Speaker Bios

Erin P. Fraher, PhD, MPP is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Fraher directs the Carolina Health Workforce Research Center at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research. The Center's mission is to provide the evidence needed to redesign health workforce training, deployment, and regulation in a rapidly changing health care system.  Her research focuses on interprofessional teams in emerging models of care, developing new methodologies to project how many health workers will be needed under different possible “futures,” and using life course theory to better understand health professionals’ career trajectories. Dr. Fraher is the immediate past Chair of the Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME) which is charged with advising the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Congress on workforce trends, training issues and financing. She is the Deputy Director for Policy at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research where she is frequently called upon by legislators, government officials, educators, employers, and regulators to conduct and interpret analyses on a wide variety of emerging health workforce topics. She has a BA in Economics/Spanish from Wellesley College, a Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the University of California at Berkeley and a PhD in Health Policy and Management from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Laney McDougal, MS-HSM joined the ACGME in April 2020 as the Director of Medically Underserved Areas/Populations and Graduate Medical Education, in the Department of Sponsoring Institutions and Clinical Learning Environments and the Department of Accreditation, Recognition, and Field Activities. She leads the ACGME’s efforts to advance graduate medical education (GME) that addresses health and healthcare in medically underserved areas and populations and oversees the programmatic unit of the ACGME that coordinates these efforts. Ms. McDougal received her MS degree in Health Systems Management from Rush University, and her BA in Intercultural Studies from University of Northwestern-St. Paul. In her prior role as Director of Accreditation and Improvement in the Office of Integrated Medical Education at Rush University Medical Center, she implemented oversight structures to monitor compliance with ACGME requirements and served as an Institutional Coordinator and accreditation resource. Ms. McDougal has nine years of experience in GME administration and has worked in both dermatology and internal medicine residency programs and led several GME process improvement initiatives.

Ted Epperly, MD is the President and CEO of the Full Circle Health (Formally Family Medicine Residency of Idaho), a large Federally Qualified Teaching Health Center comprised of nine FQHC clinics, four ACGME family medicine residency programs, and five fellowships. He received an undergraduate degree in Biology and Anthropology from Utah State University in 1976. He Graduated from the University of Washington School of Medicine in 1980.  Dr. Epperly completed his residency in Family Medicine at Madigan Army Medical Center, Fort Lewis, Washington in 1983. He completed a faculty development fellowship at the University of North Carolina in 1986 and achieved an additional CAQ in Geriatrics.  Dr. Epperly retired July 2001 as Colonel after serving 21 years in the United States Army.  Dr. Epperly served as the past President and Board Chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).  He is a past member of the ACGME Board of Directors that has responsibility of all residency and fellowship training for over 125,000 residents and fellows of all specialties in the United States and currently is the vice-chair of the ACGME Policy Committee.  He currently serves as the Co-Chairman of the Board for the Healthcare Transformation Council of Idaho that is in charge of helping transform healthcare for the State of Idaho.  Dr. Epperly is the Graduate Medical Education Coordinator for the State of Idaho and the author of the State of Idaho’s Ten Year GME Plan to build a vibrant and robust GME system for Idaho. Dr. Epperly is a member of multiple other Boards of Directors and the President of several non-profit organizations.  He has published over 50 articles and book chapters and he is a staunch supporter of Family Medicine education, research, and both rural and underserved health care. His award-winning book Fractured: America’s Broken Health Care System and What Must Be Done to Heal It provides excellent insight to the U.S healthcare system and can be found on Amazon.com.  He and his wife Lindy celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary in September 2021 and have two sons. Outside of medicine, his interests include golf, skiing, fly-fishing, reading and sports memorabilia.

