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Speakers Bureau
Additional speakers are available throughout the United States and Canada.
To request a PNHP speaker, please contact us at info@pnhp.org or (312) 782-6006.
Steffie Woolhandler, MD, MPH, FACP - internal medicine, New York/Boston
Dr. Steffie Woolhandler is professor in the CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College and visiting professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, where she co-directed the general internal medicine fellowship program and practiced primary care internal medicine at Cambridge Hospital.
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.
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, New York/Boston
Dr. David Himmelstein is professor in the CUNY School of Public Health at Hunter College and visiting professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. He has served as chief of the division of social and community medicine at Cambridge Hospital.
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 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, is an internist retired from a decades-long practice in the Hyde Park community on Chicago's South Side. He is national coordinator of Physicians for a National Health Program. In 2009 he was appointed Health Advocate for the state of Illinois by Gov. Patrick Quinn. Dr. Young is also co-founder and chairman of Chicago-based Health and Medicine Policy Research Group.
Dr. Young graduated from Northwestern Medical School and did his residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. During the 1970s and early 1980s, he served as chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at Cook County, where he established the Department of Occupational Medicine. He has been an American Medical Association member since 1952. In 1998, he had the distinction of serving as president of the American Public Health Association and in 1997 was inducted as a Master of the American College of Physicians.
In addition to his distinguished career as a physician, Dr. Young has been a leader in public health policy and medical and social justice issues. He was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s personal physician during the latter’s stays in Chicago, and he served for many years as chairman of the Medical Committee for Human Rights. He presently blogs at The Huffington Post.
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.
Dr. Adams 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. Since retiring, he has founded the Beersheba Springs Medical Clinic, a comprehensive ambulatory clinic in the underserved community of Beersheba Springs, Tennessee.
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 is the immediate past president of Physicians for a National Health Program.
Andrew D. Coates, MD, FACP - internal medicine, Albany, N.Y.
Dr. Andy Coates is president of Physicians for a National Health Program. Dr. Coates is assistant professor of medicine and psychiatry at Albany Medical College and practices hospital medicine at a community hospital in upstate New York. In addition, Dr. Coates serves as medical director of a publicly owned county nursing home. He also sees patients on home visits and helps out at two outpatient clinics.
Board certified in internal medicine as well as hospice and palliative care medicine, Dr. Coates graduated from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Dr. Coates is chair of the Capital District chapter of PNHP and a national board member of PNHP. He previously served on the statewide executive board of the Public Employees Federation, AFL-CIO, and founded Single Payer New York, a statewide grassroots coalition of single-payer organizations and activists. He provides commentary on WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
Oliver T. Fein, MD, FACP - 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 a past 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 executive medical officer for the Cook County Health and Hospital System, having previously served as chief medical officer at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County.
A past president of Physicians for a National Health Program, Dr. Fegan 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 Excellent 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.
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 president of the California chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program and a member of PNHP’s board of directors.
Olveen Carrasquillo, MD, MPH - internal medicine, Miami
Dr. Carrasquillo is currently associate professor of medicine and chief of the division of general internal medicine at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine. For twelve years, Dr. Carrasquillo was faculty member at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he was also director of their NIH-funded P60 Center of Excellence in Health Disparities Research and also director of the primary care program, a combined research training program involving general medicine, pediatrics and family medicine.
Dr. Carrasquillo currently services on the advisory committee on minority health in the Office of Minority Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 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 is active in various organizations, including numerous current and past leadership roles in the Society of General Internal Medicine, Physicians for a National Health Program and the National Hispanic Medical Association. He is also co-founder and vice-president of Latinos for National Health Insurance. Dr. Carrasquillo is often called upon by the media to discuss his research as well as health care topics of particular relevance to the Hispanic community including being a frequent guest on Univision and Telemundo.
Sherif Emil, MD,CM, FRCSC, FACS, FAAP - pediatric surgery, Montreal
Dr. Sherif Emil is director of the division of pediatric general surgery at Montreal Children’s Hospital.
Born in Cairo, Dr. Emil grew up in several developing countries where his parents practiced as physicians. He moved to the U.S. for undergraduate studies at the University of Michigan, where he graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. Dr. Emil received his medical degree from McGill University and completed a residency in general surgery at Loma Linda University. During his residency he spent two years in laboratory research at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Following residency, he lectured at Loma Linda and completed a fellowship in pediatric surgery at McGill.
Dr. Emil returned to California to join the surgical faculty at the University of California, Irvine, where he was rapidly promoted to the rank of associate professor. He served as chief of pediatric surgery until his move to Montreal Children’s.
Dr. Emil has published more than 40 manuscripts and several book chapters on topics in pediatric surgery. He also has a passion for teaching; he was honored with five teaching awards during his seven years at UCI. His work with UCI medical students on the drive for national health insurance earned him the American Medical Student Government Leadership and Service Award in 2008. Dr. Emil also has an ongoing interest in international surgery, and he has participated in three missions to east Africa. His many accomplishments led to his selection as one of America’s Best Doctors in 2007.
