2026 APA Election has closed.
President-Elect
For over three decades, I have witnessed the extraordinary power of the APA to shape careers and transform child health. I am deeply grateful for the mentors, colleagues, and leaders who have paved the way; and humbled by the opportunity to build upon this legacy. As President, I will focus on three urgent priorities: strengthening and retaining our workforce, accelerating research and innovation to improve child health, and expanding access to high-quality health care through systems-level solutions that reduce disparities. I will promote a culture that attracts and supports diverse faculty and trainees, fosters inclusion and belonging, and advances mentorship, scholarship, and advocacy tailored to today’s societal needs. I bring a broad perspective shaped by leadership roles across major institutions and at every level -- local, regional, and national. I have built consensus across research, clinical care, education, and advocacy, advancing initiatives that foster collaboration and demonstrate measurable impact. Through diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, I amplified underrepresented voices and carved pathways for leadership. These experiences have given me a strong sense of gratitude and humility essential to strong leadership. With formal training and leadership experience in research, research ethics, public health, and advocacy, I bring a well-rounded perspective and an ability to envision the future of academic pediatrics through a clear lens. I will lead a strategic effort to increase creativity and innovation for the seven core values among the five APA pillars. My career in academics has taught me that aspirations result in achievements, coordinated strategy enhances productivity, and diverse perspectives lead to innovation. Since 1995, I have been committed to the APA, serving as Newborn Nursery SIG Co-Chair; member of the BORN network since its inception and member of their research and steering committees; and now as a member of the APA Governance and Leadership Taskforce. As immediate past Chair of the Research Committee, I championed early and mid-career investigators and oversaw funding pathways that provided opportunities for pediatric scholarship. I served on the editorial board of Academic Pediatrics and as Co-Chair of the Task Force on Childhood Poverty Physician-Patient Working Group. My journey, from growing up as the youngest of five children in an immigrant family to serving diverse families in Philadelphia for 25 years to leading medical education in Seattle has shaped my commitment to challenge the status quo, fight for what is right, and strive for excellence. These values guide me every day and will guide me as APA President. I will remain steadfast in listening to others, recognizing and responding to the needs of our community, balancing courage with humility and acknowledging and celebrating member contributions. I will lead with integrity, transparency, and accountability while listening deeply, acting boldly, and ensuring that every member feels valued. Together, we will shape a future where academic pediatrics thrives and is driven by innovation, equity, and the collective strength of our resilient community.
Esther K. Chung, MD, MPH
Professor of Pediatrics and Director of Advanced Patient Care Clerkships
University of Washington School of Medicine
My name is Rachel Thornton. I am a general pediatrician with a career spanning research, teaching, clinical practice, and executive leadership. Currently, I serve as Vice President and Chief Health Opportunities and Outcomes Officer at Nemours Children’s Health, leading efforts in clinical outcomes analytics and initiatives to improve health for children, families, and communities. My academic journey includes roles at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health, where I continue to mentor future pediatricians.
The Academic Pediatric Association (APA) has been my professional home throughout my career, offering opportunities for engagement, learning, and leadership. My APA journey began in 2005 as a member of the inaugural New Century Scholars (NCS) class. In 2016, I returned as NCS Co-Director, collaborating to strengthen leadership succession, invigorate recruitment, and expand diversity among applicants and mentors. We also broadened partnerships with the American Board of Pediatrics and the Academic Pediatric Society, extending the reach of NCS nationwide.
After my tenure as NCS Co-Director, I was elected Chair of the Membership, Diversity, and Inclusion (MDI) Committee. In this role, I focused on growing committee membership and empowering members to advance APA’s mission and values through shared insights and public statements.
My leadership values are authenticity and integrity. I approach challenges with realism and optimism, prioritizing the people who drive innovation and results. Over time, my leadership style has evolved to emphasize listening, relationship-building, and finding joy in daily work. I strive to lead with curiosity, collaboration, and openness, admitting mistakes and maintaining a growth mindset.
