Who is the ABOHNS?

BOD 2024

Board of Directors

The ABOHNS Board of Directors establishes the strategic direction and sets the policies that guide the Board in all its activities. Members are elected to the Board based on personal qualities, leadership abilities, previous engagement with the ABOHNS activities and initiatives, as well as geography and diversity. Each member lends their unique expertise and experience to the leadership of the Board, serving and working in tandem with standing committees including Credentials and Ethics, Assessments, Subcertification, Continuing Certification, Information and Liaison, Finance, Audit, Education, and Strategic Planning. The Board of Directors is comprised of 17 directors and each is eligible to serve two consecutive 5-year terms. All directors serve as volunteers, except for a few leaders who receive a small honorarium based on the large amount of work required to fulfill their roles and responsibilities.

Board of Directors

Jeffrey M. Bumpous, MD, President
Louisville, Kentucky

Ronald B. Kuppersmith, MD, MBA, President-Elect
College Station, Texas

C. Gaelyn Garrett, MD, MMHC, Past-President
Nashville, Tennessee

Jennifer Parker Porter, MD, Treasurer
Bethesda, Maryland

John P. Carey, MD
Baltimore, Maryland

David O. Francis, MD, MS
Madison, Wisconsin

Howard W. Francis, MD, MBA
Durham, North Carolina

Marlan R. Hansen, MD
Iowa City, Iowa

Sonya Malekzadeh, MD
Washington, District of Columbia

Bradley Marple, MD
Dallas, Texas

Andrew H. Murr, MD
San Francisco, California

Cherie-Ann O. Nathan, MD
Shreveport, Louisiana

Krishna G. Patel, MD, PhD
Charleston, South Carolina

Diego A. Preciado, MD, PhD
Washington, District of Columbia

Gavin Setzen, MD
Albany, New York

Timothy L. Smith, MD, MPH
Portland, Oregon

Travis Tollefson, MD, MPH
Sacramento, California

Gregory J. Wiet, MD
Columbus, Ohio

Physician Volunteers

The ABOHNS physician volunteers serve in a combination of appointed and elected positions, lending their experience and skills to many Board-related functions and initiatives. The Oral Exam process, so vital to the Board’s mission, is made possible by the hard work and dedication of our leadership team and more than 100 volunteers. Most volunteers begin their experience with ABOHNS as Item Writers, and from there have the opportunity to serve as Oral Examiners, members of the Exam Council, committee and task force members, as well as members of the Board of Directors.

Senior Councilors

The ABOHNS Senior Councilors are distinguished volunteers who have completed their terms of service on the Board of Directors. While no specific duties are associated with this position, Senior Councilors have gained a deep understanding of the purpose, goals, and values of the Board through their many years of involvement with Board activities at every level of the organization and are available to provide strategic advice and consultation.

Senior Councilors
Byron J. Bailey, MD Galveston, Texas	Gerald S. Berke, MD Pacific Palisades, California
C. Ron Cannon, MD Brandon, Mississippi	Robert W. Cantrell, MD Charlottesville, Virginia
Richard A. Chole, MD, Ph.D St. Louis, Missouri	Roger L. Crumley, MD, MBA Orange, California
Charles W. Cummings, MD Baltimore, Maryland	Ramon M. Esclamado, MD, MS Durham, North Carolina
David W. Eisele, MD Baltimore, Maryland	Edward H. Farrior, MD Tampa, Florida
Willard E. Fee, Jr., MD Redwood City, California	Ellen M. Friedman, MD Houston, Texas
Bruce J. Gantz, MD Iowa City, Iowa	A. Julianna Gulya, MD Locust Grove, Virginia
James A. Hadley, MD Naples, Florida	Gerald B. Healy, MD Wellesley, Massachusetts
Peter A. Hilger, MD Edina, Minnesota	G. Richard Holt, MD, MPH, MABE, DBE San Antonio, Texas
Michael E. Johns, MD Atlanta, Georgia	Herbert C. Jones, MD Atlanta, Georgia
Paul R. Lambert, MD Charleston, South Carolina	Wayne F. Larrabee, Jr., MD Seattle, Washington
Paul A. Levine, MD Charlottesville, Virginia	Jesus E. Medina, MD Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Robert H. Miller, MD, MBA Houston, Texas	Richard T. Miyamoto, MD Indianapolis, Indiana
Eugene N. Myers, MD Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	H. Bryan Neel, III, MD, Ph.D Rochester, Minnesota
Robert H. Ossoff, MD, DMD Nashville, Tennessee	Ira D. Papel, MD Baltimore, Maryland
Stephen S. Park, MD Charlottesville, Virginia	Harold C. Pillsbury, III, MD Chapel Hill, North Carolina
John S. Rhee, MD, MPH Milkwaukee, Wisconsin	Robert J. Ruben, MD Bronx, New York
David E. Schuller, MD Columbus, Ohio	Clough Shelton, MD Salt Lake City, Utah
Kathleen C. Y. Sie, MD Seattle, Washington	Michael G. Stewart, MD, MPH New York, New York
M. Eugene Tardy, Jr., MD Naples, Florida	Steven A. Telian, MD Ann Arbor, Michigan
James N. Thompson, MD Davidson, North Carolina	Dean M. Toriumi, MD Chicago, Illinois
Neil O. Ward, MD Phoenix, Arizona	Randal S. Weber, MD Houston, Texas
Mark C. Weissler, MD Chapel Hill, North Carolina	Gayle E. Woodson, MD Merritt Island, Florida