Margaret Flowers, MD - pediatrics, Baltimore
Dr. Margaret Flowers is a pediatrician and currently serves as a national board adviser for Physicians for a National Health Program.
Dr. Flowers, a mother of three teens, graduated cum laude and AOA from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and completed residency training in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
She was director of the pediatric hospitalist program and chief of pediatrics at Carroll County General Hospital, a rural hospital in Maryland. While at CCGH, she oversaw the opening of a level II nursery. She has taught Pediatric Advanced Life Support for the Johns Hopkins H.O.P.E. program and served on the Fetus and Newborn Committee of the Maryland chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Subsequently, she practiced primary pediatrics in a small community practice and then at an all-girl boarding high school.
Dr. Flowers left practice in May 2007 to work on health care reform full-time. In November 2008 she joined the steering committee of the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care. Dr. Flowers is a national board member of Healthcare Now, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to popularizing the single-payer perspective.
After multiple meetings with and requests to members of Congress to include single payer in the health care debate were unsuccessful, she joined seven other physicians and advocates in an action in the Senate Finance Committee in May 2009 and was arrested. She testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in June 2009.
Elizabeth Frost, MD - family medicine, Minneapolis
Elizabeth Frost, M.D., is a family practice doctor working at the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After graduating from residency at the University of Minnesota, Elizabeth 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 Minneapolis, and is confronted daily with economic barriers to basic care. She is currently the co-chair of Physicians for a National Health Program - Minnesota and national board member of Physicians for a National Health Program.
John P. Geyman, MD - family medicine, 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. 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 “Breaking Point: How the Primary Care Crisis Endangers the Lives of Americans” and “Hijacked: the Road to Single Payer in the Aftermath of Stolen Health Crae Reform.”
Dr. Geyman is a past president of Physicians for a National Health Program and 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 past president of the California chapter of Physicians for a National Health Program.
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, MS - pediatrics, Pittsburgh
Dr. Ana Malinow is a pediatrician and associate residency program director at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC. Prior to moving to Pittsburgh, Dr. Malinow was associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and attending physician in the pediatric emergency and ambulatory center at Ben Taub General Hospital, where most of her patients were uninsured. Dr. Malinow is the recipient of numerous teaching awards, including for grand rounds presentations on health care. She was named one of Houston’s top female physicians by Health and Fitness Sports Magazine.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Dr. Malinow 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. She also holds a master’s degree in health care policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University.
Dr. Malinow is a 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 county.
Don McCanne, MD - family medicine, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
Dr. Don McCanne is a retired family physician in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., and serves as senior health policy fellow for Physicians for a National Health Program. He is also a past president of PNHP.
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.”
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 chief of neurology at Cambridge Health Alliance, assistant professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, and co-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.
Deborah Richter, MD - family medicine, 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.
Cecile Rose, MD, MPH - environmental/occupational medicine, Denver
Dr. Cecile Rose is professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Denver and director of the occupational and environmental medicine clinic at National Jewish Health. She holds a secondary appointment in the Colorado School of Public Health. She has been named among Denver’s Top Doctors by 5280 magazine and America’s Top Doctors by US News & World Report and Castle Connolly Medical Ltd. Dr. Rose is a past president of Physicians for a National Health Program.
Dr. Rose has been involved in collaborative research in noninfectious granulomatous lung diseases including sarcoidosis and hypersensitivity pneumonitis (with particular focus on hot tub, swimming pool and bioaerosol-related cases). Her other research focuses on mining-related lung diseases including silicosis and radiogenic diseases of uranium miners and millers; laboratory-animal allergen and endotoxin exposures; and flavor-related lung diseases.
Dr. Rose has a long-standing interest in occupational and environmental lung diseases. She has particular experience in hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) and in the pneumoconioses, including diagnosis, causation, management and prevention. She also is committed to the diagnosis and management of patients with sarcoidosis.
Johnathon Ross, MD, MPH internal medicine, Toledo, Ohio
Dr. Johnathon Ross is associate clinical professor of medicine at the University of Toledo and practices and teaches general internal medicine at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center. He is a past president of Physicians for a National Health Program.
A graduate of Cornell University, Dr. Ross received his medical degree from the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo his master’s degree in health policy and administration from the School of Public Health of the University of Michigan.
Dr. Ross has served as a family physician in a small rural community in upstate New York as a member of the National Health Service Corps; as medical director for several organizations; and as chairman of the department of internal medicine at St. Vincent. He has been a member of the executive committee of medical staff at St. Vincent, a board member of its PHO, and chairman of several committees of the hospital, the HMO, and the PHO focused on quality improvement. He has served as a member of the Ohio State Medical Board and helped establish the educational requirements and scope of practice for licensed physician assistants in Ohio.