If elected APA President-Elect, my top priority will be partnering with the Executive Director and Board to advance APA’s mission and vision. I see this role as an opportunity to build on current successes and catalyze impactful, mission-aligned change. I am committed to exploring APA’s potential as a catalyst for new partnerships that foster innovation and expand professional pathways in academic pediatrics. I will seek opportunities for values-aligned ventures that amplify access to APA expertise and support our community. I am excited to serve APA during a time of strategic visioning, ensuring the organization keeps pace with change while remaining grounded in core values. My focus will be on sustaining and growing our vibrant community, fostering collaboration, and championing diversity and inclusion.
Rachel J. Thornton, MD, PhD
Vice President
Chief Health Opportunities and Outcomes Officer
Nemours Children's Health
Secretary-Treasurer
Dr. Clifton Lee is a Professor of Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU. Dr. Lee has practiced medicine for over 30 years, eighteen years as a pediatric hospitalist. Dr. Lee started the hospital medicine program at CJW Medical Center (community program) in 2007 and the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU in 2011. He also started the PHM Fellowship program and served as the first program director (2015-2022). From the discipline of Pediatric Hospital Medicine, Dr. Lee served as a member of the ABP PHM Subboard (2019-2024) and Chair of the Subboard (2024-2025). From the medical education side, Dr. Lee has served as a member of the NBME/COMSEP Pediatrics Subject Exam Item Writing and Review Group (2019-2025) and as the M3 Pediatric Clerkship Director (2013-present) at the VCU School of Medicine. Dr. Lee has been a member of the APA since 2012. He has served as a member of the Region IV conference planning committee since 2013 and as the Region IV Co-Chair (2015-2018). From 2018-2020, Dr. Lee served as a member of the APA Nominating Committee. Dr. Lee has navigated the challenges as a leader in academics head on. He has served and continues to serve in leadership positions where he is most passionate about: clinical medicine, education, and scholarship. Dr. Lee will work with APA leadership to achieve the strategic goals of the APA, namely, to be the academic home for child health care professionals and to increase member diversity and engagement.
Clifton Lee, MD
Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Director, M3 Pediatric Clerkship
Associate Program Director, Pediatric Hospital Medicine Fellowship
Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU
Virginia Commonwealth University Health System
For more than twenty years, the Academic Pediatric Association has been my professional home and has shaped my development as a clinician, educator, and improvement scientist. In my current roles as Chief of the Division of General Pediatrics and Community Health and Chief Quality Officer at Baystate Children’s Hospital, as well as Professor of Pediatrics at UMass Chan Medical School–Baystate, I lead teams focused on improving systems of care, strengthening academic infrastructure, and advancing health equity. These responsibilities have deepened my appreciation for the APA’s mission and the essential role the organization plays in supporting the careers of child health professionals.
I have served the APA in multiple leadership roles, including Chair of the Health Care Delivery Committee, Region 1 Chair, Quality Improvement SIG Chair, and as a prior member of the Board of Directors. In these roles I contributed to strategic planning and PAS programming designed to elevate scholarship, mentorship, and innovation in child health.
Throughout my career, I have navigated the challenges inherent in academic medicine by implementing evidence-based systems, strengthening community partnerships, and aligning improvement efforts with both cultural realities and fiscal constraints. I have also worked intentionally to mentor and sponsor colleagues across career stages and backgrounds, which has helped strengthen an inclusive and diverse leadership pipeline in academic pediatrics.
As Secretary-Treasurer, I would bring a systems-focused and equity-driven approach to governance. My goal is to ensure transparent and inclusive financial processes that align resources with mission-critical priorities and sustain the APA’s strengths in mentorship, equity, and collaborative leadership.
I would be honored to continue serving the APA in this role.