Darin Bell, MD, is the Associate Director for the RTT Collaborative, a non-profit cooperative of rural residency programs and medical schools, dedicated to the advancement of rural healthcare education and training.  In that role he helps manage routine operations and specifically oversees student recruiting activities for rural residencies, training programs for rural residency leadership, and consulting services for developing programs. He is also the Rural Director for the Family Medicine Residency of Western Montana, a role he has held for the last six years, developing and coordinating diverse rural training options for residents in both Missoula and Kalispell.  In this role, he is the PI on multiple grants to enhance and develop rural training for residents, and coordinates a rural education network of 16 rural CAHs and clinics. He has been faculty at FMRWM for nine years, starting with the first class of new interns.  He received his medical degree from UT Southwestern Medical School, and did residency training in Alaska, after which he spent several years working in rural and remote settings both on and off the road system.

William McDade, MD, PhD is the Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and adjunct professor of Anesthesiology at Rush Medical College.  Prior to that, he was EVP/Chief Academic Officer for the Ochsner Health System; Professor of Anesthesia and Critical Care at the University of Chicago, Associate Dean for Multicultural Affairs for the Pritzker School of Medicine; and Deputy Provost for Research and Minority Issues for the University of Chicago.  He is founder of the James E. Bowman Society at the University of Chicago whose focus is on achieving diversity in academic excellence and the elimination of health inequities.  Dr. McDade served as trustee of the American Medical Association, on the Executive Committee of the Board of the Joint Commission and has been a past-president and board chair of local and state medical societies in Illinois.  He served as chair of the National Medical Association’s Anesthesiology Section and the AMA’s Council on Medical Education.  He served on the US Department of Education’s National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation, been a representative to the Coalition for Physician Accountability, a board member for the National Board of Medical Examiners and for the ACGME, where he chaired the Taskforce on Diversity in Graduate Medical Education.  Dr. McDade is a board-certified Anesthesiologist and graduate of Pritzker’s Medical Scientist Training program earning a PhD in Biophysics and Theoretical Biology.  He completed his internship in internal medicine at UChicago and residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital. 

Dr. Virginia Mohl is Designated Institutional Official (DIO) and Medical Director at Billings Clinic in Billings, Montana, with primary accountability for Medical Education including Graduate Medical Education, Undergraduate Medical Education and Continuing Medical Education and continues to practice outpatient Family Medicine.  Dr. Mohl is serving as Co-Chair for the Alliance of Independent Academic Medical Centers National Initiative VIII, a nationwide resident led quality improvement effort focused on Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (JEDI).  Dr. Mohl severs on numerous leadership committees within the Billings Clinic and is one of Billings Clinic’s members on the Board of Directors for Montana Family Medicine Residency. Dr. Mohl served as Chief of Regional Medicine for seven years; accountable for six rural clinics in Montana and Wyoming, helping two integrate with their local Critical Access Hospitals. She received her PhD in Genetics and Cell Biology from Washington State University before attending Medical School at Baylor College of Medicine. Prior to stepping into her role as Division Chief, Dr. Mohl practiced for 10 years in Red Lodge, Montana, providing maternity care, inpatient and emergency coverage in addition to her outpatient clinical practice. A Fellow of the American College of Family Medicine, Dr. Mohl also taught at the Family Practice Residency in Casper Wyoming where she also completed her Residency.

Dr. Sarah Gerrish is a health curator who tries to recognize that health identities are non-binary, intersectional and take time to cultivate. She joined the faculty at Full Circle Family Medicine Residency of Idaho as the Kuna Clinic Medical Director, where she graduated in 2012, to address health disparities in meaningful and progressive ways. In this teaching environment, her joy is developing a longitudinal anti-racism health equity curriculum, creating clear pathways for those underrepresented in medicine and helping to create safe and brave spaces for difficult conversations. Another joy is mentoring early career physicians, especially those with minoritized identities, and cultivating the women in medicine interest group for FMRI-Boise. As a co-facilitator for the Idaho Health Equity Collective and member of the IAFP Equity Taskforce, she believes advocating for justice, inclusion, equity and cultural humility in all settings is a priority. As a Boise native, she Ioves everything about the outdoors especially trail running, climbing and skiing. Being a physician mom to two sports forward hilarious boys, she understands the importance of mentorship and changing gender bias within healthcare. As a partner to an innovative clinical health psychologist, she understands the importance of wellness, empowering others, and making room for joy.

