Venkatesh R. Bellamkonda, MD

Secretary-Treasurer

Mayo Clinic

I am an emergency physician with passions for ultrasound, quality, and education - currently serving as chair of education for Mayo Clinic emergency medicine. Although my career never started with this in mind, over the years, I have developed a passion for healthcare justice after witnessing biases and injustices for our patients and our staff alike. As a result, in the past several years, I have been mentor author for projects investigating biases in our care of women, patients of differing body size, language and more. In addition, I have been part of providing education that pays special attention to accessibility by people of differing abilities and needs. I have advocated for more inclusive interview and selection processes at different levels, as well as work on community outreach to mentor and uplift people with fewer advantages in the process.

I believe the next step for me to be helpful is to stand alongside others outside of my institution and direct community who share this view. Together I believe I can help make changes that benefit a larger portion of the nation and the specialty.

Ryan Ellis Tsuchida, MD

Secretary-Treasurer

University of Wisconsin

My name is Dr. Ryan Tsuchida (he/him), I am excited to run for the position of Secretary-Treasurer for ADIEM, and I would be honored to receive your support. I am an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I am committed to advancing academic emergency medicine and ensuring its future is more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. These core values are reflected in the work of ADIEM and, as Secretary-Treasurer, I will work collaboratively with members of the executive committee to advance our organization’s mission. This work is not new to me as I bring substantial experience having previously served as the inaugural Chair of SAEM’s Equity and Inclusion – Data and Metrics Subcommittee (2020 – 22). I am currently serving a two-year term as ADIEM’s membership committee chair (2022 – present). These experiences have allowed me to inform the Board on developing best practices for measuring and tracking the operational initiatives that promote a diverse workforce and ensure relevant content is included in SAEM Pulse submissions and during the Annual Conference.

Important to committee work, is the opportunities and service we provide to our general membership. Working collaboratively with SAEM leaders, I have routinely collaborated on workshops (such as “Beyond Diversity Recruitment: Next Steps to Ensure That Diverse Emergency Medicine Residents Thrive”), presented didactics (such as “Beyond Implicit Bias Training: How to Drive Sustainable Change”), presented abstracts (such as “Identifying the Prevalence of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leaders in Emergency Medicine”), and contributed to other collaborative SAEM DEI initiatives (such as “The Diversity Snowball Effect – Understanding What, Why, and How”). Additionally, I am dedicated to providing mentorship and promoting pathways to ensure that ADIEM continues to strengthen its impact.

I understand the relevant problems, practical solutions, and common barriers to DEI work. I Chair my department’s equity, diversity, and inclusion committee and serve as the interim Assistant Dean of Multicultural Affairs for Health Professions Learners at the University of Wisconsin, School of Medicine and Public Health. I will use these experiences, in collaboration with my network of DEI leaders in academic medicine, to advocate for impactful and authentic change.

ADIEM is a growing community and one of SAEM’s largest academies. We must use this broad interest and diverse talent pool to increase our influence as an organization and leverage cross-sectional interests with other academies including those of research, clinical operations, and education. I am grounded by the tenets of cultural humility which promote life-long learning, mitigating power imbalances, and promoting institutional accountability. With your support, as your Secretary-Treasurer, I will leverage my skills in organizational management and team building to support the mission of ADIEM.

Eliot Blum, MD

Member-at-Large

Emory University

It is with great honor and respect that I apply for this position. I have been a member of ADIEM for years and have served as the co-chair of the LGBTQ+ committee over the past three years. As my tenure in this roll comes to an end, it is almost impossible to visualize my future without playing an active roll in this integral part of SAEM. ADIEM aligns with everything that I believe in to my core, and I have been able to help create meaningful change being a part of the executive committee. I want that to continue, as I am just getting started. The LGTBTQ+ mentorship program is starting to gain traction and I believe its ability to change lives is going to be great. This is just one simple conversation, an idea, that came from the executive committee and SAEM board and has blossomed into a vehicle to make this world a better place. I need to continue to surround myself with the leaders in this field so I can continue to follow their example. Dr. Gipson is the president-elect for ADIEM, and I cannot wait for the future of this organization, especially, by looking and the successes over the past few years.

Moises Gallegos, MD, MPH

Member-at-Large

Stanford Department of Emergency Medicine

I grew up in California enjoying the richness of a Mexican-American family and recognizing early that education was "my thing." I had my first experience leaving SoCal when I obtained my Bachelor's degree at Harvard, and while I actually did enjoy the fall and winters unlike other people, found my way back to NorCal where I attended Stanford for medical school. I did return to Harvard for my MPH and finished my MD training with a focus on health and human behaviors, the role of health education, and an interest in medical education. I left CA for the third time and dove into a wonderful residency experience at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, serving a patient population at Ben Taub that I will remember always. Now back at Stanford Medicine, I am the clerkship director for our required EM rotation and engage as much as possible in residency recruitment and education. I have served previously on the ADIEM board as the membership member and development officer. I hope to stay in the important ongoing discussions and continue to be part of a wonderful group.

Tiffany Mitchell, MD

Member-at-Large

Mount Sinai School of Medicine

As a member of ADIEM for several years I've long appreciated the space this Academy provides for physicians committed to supporting the most marginalized members of our communities. In my role as Chair of Social Media and Publications, its been my goal to increase the visibility of emergency physicians from diverse backgrounds while fostering academic collaboration. I hope to continue to work towards these aims in my role as Member-at-Large. I'm continually inspired by the work of my colleagues within ADIEM and I look forward to expanding my role within the Executive Board this year.

