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2024 Laura Lynch ELAM/ELH Community Impact Award

Susan Pollart, MD, 2024 Laura Lynch ELAM/ELH Community Impact Award Recipient

The Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM®) and Executive Leadership in Health Care (ELH) programs are pleased to announce Susan M. Pollart, MD, ELAM ’17, will receive the second annual Laura Lynch ELAM/ELH Community Impact Award. The award will be presented during the Leaders Forum at the 2024 ELAM/ELH Spring Session in Philadelphia.

Dr. Pollart is the Ruth E. Murdaugh Professor of Family Medicine, and she leads the Offices of Faculty Affairs and Faculty Development in the University of Virginia School of Medicine as senior associate dean. In 2018 she joined the faculty of ELAM and ELH and has served as a Learning Community advisor. She is being honored with the 2024 Laura Lynch ELAM/ELH Community Impact Award for her inspirational dedication to the ELAM/ELH programs, her advocacy of the mission and her work to increase ELAM/ELH’s visibility and impact.

The Laura Lynch ELAM/ELH Community Impact Award recognizes an individual or individuals who have made a significant and positive impact on the ELAM/ELH community. Recipients demonstrate professionalism, commitment and unwavering dedication to fellows, ELUMs, faculty, staff and/or other community members, inspiring others to use their talents and energy to advance the ELAM/ELH program and make a difference in achieving gender equity in academic medicine and/or hospital systems.

About Laura Lynch: Laura Lynch, who had served as ELAM's program director since 2006, passed away in February 2023. Laura shepherded hundreds of fellows through the program and stayed in close contact with them as they became ELUMs. She was the historian of the program and provided incredible insight. She led with humor and brought laughter and joy to ELAM’s national office. Her passing is a tremendous loss to the program and to our community. This award was created in her honor and in recognition of her commitment to the ELAM community.

Yolangel Hernandez Suarez, MD
Yolangel Hernandez Suarez, MD

"I am committed to giving back to ELAM, because I believe ELAM represents the best of midlife learning: relevant, provided in a safe haven, grounded in modern concepts of adult learning and – most importantly – committed to connecting you to a lifelong circle of supportive peers."
Yolangel Hernandez Suarez, MD - Read Yolangel's Story

"The ELAM network is a fantastic resource for all professional and leadership dilemmas. Some examples are job search, hiring processes, preparation for an interview, negotiations for new positions, trouble shooting of existing institutional conflicts, and strategic planning. Most importantly, there is the invaluable human resource of our learning communities where no problem goes unresolved."
Gyongyi Szabo, MD, PhD

"The ELAM/ELUM community has become a major force in my life. One of the greatest gifts of the program is this network of phenomenal, accessible, and engaged women! The Pleiades (my Learning Community) are a source of wisdom, advice, and friendship. Similarly, the ELUMs at the University of Utah are a tight knit group."
Harriet Hopf, MD

About ELAM

The Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine® (ELAM®) program is a year-long part-time fellowship for women faculty in schools of medicine, dentistry, public health and pharmacy. The program is dedicated to developing the professional and personal skills required to lead and manage in today's complex health care environment, with special attention to the unique challenges facing women in leadership positions. More than 1,300 ELAM alumnae hold leadership positions in institutions around the world.

Learn More About ELAM

 

ELAM News

Read the ELAM program's 2023 annual report.


Nancy Spector, MD, was quoted in a March 6 Philadelphia Inquirer article about how more than 1,300 women have trained in the ELAM program for leadership roles in academic medicine.


Women Last in Medical Deanship Positions Just as Men Do - Why Do So Few Get an Offer? (Drexel News Blog)


Nancy Spector, MD, coauthored "Centering Women of Color to Promote Excellence in Academic Medicine" with colleagues from UC San Francisco and UC Davis. The article was published in the New England Journal of Medicine (January 2024).


ELAM Blog Post: Juneteenth 2023 We are truly living in interesting times. People are seeking more connection with family and friends after two years of isolating by choice. We may have leveraged some virtual technology as well to connect with family and friends. I desire to live in a community with the ability to celebrate and share sorrow in community. Read more. (June 2023).

 

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ELAM is a core program of the Institute for Women's Health and Leadership at Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pa. The Institute continues the legacy of advancing women in medicine that began in 1850 with the founding of the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania, the nation's first women's medical school and a predecessor of today's Drexel University College of Medicine.