Amy Starmer, MD, MPH
Chief, Division of General Pediatrics and Community Health
Chief Quality Officer, Baystate Children’s Hospital
Professor of Pediatrics, UMass Chan Medical School-Baystate
Health Care Delivery Committee Chair
My name is Andy Beck. I am a pediatrician and professor at Cincinnati Children’s, practicing in primary care and hospital medicine. I lead our institutional “excellent and equitable health outcomes” portfolio and direct our approach to population health innovation. My research focuses on intersections between place and health, and the impact of clinical-community partnerships.
The APA has been my academic home since fellowship, a space to share my work and grow as a physician-leader. I chaired the Poverty Task Force’s Practice-Level Subgroup. I mentor brilliant New Century, Research, and Health Policy Scholars. I review abstracts, Young Investigator Awards, and Miller-Sarkin Award nominees. The APA allows me to engage, learn, and be inspired.
We need that engagement and inspiration. Political and funding uncertainties are making difficult tasks even more challenging. Misinformation and disinformation compete for attention at the bedside and across society. Being a pediatrician feels harder today than at any other point during my career. Still, I have never been prouder to be a pediatrician, to join in advocacy for our patients, communities, science, and colleagues.
If selected as a committee leader and board member, I would seek to fortify programs that fill gaps widened by current realities – especially those advancing evidence-based preventive care, promoting health equity, and supporting future pediatric leaders. This will require continued coordination between committees and strengthening already-strong programming for junior members (Scholars Programs, Young Investigator Awards). Through such APA infrastructure, I believe we can continue to pursue – together – a brighter future for all children.
Andrew Beck, MD, MPH
Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Attending Pediatrician, Divisions of General & Community Pediatrics and Hospital Medicine, Cincinnati Children’s
Director, Research and Innovation, Office of Population Health and Michael Fisher Child Health Equity Center, Cincinnati Children’s
There are two key aspects to the chair role for the Healthcare Delivery Committee (HCD)—maintaining momentum to achieve the APA’s Healthcare Delivery strategy and bringing creative energy to its execution. I am excited to contribute to both and I offer substantial experience in safety, quality, and leadership. I am Vice Chair of Health Services Research at UCSF Pediatrics. I have had continuous federal funding since 2010—I lead studies gathering patient and family safety observations and incorporating them into hospital safety efforts and previously led a series of AHRQ-funded quality measurement and QI collaborative studies. I have served on the APA Quality Improvement (QI) Meeting Planning Committee since 2019. The meeting occurs prior to PAS, with >100 attendees annually. As a leader, I like to run a well-organized and efficient meeting, while also ensuring thoughtful discussion. I bring experience in leadership during difficult times—I was deployed to lead school reopening in CA during COVID. My leadership was grounded in partnership across stakeholders, from superintendents to families to politicians, while focusing on the shared goal of students returning to school safely. My hope as HCD chair would be to add climate sustainability as a dimension to QI work—as a primary intervention, or as a balancing measure. In the current environment, I also anticipate that the HCD committee, in collaboration with the Public Policy and Advocacy Committee, would lead efforts to protect vaccinations and combat mis- and dis-information.
Naomi S. Bardach, MD, MAS
Professor of Pediatrics and Health Policy, Department of Pediatrics and the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies
Vice Chair, Health Services Research
University of California, San Francisco
Public Policy and Advocacy Committee Chair
I am honored to be considered for the position of Public Policy and Advocacy Committee Chair. I am a general pediatrician, health services researcher, educator, and child health advocate focused on promoting health equity for all children through community engagement.
My goals for this position are to utilize APA’s national platform to advocate for policies that improve child health and elevate the academic pediatrician’s voice given current threats to public benefits, the pediatric workforce, and research funding. At this crucial inflection point, strong leadership is needed to carry APA’s mission, vision, and values forward. I am excited to continue innovative efforts begun by the current Chair and start novel programs aimed at empowering academic pediatricians’ confidence/competence with advocacy, from skill-building workshops/seminars to incorporating advocacy efforts in promotion. My expertise in advocacy and approach to elevating community needs could be impactful for guiding APA’s voice in the public sphere.