Jason M. Rotoli, MD

Member-at-Large

University of Rochester

I believe in the inclusive mission of ADIEM and want to serve as more than a committee chair and general member. In the treasurer/secretary position, I am immersed in the conversations, strategic planning, and decision-making that guides the future development of this amazing organization. I truly enjoy the collaborative creation that occurs during our monthly meetings. Additionally, I was the Treasurer/Secretary for the 2022-23 year and fulfilled my duties to th best of my abilities with honor and integrity. I would like to leverage this experience to further contribute to the group by serving in this position again.

Timothy Jang, MD

Development Officer

Harbor-UCLA Medical Center

I've been an advocate for diversity for a long time, raising awareness of implicit bias and trying to promote programs for culturally-informed interactions with the community. I've interacted with Buddhist chaplains working in Catholic hospitals and Christian chaplains working in Asian neighborhoods. I also reported ethnically-biased screening practices, dealt with retaliation, and navigated a 10 year journey of hospital investigations, university inquiries, multiple meetings, and a series of deflections, gaslighting, and stonewalling that culminated in litigation and a lawsuit. I've learned a lot about the unique challenges that face academic physicians who are dually employed by hospitals and universities and I'd be honored to have the opportunity to serve the academy to advance the cause of a robust, healthy diversity in our specialty.

Melanie F. Molina, MD, MAS

Development Officer

University of California, San Francisco

Melanie F. Molina, MD, MAS is an Assistant Professor and Associate Director of Social Emergency Medicine & Health Equity at UCSF. Dr. Molina received her Master’s in Advanced Studies with a focus on clinical research from UCSF, holds an MD from Harvard and, after training in emergency medicine at Mass General Brigham, completed a research and advocacy fellowship (National Clinician Scholars Program) at UCSF. She is board certified in emergency medicine.

As a queer, Latina, woman in medicine with personal experience overcoming adversity, Dr. Molina is deeply invested in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). She has served on multiple committees at the institutional, state, and national level, lending a voice to the needs and concerns of URM and LGBTQIA+ individuals. These have included Harvard Medical School’s LGBTQ Dean’s Advisory Committee, the Brigham and Women’s ED Health Equity Committee, the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Equity Council, the Massachusetts Medical Society’s Minority Affairs Section, and the ADIEM Executive Committee (Member-At-Large, 2021-2023). Much of Dr. Molina’s research and educational activities have focused on improving care for vulnerable populations, reducing racial bias, and mitigating microaggressions in the workplace. She has led and published research on health care disparities, improving medication access for vulnerable populations, incorporating social needs into emergency care, and microaggressions. Dr. Molina has given multiple grand rounds presentations nationally and internationally on racism, implicit bias, and microaggressions. She’s also designed and implemented health equity residency curricula aimed at reducing race- and gender-based inequities in both physician and patient experiences.

As ADIEM’s Development Officer, Dr. Molina hopes to 1) strengthen the national network of residents, fellows, and faculty working on DEI initiatives, 2) build and foster community and collaboration among ADIEM members, and 3) establish an ADIEM mentorship program.

Dustin B. Williams, MD, FACEP

Development Officer

UT-Southwestern

I received my undergraduate degree in biomedical science from Texas A&M University. I then obtained my medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center-San Antonio before continuing to complete my emergency medicine residency at Indiana University. I joined the faculty at UT-Southwestern Medical Center in 2011, where I currently serve as residency program director for our EM training program. My clinical site is Parkland Memorial Hospital, the only county hospital for the entirety of Dallas County as well as one of the largest and busiest county hospitals in the country.

During my time at UT-Southwestern, I have served in various leadership roles including Assistant Program Director and more recently Program director, chair and co-chair of departmental and interdisciplinary committees. I have also had long-standing membership and involvement in SAEM, having served on multiple committees including: SAEM Education Committee 2013-14, SAEM Faculty Development Committee 2014-present, SAEM Membership committee 2021-present. I currently serve as Vice-chair of SAEM Membership committee and have also previously served as chair of our ADIEM LGBTQIA+ Subcommittee 2021-2023.

I strongly value the outstanding mentorship and leadership development that I have gained through my involvement in SAEM and ADIEM over the past 9 years. I wish to continue my service to this organization by appointment as Development officer to the ADIEM Board. I look forward to representing our members to positively impact our organization through continued advocacy for diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives as we work to celebrate the diversity that we all bring to the table. I intend to serve as a dedicated member of the team, to be present and engaged, working to seek out diverse opportunities for collaboration, and brainstorming innovative strategies for lasting change in our Academy, while also working towards decreasing health care disparities in our communities.

I am immensely proud to be a member of ADIEM and to see the incredible growth and development of our Academy over the past several years. This is a testament to the passion and dedication of our members and leadership. As a board member I will work to amplify efforts and outreach to recruit diverse membership, enhance and build on the current mission of ADIEM to expand advocacy for all historically underrepresented groups in medicine, as well as promote and support initiatives that address social determinants of health and work towards eliminating healthcare disparities.

I live with my husband, Tionne, and our German short-haired pointer, Addie, in Dallas Texas. I enjoy gardening, grilling, cooking new recipes, and spending time with my friends and family. My professional passions include medical education, DEI, LGBTQIA+ advocacy and emergent ophthalmological complaints. In my free time you can catch me: watching an unhealthy amount of reality tv, obsessively grooming my yard, and always working to create a welcoming space that creates belonging.