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To request a PNHP speaker, please contact us at info@pnhp.org or (312) 782-6006.
Steffie Woolhandler, MD, MPH, FACP - internal medicine, Boston
Dr. Steffie Woolhandler is professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School where she is co-director of the general internal medicine fellowship program. She practices primary care internal medicine at Cambridge Hospital and teaches at Harvard. She is also site director at Cambridge Health Alliance.
Dr. Woolhandler earned her bachelor’s degree from Stanford University, Stanford, CA; a medical degree from Louisiana State University; and a master’s degree from the University of California. She worked in 1990-1991 as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation health policy fellow at the Institute of Medicine and the U.S. Congress.
She is a member of the American Public Health Association, the Society for General Internal Medicine and the American College of Physicians, and she is a fellow of the National Academy of Social Insurance. In 2009 Dr. Woolhandler was named an honorary fellow by the University of Edinburgh. Also in 2009 she received the A. Clifford Barger Excellence in Mentoring award from Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Woolhandler is a frequent speaker and has written extensively on health policy, administrative overhead and the uninsured. She has authored more than 50 research articles on health care access and financing. A co-founder and board member of Physicians for a National Health Program, Dr. Woolhandler co-edits PNHP’s newsletter and is a principal author of PNHP articles published in the JAMA and the New England Journal of Medicine in conjunction with Dr. David Himmelstein.
David U. Himmelstein, MD, FACP - internal medicine, Boston
Dr. David Himmelstein is associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. He serves as the chief of the division of social and community medicine at Cambridge Hospital where he practices primary care internal medicine.
Dr. Himmelstein received his medical degree from Columbia University and completed internal medicine training at Highland Hospital/University of California San Francisco and a fellowship in general internal medicine at Harvard.
Dr. Himmelstein serves as co-director of the Center for National Health Program Studies at Cambridge Hospital/Harvard Medical School. He is a co-founder of Physicians for a National Health Program, co-edits PNHP’s newsletter and is a principal author of PNHP articles published in the JAMA and the New England Journal of Medicine in conjunction with Dr. Steffie Woolhandler.
Quentin D. Young, MD, MACP - internal medicine, Chicago
Dr. Quentin Young retired from his internal medicine practice in Hyde Park, Chicago, in 2008 and is devoting his time to making single-payer a reality. He has served as the volunteer national coordinator of Physicians for a National Health Program for more than a decade. He is also founder and chairman of the board of Health and Medicine Policy Research Group, Chicago.
Dr. Young graduated from Northwestern Medical School and completed his residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. He was a founder in 1964 and chairman of the Medical Committee for Human Rights. During the 1970s and early 1980s he was chairman of the department of medicine at Cook County, where he helped establish the department of occupational medicine.
In addition to his distinguished career as a physician, Dr. Young has been a leader in public health policy and on medical and social justice issues. He served for many years on the health and public policy committee of the American College of Physicians. In 1997 he was inducted as a master of the American College of Physicians, and in 1998 he was elected president of the American Public Health Association.
Oliver T. Fein, MD - internal medicine, New York
Dr. Oliver Fein is professor of clinical medicine and clinical public health at Weill Cornell Medical College, where he serves as associate dean responsible for the Office of Affiliations and the Office of Global Health Education. He is a general internist and active in clinical practice.
Dr. Fein is president of Physicians for a National Health Program and chair of the New York Metro Chapter of PNHP. He is a past vice president of the American Public Health Association, where he served four years on the executive board.
Much of Dr. Fein’s work has focused on health system delivery reform and access to care for vulnerable populations. His recent writings include a chapter (with Joanne Landy) on the feasibility of fundamental health reform in the new book “10 Excellent Reasons for National Health Care”; an article on ethical issues and global health in Academic Medicine; an editorial in Medical Care; and an article on U.S. health care reform and the presidential candidates in the Journal of Health Services Research and Policy. He has also published opinion pieces in the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Dr. Fein received his medical degree from Western Reserve University in 1967 and completed his internship at Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital and his residency at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx. In 1977 he became director of general medicine outpatient services at the Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and subsequently acting-director of the division of general medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University. He was a Robert Wood Johnson health policy fellow in 1993-1994, where he worked as a legislative assistant for the Senate Democratic Majority Leader, George Mitchell.