The APA has been my academic home since becoming an academic pediatrician; I have been an active member in shaping and promoting APA’s initiatives. For example, I have served/currently serve on the following:
- Racial Equity Task Force and Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion-helped kraft APA’s DEI statement, create/implement new DEI pillar and DEI faculty awards
- Leadership Development Nominating Committee Task Force-reviewed/revised leadership nomination process to be anti-racist
- Nominating Committee-promoted/selected diverse leaders, including two past and current presidents
- New Century Scholars Program, Senior Mentor
- Health Policy Scholars Program, National Advisor
I am excited to extend my involvement with the APA through this position.
Kimberly Montez, MD, MPH (she/her/ella)
Associate Professor, Pediatrics and Social Sciences and Health Policy
Associate Director, Research Access for the Clinical and Translational Scient Institute, Community Engagement Core
Vice Chair of Social Impact, Department of Pediatrics
Co-Director, Community Health and Advocacy Concentration
Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem Campus
I am honored to seek the Chair position for APA's Public Policy and Advocacy Committee (PPAC). My engagement with public policy and advocacy began when I received the APA Medical Student Research Award for my work on Supplemental Security Income. I subsequently solidified my commitment to advocacy-informed scholarship and the APA by serving on the PPAC (2020-2023) and the Committee on Communications and Social Media (2020-2022), in each case contributing to national policy initiatives and expanding the Association's reach.
As a first-generation college student now working at a rurally-based medical school and children’s hospital, I understand how structural barriers limit opportunity. Working at Vermont's only pediatric site has taught me to lead through influence rather than resources, building collaborations that extend far beyond institutional boundaries. As a result of these efforts, I have achieved national recognition through NIH-funded research and leadership roles rooted in pediatric advocacy across the AAP, SPR, and APA.
As Chair of PPAC, I will expand mentorship infrastructure for early-career advocates, develop initiatives to engage mid- and late-career academic pediatricians in public policy and advocacy, and strengthen coalitions across pediatric organizations at a time when a unified and resilient voice for children is necessary.
In an increasingly challenging environment for children and families, we need strong, dedicated leadership. I bring an unwavering commitment and proven experience to unite APA members around shared priorities, elevate underrepresented voices, and ensure our policies reflect both rigorous research and the lived realities of the children and families we serve.
Christian D. Pulcini, MD, MEd, MPH
Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics
University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine
Nominating Committee
I am honored to be considered for a position on the Academic Pediatric Association (APA) Nominating Committee. Throughout my career, the APA has been a transformative professional home—shaping my growth as an educator, improvement leader, and advocate for pediatric faculty. My journey from a purely clinical role to Professor of Clinical Pediatrics required navigating institutional barriers faced by primary care pediatricians pursuing academic careers. Thanks to mentorship from APA colleagues and skills I gained through the APA Educational Scholars Program (ESP), I have begun to build and grow an infrastructure that supports promotion, scholarly activity and leadership development for primary care faculty at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
My involvement with the APA includes completing ESP (Cohort 7), serving as an ESP national advisor, co-leading the ESP Alumni Taskforce and contributing to multiple PAS workshops. These experiences have deepened my commitment to fostering inclusive mentorship networks and expanding opportunities for pediatricians whose academic identities center on education, quality improvement, and health equity.
As a member of the Nominating Committee, I hope to strengthen our processes for identifying diverse, visionary leaders in academic pediatrics. I will bring a collaborative approach and a deep appreciation for the APA’s mission to support the professional growth of all its members. I am eager to contribute to the APA’s efforts to cultivate leadership that advances scholarship, equity, and excellence across our field
Elena Huang, MD, MHQS
Professor of Clinical Pediatrics Director of Quality
Director of Academic Faculty
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
My name is Claire MacGeorge, and the Academic Pediatric Association is my academic home! I am an Associate Professor in General Pediatrics and Medical Director of School-Based Telehealth at the Medical University of South Carolina. Over the past decade, my clinical work, scholarship, leadership, and commitment to pediatric academic medicine have been shaped by the APA community. I am grateful for many opportunities to serve within the organization. I participated in Cohort 4 of the Research Scholars Program and later served as Associate Director and Program Director, supporting rigorous scholarship and mentoring early-career researchers. As APA Region VIII Co-Chair (2020-2023), I collaborated with Region VII to plan annual meetings, share opportunities with members, and advance our academic mission.
