano Scholars. These 5 medical students follow in the footsteps of 80 scholar alumni who are practicing physicians and 16 current scholars who are enrolled in 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, character, and integrity.
Rebecca Mitchell Coelius, a 2011 Pisacano Scholar, is a 4th-year medical student at the University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine (UCSF). She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology, Society, and the Environment. Rebecca received numerous awards as an undergraduate, including the USA Today All-USA Academic First Team Award and the Glamour Top 10 College Women Award.
As an undergraduate, Rebecca volunteered at an orphanage in Kenya. She was inspired by community efforts towards seemingly intractable development challenges and founded the international non-profit SpanAfrica, which has partnered with over 50 organizations across Kenya, Zambia, and Ghana in support of local approaches to health, microfinance, sustainable agriculture, and education. After completing her undergraduate work, Rebecca was a Fulbright Scholar in India. She traveled across the subcontinent researching how US humanitarian aid policy was impacting women’s reproductive health and HIV/AIDS projects at the local level.
While at UCSF, Rebecca was awarded the Dean’s Research Fellowship for research on patient attitudes about the potential of computer-assisted health care to improve quality in primary and acute care clinics. Rebecca has also served as the American Medical Student Association’s National PharmFree Director of Access to Medicines, and was one of the leaders in a national campaign to consider access and affordability in federal patent policy for biological medicines. Rebecca has also been a student representative on the American College of Physician’s California Health and Public Policy Committee and a student coordinator for the UCSF Bioethics and Health Policy Electives.
This year she is working with the San Francisco General Hospital Center for Excellence in Primary Care to support the transformation of a local community health center into a model for innovation in primary care provision.
Alexandra Hunt, a 2011 Pisacano Scholar, is a 4th-year medical student at the University of Washington School of Medicine (UW). She graduated with Honors from the University of California Santa Cruz with a Bachelor’s degree in Art. Alexandra was team captain of the UC Santa Cruz Women’s soccer team and named NCAA All-Western Region Women’s Soccer Player of the Year during her junior year.
Prior to entering medical school, Alexandra worked as a health educator and volunteer assistant at a rural health clinic in El Salvador. Following her time in El Salvador, while pursuing medical school prerequisite courses, Alexandra worked as a comprehensive perinatal health worker and also volunteered with the Burn Intensive Care Unit of a local hospital—an experience that she describes as crystallizing her commitment to community education and burn prevention that can be effectively carried out as a family physician and community leader.
Alexandra is a Board member and volunteer for the Children’s Health International Medical Project of Seattle. She served as a translator and Cultural Ambassador for June Medical Team trips to rural El Salvador on 3 separate occasions. She is also the coordinator and a volunteer with the Perinatal Care Project, which pairs a medical student with a young, single woman who is a participant in the program. Alexandra has been involved in and a leader with UW’s Family Medicine Interest Group (FMIG) for the last 2 years.
Alexandra has volunteered with a number of clinics throughout medical school, and currently volunteers with the Dermatology Clinic for Homeless Men and Women and the Casa Latina Clinic. She is the recent recipient of the SPARX/CHAP Exceptional Participation Award, which is given to those students who demonstrate a major commitment to the program by their volunteer service.
Jessica Johnson, a 2011 Pisacano Scholar, is a 4th-year medical student at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine (UConn), where she is also currently completing her Masters in Public Health. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts in French and was a Dean’s List recipient and a member of Phi Sigma Pi National Honor Fraternity.
Prior to medical school, Jessica worked as a risk analyst for an insurance broker and a risk advising company and then worked as an emergency medical technician. During her first year of medical school, Jessica was accepted into the Urban Service Track (UST), a university-wide interdisciplinary program in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry preparing students for service to urban vulnerable populations. Jessica was among the first to receive the UST Leadership Award, given for leadership and community service within the UST Program.
In the summer and fall following her first year in medical school, Jessica co-organized the annual UConn Migrant Farm Workers Clinic. The mobile free clinic visits farm worker barracks across the state to provide primary care and referrals to community health centers when needed. Jessica volunteers with South Park Inn Clinic, a student-run free clinic, and has sat on their board for 3 years. She was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society in 2010. Last year, Jessica spent a year as a health policy intern with the Primary Care Coalition of Connecticut while completing MPH coursework. She has also served as the student member on the Board of the Connecticut Academy of Family Physicians, FMIG Regional Coordinator, Student Delegate to the AAFP Congress of Delegates, and student representative to the Primary Care Coalition of Connecticut. Most recently, she was nominated as the Student Member of the Board of Directors of the AAFP.
Nathan Kittle, a 2011 Pisacano Scholar, is a 4th-year medical student at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, where he is also earning his master’s degree in bioethics and health policy. He graduated from Creighton University with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology. During college, he participated in and led numerous service trips to poverty-stricken areas in the United States.
After graduating from Creighton, Nathan spent a year as a full-time volunteer with Amate House, a young adult volunteer program inspired by the social mission of the Catholic Church, which is dedicated to service and committed to building a more just and loving society. With the Amate House program, Nathan worked as a case manager at the Marjorie Kovler Center for the Treatment of Survivors of Torture.
Nathan has received a number of scholarships, including an Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. In addition, Nathan was chosen for a Dean’s Development Award to complete his master’s degree at Loyola. He was also recently selected as one of only a few students to represent the Loyola School of Medicine in a leadership development program put in place to help discover ways the health system can better serve patients, improve clinical service, and enhance medical education.
As a Loyola Global Health Fellow, Nathan recently began a fellowship in Palacios, Bolivia. This 1-year fellowship is part of a 4-year longitudinal Global Health Scholars program at Loyola and will focus on health care delivery in resource-poor settings. Nathan is also a member of the Center for Service and Global Health (CSGH) Student Advisory Board. The goal of the CSGH is to bring Loyola’s many service projects and international projects under a single umbrella, allowing students to collaborate with each other and faculty to expand their outreach.
Benjamin Preyss, a 2011 Pisacano Scholar, is a 4th-year medical student at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine (UIC), where he is pursuing a joint MD/MBA degree. He graduated with honors from The University of Chicago with a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development. He was a multiple Dean’s List recipient and was awarded Distinct Honors in Human Development for the presentation of his senior thesis. Benjamin was also captain of the men’s varsity soccer team. In addition, he worked as campus manager for Teach for America during the last 2 years of college and traveled to the indigenous villages of the Oaxaca Valley in Mexico as a student leader on multiple short-term medical mission trips.
Prior to medical school, Benjamin worked as a research consultant with one of the nation’s leading research and consulting firms addressing the organization and financing of health care for vulnerable populations.
As a recipient of the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, Benjamin has worked to create and implement a health and wellness curriculum for Urban Initiatives—an extracurricular program working with over 500 elementary students in some of Chicago’s most underserved communities. He recently began serving as a principal mentor to formerly homeless adolescents and young adults as part of a mentoring pilot program with Schweitzer Fellows for Life.
Benjamin is a member of UIC’s Urban Medicine program, a unique 4-year medical school curriculum preparing physician-leaders to serve urban communities. He was recently inducted into UIC’s chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society, a national organization recognizing outstanding humanistic character and performance by medical students.
While completing his MBA curriculum, Benjamin was awarded the Grand Prize at UIC’s campus-wide business competition for leading a management team in the creation of a business plan to establish a new faith-based community health center in Chicago’s Humboldt Park community.
- © 2011 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.