Dr. Fein received the Elnora M. Rhodes Service award from the Society of General Internal Medicine in 1999; the Haven Emerson Award from the Public Health Association of New York City in 2001; and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowships Program in 2008.
Claudia M. Fegan, MD, CHCQM, FACP - internal medicine, Chicago
Dr. Claudia Fegan is the associate chief medical officer for the Ambulatory and Community Health Network for the Cook County Bureau of Health Services. She practices primary care internal medicine at the Woodlawn Health Center of Cook County.
A past president of Physicians for a National Health Program, she has appeared on a number of national television and radio programs on behalf of PNHP, and she has lectured extensively to both medical and community audiences on health care reform in the U.S. and Canada. She is a co-author of “Universal Healthcare: What the United States Can Learn from Canada” (1999) and a contributor to “10 Reasons for National Health Care” (2008).
The daughter of a labor union organizer and a social worker, Dr. Fegan received her undergraduate degree from Fisk University and her medical degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine. She is also certified in health care quality and management and is a diplomate of the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians.
Gordon Schiff, MD - internal medicine, Boston
Dr. Gordy Schiff is associate director of the Center for Patient Safety Research and Practice at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is a founding member and past president of Physicians for a National Health Program, and he is author of PNHP’s JAMA paper on quality health care reform.
Dr. Schiff was previously professor of medicine at Rush University and senior attending physician at Cook County Hospital where he worked for more than 30 years as director of clinical quality research and improvement for the department of medicine. During the 1990’s he was director of Cook County’s large general medical clinic. He is clinical director of the recently awarded TOP-MED (Tools for Optimizing Prescribing, Monitoring and Education) CERT (Center for Education and Research in Therapeutics) based at the UIC College of Pharmacy.
Dr. Schiff has published numerous patient safety and medication prescribing improving articles in the Annals of Internal Medicine, JAMA, the Archives of Internal Medicine, Medical Care, and the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. He is recipient of the 2005 Institute of Medicine Chicago patient safety leader of the year award, the Institute for Safe Medical Practices 2006 Lifetime Achievement award, and in 2006 was selected by Modern Healthcare as one of the top “30 people likely to shape health care in the years and decades ahead.” Dr. Schiff was guest editor the October 2008 special issue of Medical Care devoted to the topic of health insurance in the U.S.
Don McCanne, MD - family practice, San Juan Capistrano, CA
Dr. Don McCanne is a retired family physician in San Juan Capistrano, CA, and serves as senior health policy fellow for Physicians for a National Health Program. For decades, Dr. McCanne allotted half of his practice hours to indigent patients, and he was cited by the San Clement City Council as being “outspoken, especially when it involves the elderly and under-privileged, because he believes that the ability to pay should not be the major criterion for receiving healthcare.” Dr. McCanne is a tireless supporter of single-payer and has spoken and written extensively on the uninsured, health care costs, and health care policy. He authors a popular health policy “Quote of the Day.”
Henry Abrons, MD, MPH - pulmonary medicine/occupational medicine, San Francisco
Dr. Hank Abrons is a retired physician in Berkeley, CA. He was previously associate professor of medicine at West Virginia University, where his research focused on epidemiology, physiology and clinical features of occupational lung disease. His clinical practice focused on critical care, chronic lung disease and cystic fibrosis. Prior to his appointment at WVU, Dr. Abrons worked three years in the U.S. Public Health Service.
Dr. Abrons received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College, medical degree from Case Western Reserve University, and master’s degree from the University of Illinois. He is treasurer of the California chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program, the California Physicians Alliance, and a member of PNHP’s board of directors.
Garrett Adams, MD, MPH - pediatrics/infectious diseases, Louisville, KY
Dr. Garrett Adams is a pediatrician specializing in infectious disease and infectious disease epidemiology in Louisville, KY. He received his undergraduate and master’s degrees from Vanderbilt University and medical degree from Wake Forest University. He completed his residency at Vanderbilt University Hospital and the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.
He is retired from full-time faculty at the University of Louisville School of Medicine where he was chief of pediatric infectious diseases and medical director of communicable diseases at the Louisville Metro Health Department.