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. He was previously professor of medicine at Rush University and a 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.
Dr. Schiff is currently the clinical and research director of a 3-year AHRQ-funded Massachusetts statewide malpractice and patient safety improvement initiative. He is a member of the editorial boards of Medical Care and the Journal of Public Health Policy, and author of numerous articles on patient safety, diagnosis error, and medication quality improvement. He is past chair of the medical care section of the American Public Health Association (APHA), recipient of the 2005 Institute of Medicine Chicago (IOMC) Patient Safety Leader of the Year award, and the Institute for Safe Medical Practices (ISMP) 2006 Lifetime Achievement award. In 2006 he was selected by Modern Healthcare as one of the “30 People for the Future”—national leaders most “likely to continue to shape health care in the years and decades ahead,” and the 2010 Rx for Excellence in Quality Award from the Massachusetts Medical Law Report.
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, Phoenix, Az.
Dr. Diljeet Singh is the program director of gynecologic oncology and the program director of Cancer Prevention and Integrative Medicine at the Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Gilbert, Arizona. She recently relocated from Chicago and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. Dr. Singh held an academic appointment as associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and was the co-director of the Northwestern Ovarian Cancer Early Detection and Prevention Program. She is a national board member of Physicians for a National Health Program.
Dr. Singh’s research interests are focused on the costs and quality of prevention and treatment of gynecologic malignancies. 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 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 and an associate fellowship in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona.
Paul Y. Song, MD - radiation oncology, Los Angeles
Paul Y. Song, M.D., is a board-certified radiation oncologist and a board member of Physicians for a National Health Program California. He is on the faculty at the Samuel Oschin Cancer Center at Cedars Sinai Medical Center and an adjunct faculty member at the John Wayne Cancer Institute. He is also the chief medical officer at Berg Pharma.
Dr. Song was recently named the first visiting fellow in the Office of the Insurance Commissioner in the California Department of Insurance, working on health care policy.
Dr. Song attended the University of Chicago where he graduated with honors. He received his medical degree from George Washington University, and completed his residency in radiation oncology at University of Chicago Medical Center.
Dr. Song is also an executive board member of The Courage Campaign, People for the American Way, and Liberty in North Korea, and served as co-chair of the Asian-American Finance Committee for California Attorney General Kamala Harris. He was a frequent contributor to Larry King Live during the health care reform debate and is a regular contributor to Extra TV for cancer related topics. He resides in Santa Monica, Calif.
Susan P. Steigerwalt, MD, FACP - nephrology, Detroit
Dr. Susan Steigerwalt is a nephrologist and clinical hypertension specialist with St. Clair Specialty Physicians in Detroit, where she is director of research and the hypertension clinic. She is also a clinical associate professor at Wayne State University.
Dr. Steigerwalt received her medical degree from University of Michigan Medical School and completed her residency at Detroit General Hospital, where she served as chief resident. She held fellowships at Wayne State University and Henry Ford Hospital.
A past president of Physicians for a National Health Program, Dr. Steigerwalt has been active in the single-payer movement in Michigan and nationally since 1992. She is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American Society of Hypertension, and she has been named a “Best Doctor” by Hour Detroit magazine.
Robert C. Stone, MD, FACEP - emergency medicine, Bloomington, Ind.
Dr. Rob Stone is the director and founder of Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Plan (hchp.info) and the state coordinator in Indiana for Physicians for a National Health Program. Since 2009 he has been a member of PNHP's board of directors. Dr. Stone practiced emergency medicine at Indiana University Health Bloomington Hospital from 1983 to 2011. He currently serves as the medical director of palliative care at the hospital. Dr. Stone has been a national leader in the movement to divest from for-profit health insurance and is the national coordinator for the Divestment Campaign for Healthcare (HealthCareNotWealthCare.US). He lectures to medical and lay audiences on health care reform throughout Indiana and beyond, and has received several statewide and national awards for his advocacy work. During the heat of the health care debate in June 2009, he presented to the Blue Dog Democratic Caucus in Washington.
Born and raised in Evansville, Ind., he graduated from Dartmouth College Phi Beta Kappa, and obtained his medical degree from the University of Colorado Medical School.
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 a past president of the American Public Health Association and former health commissioner of Philadelphia. He is a founding member of the National Board of Public Health Examiners and a board adviser to Physicians for a National Health Program. An expert on health reform and health care financing, he frequently briefs members of Congress on health care issues.
Dr. Tsou is a contributing editor of Physician’s News Digest and Pennsylvania Medicine. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Public Health Recognition Award from the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, the Leadership Award from the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council, and the Broad Street Pump Award from Physicians for Social Responsibility. He was named Practitioner of the Year by the Philadelphia County Medical Society in 2001.
Dr. Tsou 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, D.C.
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 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.