ACGME Announces 2025 Graduate Medical Education Awardees

The ACGME is proud to announce the 2025 recipients of the ACGME Awards, showcasing the extraordinary contributions, diversity, and strengths of the graduate medical education (GME) community. These worthy recipients will be honored during the 2025 ACGME Annual Educational Conference, taking place February 20-22, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee.

“I am honored to congratulate each of the remarkable ACGME Award recipients for your outstanding achievements in advancing every level of graduate medical education. Your work has not only elevated the field but set an example for others to strive for as we collectively improve public health,” said ACGME President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas J. Nasca, MD, MACP.

John C. Gienapp Distinguished Service Award 
Honoring individuals who have dedicated their careers to GME and made outstanding contributions to the enhancement of residency and fellowship education and ACGME accreditation activities, the John C. Gienapp Distinguished Service Award is presented to Lawrence M. Opas, MD of USC/LA General Medical Center. Dr. Opas is recognized for his commitment to the enhancement of resident and fellow education and training during five decades at USC/LA General Medical Center where he was the founding program director for the MEDS PEDS program and for 25 years served as the program director for both the internal medicine-pediatrics and the pediatrics programs. Since 2001, Dr. Opas has served as the designated institutional official (DIO) at USC/LA General Hospital Center. Throughout his career, Dr. Opas has made significant contributions with the ACGME, including serving on the Institutional Review Committee for seven years and co-chairing the Sponsoring Institution 2025 Task Force, helping to plan the evolution of institutional accreditation. Dr. Opas received the ACGME Parker J. Palmer Courage to Lead Award in 2012. 

Barbara Ross-Lee, DO Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award  
This award honors ACGME-accredited Sponsoring Institutions and programs, as well as to diversify the underrepresented physician workforce and create inclusive workplaces that foster humane, civil, and equitable environments. The 2025 recipients are:  

• Nth Dimensions (Non-profit organization)
• American College of Surgeons (Non-profit organization)
• Stanford Pediatrics Residency Program (Program)
• WashU Medicine Department of Medicine, Internal Medicine Residency Program, St. Louis, Missouri (Program) 

David C. Leach Award   
This award recognizes residents and fellows who have fostered innovation and improvement in their programs, advanced humanism in medicine, and increased efficiency and emphasis on educational outcomes. The 2025 recipients are: 

• Lauren G. Bojarski, DO, MS; University of Kentucky College of Medicine; Lexington, Kentucky; Neurology
• Mikael Guzman Karlsson, MD, PhD; Baylor College of Medicine; Houston, Texas; Neurodevelopmental Disabilities
• Alexandra Schoenberger, MD, MSEd; University of Cincinnati College of Medicine; Cincinnati, Ohio; Internal Medicine and Pediatrics
• Kaitlin R. Snapp, MD; University of Cincinnati; Cincinnati, Ohio; Internal Medicine

Debra L. Dooley GME Program Coordinator Excellence Award  
This award is given to program coordinators in recognition of their in-depth understanding of the accreditation process, excellent communication and interpersonal skills, and projects to improve residency and fellowship programs. The 2025 recipients are:  

• Maggie Baker, C-TAGME; University of Cincinnati; Cincinnati, Ohio; Neurology
• Dolores L. Garcia, AA; University of New Mexico; Albuquerque, New Mexico; Family Medicine
• Janice M. Gleisner, BA, MBA, C-TAGME; Carilion Clinic-Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine; Roanoke, Virginia; Internal Medicine
• Alyssa Schappe; University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics; Madison, Wisconsin; Plastic Surgery
• Ashley T. Taylor, BHA, C-TAGME; Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital; St. Petersburg, Florida; Hospice and Palliative Medicine, Pediatric Hospital Medicine

GME Institutional Coordinator Excellence Award  
This award recognizes institutional coordinators who demonstrate in-depth knowledge of GME and the process for internal review, and skillfully manage the multiple roles of administrator, counselor, enforcer, coordinator, organizer, and scheduler. The 2025 recipients are:  

• Marcie L. Becker, MEd; The MetroHealth System/Case Western Reserve University; Cleveland, Ohio
• Bethany J. Figg, DEdT, MBA, MLIS, C-TAGME; Central Michigan University College of Medicine/CMU Medical Education Partners; Saginaw, Michigan
• Joanne M. Maier, BS; Allegheny Health Network Medical Education Consortium; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Parker J. Palmer Courage to Lead Award   
This award honors DIOs who have demonstrated strong leadership and astute resource management and encouraged innovation and improvement in programs and their Sponsoring Institutions. The 2025 recipients are:

• Alice Reeves Goepfert, MD; University of Alabama Hospital; Birmingham, Alabama
• A. Michelle Thompson, MD; Geisinger; Danville, Pennsylvania

Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award   
This award recognizes program directors who have fostered innovation and improvement in their programs and served as exemplary role models for residents and fellows. The 2025 recipients are:

• John A. Andrilli, MD, FACP; Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Morningside/West; New York, New York; Internal Medicine
• J. Christian Barrett, MD; Virginia Commonwealth University Health System; Richmond, Virginia; Hematology and Medical Oncology
• Melissa E. Brunsvold, MD, FACS, FCCM; University of Minnesota; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Surgery
• Berdale S. Colorado, DO, MPH; Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Birmingham, Alabama; Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
• Jonathan Stuart Crane, DO, FAAD, FAOCD; Campbell University/Sampson Regional Medical Center; Wilmington, North Carolina; Dermatology
• Marcie Feinman, MD, MEHP, FACS; Sinai Hospital of Baltimore; Baltimore, Maryland; Surgery
• Jeffrey B. Friedrich, MD, MC, FACS; University of Washington; Seattle, Washington; Plastic Surgery
• Charles Kwon, MD; Cleveland Clinic Children’s; Cleveland, Ohio; Pediatrics
• Kellee Oller, MD, FACP; USF Morsani College of Medicine; Tampa, Florida; Internal Medicine
• Tajnoos Yazdany, MD; Harbor-UCLA Medical Center; Torrance, California; Obstetrics and Gynecology

ACGME Awards honor the best in GME. The ACGME Blog will feature interviews and more information about this year’s exceptional awardees in the months leading up to the Annual Educational Conference. 
 
The nomination period for the 2026 ACGME Awards will open in November 2024. Learn more about the ACGME Awards program on the ACGME website.