For forty years Dr. Adams attended the health care needs of sick children and their young families. During his career he witnessed deterioration in health care access and health care delivery in the United States. He currently serves as coordinator of the Kentucky chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program and is a member of the national organization’s board of directors.
John Bower, MD - nephrology, Jackson, MS
Dr. John Bower is professor emeritus of nephrology at the University of Mississippi, where he was previously chief of the division of nephrology.
During over 35 years of nephrology practice Dr. Bower worked for equal access to dialysis for all patients who need it. He founded Kidney Care to serve dialysis patients in the state of Mississippi and is the founder of the Bower Foundation, which is dedicated to the goals of access to healthcare, promotion of healthcare services, and support of healthcare policy and education.
Dr. Bower received his medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia and completed his residency at the University of Virginia.
Laura S. Boylan, MD - neurology, New York
Dr. Laura Boylan is clinical associate professor of neurology at New York University School of Medicine and practices at the Department of Veterans Affairs and in Pennsylvania. She completed her medical training at the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons and St. Vincent Hospital.
Olveen Carrasquillo, MD, MPH - internal medicine, Miami
Dr. Olveen Carrasquillo is associate professor of medicine and chief of the division of general internal medicine at the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami. He was previously associate professor of medicine and health policy & management at Columbia University in New York City.
Dr. Carrasquillo serves on the advisory committee on minority health and was formerly vice president and policy director of Latinos for National Health Insurance. His areas of research include minority health, health disparities health insurance, and access to care. His research has been published in a variety of journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, and American Journal of Public Health.
Dr. Carrasquillo received his undergraduate degree from the Sophie Davis School of Bio-Medical Education at City College, medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine, and his master’s degree from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Aaron E. Carroll, MD, MS - pediatrics, Indianapolis
Dr. Aaron Carroll is associate professor of pediatrics in the Children’s Health Services Research Program at the Indiana University School of Medicine and is an affiliated scientist at the Regenstrief Institute for Health Care.
Dr. Carroll’s research interests include the use of mobile technology in pediatric health care, decision analysis and cost-effectiveness analysis, and physician knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about national health insurance. He is co-author of “Don’t Swallow Your Gum: Myths, Half-truths, and Outright Lies About Your Body and Health.” His work has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, and many other national publications. He has appeared on Good Morning America, the CBS Evening News, ABC News Now, and the Colbert Report.
After graduating from Amherst College, Dr. Carroll received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1998. He completed an internship and residency in pediatrics at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar and completed a health services research degree and a certificate in public health informatics.
Elinor Christiansen, MD - family practice, Denver
Dr. Elinor Christiansen is a past president of the American Medical Women’s Association. Her diverse medical career has involved a private practice in general practice in Ohio; maternal and child health in the inner city clinics of Denver, CO; school health for Denver Public Schools; college health at Colorado Women’s College and the University of Denver Student Health Service. She was medical director at the University of Denver SHS for nine years. Dr. Christiansen was part of the clinical faculty in family medicine at University of Colorado School of Medicine and medical director and staff physician at Columbine Family Health Center.
Dr. Christiansen earned her medical degree from Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
Andrew D. Coates, MD - internal medicine, Albany, NY
Dr. Andy Coates teaches medical students and residents in the departments of medicine and psychiatry at Albany Medical College. Board certified in internal medicine as well as hospice and palliative care medicine, he provides and organizes medical care for patients with serious mental illness.
Dr. Coates graduated from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed a residency in primary care medicine and served as a traditional chief resident in medicine at the Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, NY.
A national board member of Physicians for a National Health Program and secretary of the Capital District chapter of PNHP, Dr. Coates is also a shop steward in the Public Employees Federation, AFL-CIO. Dr. Coates helped found Single Payer New York, a statewide grassroots coalition of single-payer organizations and activists.
Gerald Frankel, MD, FACS - urology, Houston
Dr. Jerry Frankel is assistant professor of urology at the University of Texas at Houston and chief of female urology at UTMB Hospital.
Dr. Frankel previously ran a private urology practice in McKinney, TX. He is a leader in the development of less-invasive surgical techniques in his field.
Dr. Frankel ran for Congress in 1996 against House Republican Dick Armey. He has published numerous articles and letters on single-payer national health care and appeared on the local affiliates of ABC, NBC, PBS, and NPR.