Great leaders step back to reevaluate so they can step forward with purpose. As Program Director, I applied this principle when addressing declining enrollment in Research Scholars Program. As we enter a challenging era in pediatric medicine, we must evaluate our approach, remain adaptable, and be bold as we stand for evidence-based, equitable care. I am seeking a position on the APA Nominating Committee because I believe thoughtful, inclusive leadership selection is essential to advancing our mission. As our values as pediatricians increasingly feel under attack, I hope to help identify candidates who embody the APA’s priorities —including scholarship, mentorship, diversity, equity, and advocacy—while gaining insight into the evolving needs of the organization. I would be honored to continue serving the APA and contributing to its excellence in pediatric academic medicine.
Claire MacGeorge, MD, MSCR
Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics
Medical Director of School-Based Telehealth
Medical University of South Carolina
Dear Colleagues,
Now more than ever, it is essential we stand up for the children, families, and communities we serve. We are all connected, and I have always believed that investment in one another is the core of our calling. Just as care for our patients and their communities is an investment in their future, investment in one another and our professional community is essential for a strong APA now and for years to come. That’s why I would be delighted to serve on the Nominating Committee and invest in the future of our APA community.
I am an Associate Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Health Policy at UCLA, a general pediatrician practicing in the medical safety net, a health services researcher, a clinician educator, a parent, and a patient. In every aspect of my work, investing in teams, coalitions, and community is at the core. My career has been dedicated to building cross-sector coalitions and health care models that address child poverty in marginalized communities to improve health. I have served in APA leadership roles for over a decade, including Co-Chair of Region 9, Co-Chair of the Health Care Value SIG, guest editor for Academic Pediatrics, and through initiatives like the Task Force on Child Poverty. As a Nominating Committee member, I would continue to foster APA leaders ready to face the headwinds affecting academic pediatrics today, helping us all support patients, families, and communities tomorrow. Thank you for considering my candidacy.
Appreciatively,
Adam Schickedanz, MD, PhD
Associate Professor in Residence
Department of Pediatrics, Geffen School of Medicine
Department of Health Policy & Management, Fielding School of Public Health
University of California Los Angeles
My name is Geeta Singhal, MD, MEd and I am Professor of Pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM). have had a long career as an academic hospitalist and have served in a number of leadership roles in my over 25 years as a faculty member. I ma long -standing member of APA. While I have not held any formal leadership roles at the APA, I have nationally twice-elected to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section of Hospital Medicine (SOMH) Executive Committee (EC). I was on the EC for twelve years and and a Chair. In those 12 years, I worked with APA leaders on programming such as the PHM national conference, PHM board certification, PHM fellows’ conference, as some examples. One of my most impactful leadership experiences when I served as President of the Texas Children's Hospital (TCH) medical staff for the 18 months during the pandemic. TCH is the largest children’s hospital in the USA; the medical staff is over 3000 members, including physicians and advanced practice providers. My role was to enhance communication, allay fears and to work closely with non-physician leaders to ensure that the medical staff voices were heard. We worked together on wellness initiatives, vaccines, representation of medical staff leaders from various backgrounds, and so much more. If chosen to serve, I hope to contribute by bringing in various perspectives and experiences from those considering election. I hope my experience in AAP will broaden my reach into access of potential leaders.
Geeta Singhal, MD, MEd
Executive Vice Chair, Department of Pediatrics
Professor, Pediatrics Hospital Medicine
Co-Director, BCM Faculty Leadership Development Program
Baylor College of Medicine