Joseph Nelson, MD (he/him) is a board-certified Family Medicine physician and an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation. He completed his undergraduate studies at Central Washington University and his medical degree at the University of Washington School of Medicine via the WWAMI Spokane campus. He serves as the Academic Chief of the UW Family Medicine Residency (UWFMR) program and is a Health Equity and Anti-Racism (HEAR) committee lead. He has held previous positions as the president of the Network of Underrepresented Residents and Fellows, a member of the Washington Academy of Family Physicians Anti-Racism taskforce, and a graduate of the Harborview Underserved track with UWFMR.

Dr. Suzanne Allen was appointed to the position of Vice Dean for Academic, Rural and Regional Affairs for the University of Washington School of Medicine in February 2015.  Prior to that, Dr. Allen was the Vice Dean for Regional Affairs for the University of Washington School of Medicine for five year and Idaho WWAMI Assistant Clinical Dean for four years. As the Vice Dean for Academic, Rural and Regional Affairs, Dr. Allen is responsible for the WWAMI program across the five states of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho.

Dr. Allen is originally from Bremerton, Washington and attended the University of Washington receiving her B.S. in Biology.  She then attended George Washington University where she received her M.D. and M.P.H. degrees.  Following her family medicine residency training at Malcolm Grow Medical Center, Andrews Air Force Base and four years of active duty practicing as a family physician at Ellsworth Air Force Base and Andrews Air Force Base, Dr. Allen joined the physician faculty at the Family Medicine Residency of Idaho in Boise, Idaho in 1999.  Before joining the Idaho WWAMI office, she was the Assistant Director and Medical Student Clerkship Coordinator at the Family Medicine Residency of Idaho.  Dr. Allen holds a Clinical Professor faculty position within the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine and continues to see her patients at the Family Medicine Residency of Idaho. Dr. Allen is committed to medical education and rural and underserved healthcare in the Northwest and enjoys working across the WWAMI region to help train the next generation of physicians.

Nancy Stevens MD MPH, Professor Emeritus, Family Medicine UW, former director WWAMI Family Medicine Residency Network and director of Network Faculty Development Fellowship for the last 30 years.   Nancy was born and raised in Pullman, WA, graduated from UWSOM in 1979 and then residency at Michigan State.  She joined UW  family medicine faculty in 1982 and has been  part of the development of  the family medicine network almost from its inception.  

Molly Ormsby, MA, has worked at the University of Washington for over 15 years and is currently the Regional Communications Manager with the WWAMI-Region Family Medicine Residency Network in Seattle, WA. In her position she works with the various groups at the residency programs to facilitate communication among peers, share best practices and plan meetings and webinars. She also assists developing residency programs in the region with accreditation support and funding opportunities and works to help them integrate and collaborate with established programs. 

Dr. John Andrews received his M.D. degree in 1987 from the University of Wisconsin. He completed a residency and chief residency in pediatrics at University of Wisconsin Hospital & Clinics before moving to Baltimore for his fellowship in Academic General Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins. Following his fellowship, he remained on the faculty at Johns Hopkins where he served as Director of Medical Student Education in Pediatrics. In 2000, Dr. Andrews moved to Auckland, New Zealand. There he worked as a consultant general paediatrician at Starship Children’s Hospital. He was also a member of Te Puaruruhau, the Auckland District Health Board service for children and young people who have experienced abuse or neglect. In 2004, he returned to the United States to direct graduate medical education at Children’s Hospitals & Clinics of Minnesota. From 2006-2012, he served as Pediatric Residency Program Director at the University of Minnesota, and from 2012-2018, he was Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education there. In July 2018 Dr. Andrews joined the American Medical Association as its Vice President for Graduate Medical Education Innovations.