Dr. Frankel received his medical degree from Hahnemann Medical College. He completed an internship at Abington Hospital in Abington, PA, surgical residency at Jeannes Hospital in Philadelphia, and urology residency at the Upstate Medical Center.
Elizabeth Frost, MD - family practice, Minneapolis
Dr. Elizabeth Frost is a family practice physician working at the West Side Community Health Services, a community clinic in St. Paul, MN. After completing residency at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Frost spent almost a year volunteering with Doctors for Global Health in Chiapas, Mexico. She currently works with a heavily Latino and mostly uninsured population in St. Paul and is confronted daily with economic barriers to basic medical care. She is currently co-chair of the Minnesota chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program and a member of the national board of directors.
John P. Geyman, MD - family practice, Seattle
Dr. John Geyman is professor emeritus of family medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, where he served as chairman of the department of family medicine from 1976 to 1990. As a family physician with over 25 years in academic medicine, he has also practiced in rural communities for 13 years.
He was the founding editor of the Journal of Family Practice from 1973 to 1990 and the editor of the Journal of the American Board of Family Practice from 1990 to 2003. His most recent books include “The Corporate Transformation of Health Care: Can the Public Interest Still Be Served?”; “Falling Through the Safety Net: Americans Without Health Insurance”; “Shredding the Social Contract: The Privatization of Medicare”; “The Corrosion of Medicine: Can the Profession Reclaim its Moral Legacy?”; “Do Not Resuscitate: Why the Health Insurance Industry is Dying, And How We Must Replace It”; and “The Cancer Generation: Baby Boomers Facing a Perfect Storm.”
Dr. Geyman served as president of Physicians for a National Health Program from 2005 to 2007, and he is a member of the Institute of Medicine.
James G. Kahn, MD, MPH - preventive medicine/epidemiology/biostatistics, San Francisco
Dr. Jim Kahn is a professor at the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, the AIDS Research Institute, and the department of epidemiology and biostatistics, all at the University of California San Francisco. He is also president of the California chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program, the California Physicians Alliance.
Dr. Kahn is an expert in policy modeling in health care, cost-effectiveness analysis, and evidence-based medicine. He is the lead instructor in cost-effectiveness analysis in the medical school at UCSF. Dr. Kahn also served on a National Academies of Science/Institute of Medicine committee on the public financing and delivery of HIV care.
Dr. Kahn received his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and his master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He completed a residency in preventive medicine at UC Berkeley, an international health fellowship for the CDC and the Ministry of Health, Central African Republic, and a fellowship at the Institute for Health Policy Studies, UCSF.
Ana Malinow, MD - pediatrics, Pittsburgh
Dr. Ana Malinow was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Davis and a master’s degree in creative writing before completing her medical education at Case Western Reserve University. She completed residency in pediatrics at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland and practiced there as a pediatrician for 5 years, in an area where the patient to pediatrician ratio was 10,000:1.
Prior to moving to Pittsburgh, Dr. Malinow lived in Houston for 12 years. She was an associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and attending physician in the pediatric emergency center at the Ben Taub General Hospital, where most of her patients were uninsured. She is immediate past president of Physicians for a National Health Program and co-founder of Health Care for all Texas, a grassroots organization that promotes single-payer national health insurance. She is also co-founder of Doctors for Change, an organization of health care professionals that organize for improved access to health care in Houston and Harris counties.
David McLanahan, MD - surgery, Seattle
Dr. David McLanahan is surgeon emeritus at Pacific Medical Center and clinical associate professor emeritus at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He was previously chief of general surgery at Pacific Medical Center. In 2002, he published, with Sandra McLanahan, “Surgery and its Alternatives; How to Make the Right Choices for Your Health.”
Dr. McLanahan received his medical degree from the Temple University School of Medicine and completed his internship at the U.S. Public Health Service Hospital at Staten Island and residency at Staten Island University Hospital. He is a diplomat of the National Board of Medical Examiners and the American Board of Surgery. Dr. McLanahan also serves as coordinator of the Western Washington chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program.
Rachel Nardin, MD - neurology, Boston
Dr. Rachel Nardin is a staff neurologist at Cambridge Hospital, assistant professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, and chair of the Massachusetts chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program. She is active in educating others about single payer, gives frequent grand rounds and community talks, and appears frequently in the media.
