To develop the next generation of emerging leaders in academic medicine and healthcare, The Ohio State University College of Medicine participates in two distinct programs hosted by Drexel University, the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) and Executive Leadership in Health Care (ELH). Four of our faculty members will join ELAM’s 32nd class of fellows this year: Amal Amer, PhD; Beth Kozel, MD, PhD; Kristy Townsend, PhD, MA, BS; and Rebecca Wallihan, MD. Two of our faculty members will join the fourth ELH class of fellows: Amy Kerger, DO, and Courtney Collins, MD.
Dr. Townsend says that throughout her career, she’s grown tremendously from attending distinct leadership programs, but she believes key factors of the year-long, intensive ELAM program set it apart due to:
- Educational components and cohort-based team networking approach to developing leadership skills. It is the only longitudinal program in North America dedicated to preparing medical leaders for senior-level executive roles.
- The chance to focus on the program she started – the Research Accelerator Program to Translate, Innovate, and Commercialize (RAPTIC) – in order to better understand the challenges advancing this type of program and come away with concrete steps to address them.
- Learning from ELAM peers and building additional partnerships across campus and the region, refining the program’s differentiators and increasing her ability to bring evidence-based best practices back to her various leadership roles.
- The ability to help others by applying what she’s gained from the mentorship, sponsorship and coaching in building her research success.
In her current role, Dr. Kerger leads ambulatory imaging growth and access initiatives across a rapidly expanding health system. She believes the ELH program will help her:
- Focus on aligning mission, strategy and resources while developing the ability to demonstrate value and return on investment to address real-world challenges in the field.
- Further develop skills to apply strategic finance, data-driven decision-making and organizational dynamics to navigate relationships and culture.
- Align class components with the current challenges she’s facing in advancing system-wide initiatives.
- Demonstrate a strong potential for assuming executive leadership positions.
The ELAM program has 1,800 alumni (ELUMs) in high-level leadership positions, such as provosts, deans, chief officers and chairs, at 300 health institutions around the country. Congratulations to our six faculty members, who join the 93 ELAM fellows and 43 ELH fellows from 108 institutions welcomed into the class of 2026-2027.