Dr. Nardin received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and trained in neurology at the Harvard Longwood neurology training program. After finishing a fellowship in neuromuscular medicine, she worked as a neuromuscular specialist and electromyographer at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, where she developed and directed a neuromuscular fellowship program. She has practiced at Cambridge Hospital since 2009.
Mary O’Brien, MD - internal medicine/emergency medicine, New York
Dr. Mary O’Brien has practiced medicine in New York City for the past 30 years and is an attending physician and associate clinical professor of medicine at the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. She was previously associate director of the emergency department at St. Luke’s Hospital. Dr. O’Brien is also on the board of New York Metro chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program and chairs the media/communications committee. She co-edited “10 Excellent Reasons for National Health Care,” a small pocket guide to health reform published 2008. Dr. O’Brien graduated from Harvard Medical School, trained at Columbia Presbyterian in internal medicine, and is board-certified in emergency medicine and internal medicine.
Deborah Richter, MD - family practice, Montpelier, VT
Dr. Deb Richter is a family practitioner in Montpelier, VT. A former president of Physicians for a National Health Program, she is currently involved with Vermont Health Care for All and is an outspoken advocate and coalition-builder for universal access to health care.
Dr. Richter frequently appears in print and on television and radio to advocate for single-payer issues. Her years of experience caring for the uninsured and extensive knowledge of the Canadian health system make her an outstanding spokesperson, being described as “a force of nature” for her tremendous energy and organizing ability.
Ann Settgast, MD, DTM&H - internal medicine, Minneapolis
Dr. Ann Settgast graduated from Creighton University School of Medicine in 1999 and completed her residency in internal medicine at the University of Minnesota. Following a chief residency year, she obtained her diploma in tropical medicine & hygiene at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine. She then worked with Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) in a visceral leishmaniasis project in rural Ethiopia.
Since returning to Minnesota in 2006 she has worked as a general internist, providing primary care to a foreign-born population at the Center for International Health in St. Paul. She also spends two months per year doing inpatient hospitalist work at Regions Hospital. She is a member of the University of Minnesota’s global health faculty and holds a teaching position in the residency continuity clinic. Dr. Settgast is co-chair of the Minnesota chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program and a member of the national board of directors.
Diljeet K. Singh, MD, DrPH - gynecologic oncology, Chicago
Dr. Diljeet Singh is assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and a gynecologic oncologist at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center. She is co-director of Northwestern’s ovarian cancer early detection and prevention program, and she is co-president of Health Care for All Illinois.
Dr. Singh’s research interests are focused on the costs and quality of prevention and treatment of gynecologic malignancies. Her research evaluates the costs of both high technology and low technology approaches to the prevention of cervical cancer in developing and developed countries. Her work addresses the need to tailor technology and screening techniques to specific settings and populations.
Dr. Singh received her medical degree from Northwestern University and master’s degree from the Harvard School of Public Health. She completed an obstetrics and gynecology residency at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and a gynecologic oncology fellowship at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. She completed her doctoral degree in public health on cost analysis at the University of Texas School of Public Health.
Paul Y. Song, MD - radiation oncology, Los Angeles
Dr. Paul Song is a radiation oncologist practicing at St. John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, and he is an adjunct faculty member at the John Wayne Cancer Institute. He has served as an attending physician at Inova Fairfax Hospital, co-chief of the brachytherapy service at the Center for Prostate Disease Research at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and as medical director of the Little Company of Mary/University of Chicago radiation oncology department. He was named one of the top doctors in Washington, D.C., by Washingtonian Magazine and Consumer Checkbook in 2002 and 2005.
Dr. Song has established successful HDR (breast, prostate, and GYN) and prostate seed brachytherapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, and IMRT programs de novo and has published several articles on the treatment of prostate cancer and brain tumors.
Dr. Song graduated with honors from the University of Chicago and received his medical degree from George Washington University. He completed his residency in radiation oncology at the University of Chicago where he also served as chief resident and was honored as an ASTRO research fellow by the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology for his research in genetic radiotherapy. Dr. Song was also a visiting brachytherapy fellow at the Institut Gustave Roussy in Villejuif, France.
Susan P. Steigerwalt, MD, FACP - nephrology, Detroit
Dr. Susan Steigerwalt is a nephrologist and clinical hypertension specialist with St. Clair Specialty Physicians in the Detroit metro area. She is a past president of Physicians for a National Health Program. She has been named a top doc by Hour Detroit magazine. Dr. Steigerwalt received her medical degree from University of Michigan Medical School and competed her residency at Detroit General Hospital and fellowship at Wayne State University and Henry Ford Hospital.
Robert C. Stone, MD, FACEP - emergency medicine, Bloomington, IN
Dr. Rob Stone has been an emergency department physician at Bloomington Hospital since 1983, and was the medical director of the Community Health Access Program Clinic in Bloomington from 2005 to 2007 until it transformed into the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic. He continues to volunteer at the new clinic. He is assistant clinical professor of emergency medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine; director and co-founder of Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Plan; Indiana coordinator for Physicians for a National Health Program; and a member of PNHP’s national board of directors.
Dr. Stone is a past director of the Bloomington Hospital emergency department and past chief of staff of Bloomington Hospital. He was on the Bloomington Hospital board of directors from 1998 to 2004. In 2008 he was elected as the alternate trustee for the second district, Indiana State Medical Society Board of Trustees. He has served for many years on the board of Unity Physician Group.
Born and raised in Evansville, Indiana, Dr. Stone graduated from Dartmouth College Phi Beta Kappa and the University of Colorado Medical School. He is a diplomat of the American Board of Emergency Medicine.
Arthur J. Sutherland III, MD, FACC - cardiology, Memphis
Dr. Art Sutherland is a retired physician and founder of the Sutherland Cardiology Clinic. He practiced cardiology in Memphis for 33 years and was the founder and director of the Methodist Healthcare Cardiac Laboratories.
Dr. Sutherland is currently working with the Healthy Memphis Common Table as a board member and as coordinator of the obesity and diabetes prevention initiative. This initiative is aligned to reduce the obesity and diabetic epidemics and to improve the quality of care in treating diabetics. Improving health literacy and elimination of social and health disparities are also high priority agenda issues.
Dr. Sutherland is a member of the Memphis School of Servant Leadership. He is currently serving as chairman of the Tennessee chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program and is a member of the national board of directors.
Dr. Sutherland received his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University and medical degree from the University of Tennessee. He completed an internship at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital and residency at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a fellow of the American College of Cardiology.
Walter H. Tsou, MD, MPH - internal medicine/public health, Philadelphia
Dr. Walter Tsou is past president of the American Public Health Association and former health commissioner of Philadelphia. Locally he is on the boards of Philadelphia Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Philadelphia Area Committee to Defend Health Care, the Institute for Social Medicine and Community Health, and the Section on Public Health at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Dr. Tsou is also a board advisor to Physicians for a National Health Program.
Dr. Tsou is a contributing editor of Physician’s News Digest and Pennsylvania Medicine. He was named the Practitioner of the Year by the Philadelphia County Medical Society in 2001. He also received the 2001 Leadership Award of the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council. In 2004 he received the Broad Street Pump Award from Physicians for Social Responsibility.
Dr. Tsou’s received his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health. He holds an honorary doctorate in medical sciences from Drexel University.
Robert L. Zarr, MD, MPH, FAAP - pediatrics, Washington, DC
Dr. Robert Zarr is a board-certified pediatrician at Unity Health Care in Washington, DC, where he cares for a low-income and immigrant population.
Dr. Zarr is president-elect of the DC Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and he holds adjunct professorships at Children’s National Medical Center, George Washington University and Georgetown University. He also serves as board member of Physicians for a National Health Program and co-directs the PNHP DC chapter.
Dr. Zarr is fluent and literate in Spanish and has worked in the U.S. and abroad with Spanish-speaking populations. He is active in Washington, DC, in a variety of quality improvement initiatives including asthma management, injury prevention, literacy promotion, breastfeeding awareness, youth advocacy, tuberculosis prevention, and compliance with early and periodic screening, diagnostic and treatment standards.
Dr. Zarr graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He received his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine and completed his pediatric residency at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston. He also has a master’s degree in public health, specializing in international health, from the University of Texas School of Public Health.