Exam Council Members

The ABOHNS Exam Council is composed of volunteers who lend their diverse personal and professional experience to preparation and administration of exams, as well as development of exam content. Members of the Exam Council are elected, and those who serve are eligible for nomination to be a Director. This group has representation from all specialty practice areas. Each Exam Council member serves a 3-year term, with up to two consecutive terms permitted.

Exam Council Members
Moises A. Arriaga, MD, MBA Marrero, LA	Meredith Adams, MD Minneapolis, MN
Yuri Agrawal, MD Aurora, CO	Christina Baldassari, MD Norfolk, VA
Deidra Blanks, MD Fayetteville, NC	Jonathan Bock, MD Milwaukee, WI
Anthony Brissett, MD Houston, TX	Gretchen Champion, MD Allen, TX
Swapna Chandran, MD Louisville, KY	Rakesh Chandra, MD, MMHC Nashville, TN
David H. Chi, MD Pittsburgh, PA	Robert H. Chun, MD Milwaukee, WI
Joseph M. Clark, MD Chapel Hill, NC	Chris Discolo, MD, MSCR Indianapolis, IN
Marc Dubin, MD Towson, MD	Carole Fakhry, MD MPH Baltimore, MD
Alexander Gelbard, MD Nashville, TN	Paul W. Gidley, MD Houston TX
Steven Goudy, MD Atlanta, GA	Jed Grisel, MD Wichita Falls, TX
Samuel Gubbels, MD Aurora, CO	Nathan W. Hales, MD San Antonio, TX
Amy C. Hessel, MD Houston, TX	Brandon Isaacson, MD Dallas, TX
Gina Jefferson, MD, MS Jackson, MS	Michael M. Johns, III, MD Los Angeles, CA
Romaine F. Johnson, MD, MPH Irving, TX	Lamont Jones, MD, MBA Detroit, MI
Brad Kesser, MD Charlottesville, VA	Samir S. Khariwala, MD Edina, MN
P. Daniel Knott, MD San Francisco, CA	Greg A. Krempl, MD Oklahoma City, OK
J. Walter Kutz, MD Dallas, TX	Walter Lee, MD Durham, NC
Amber U. Luong, MD, Ph.D Houston, TX	Richard Manes, MD New Haven, CT
Benjamin Marcus, MD Madison, WI	Chris McMains, MD San Antonio, TX
Anna H. Messner, MD Houston, TX	Tanya K. Meyer, MD Seattle, WA
Stephanie Misono, MD Minneapolis, MN	Sarah Mowry, MD Cleveland, OH
Jeffrey S. Moyer, MD Ann Arbor, MI	Shawn D. Newlands, MD, Ph.D, MBA Rochester, NY
Krista Olson, MD Houston, TX	Julina Ongkasuwan, MD Houston, TX
Ashli K. O'Rourke, MD Charleston, SC	Alpen Patel, MD Baltimore, MD
David Poetker, MD, MA Milwaukee, WI	Brianne Roby, MD Saint Paul, MN
Ravi N. Samy, MD Cincinnati, OH	Jennifer Shin, MD, SM Boston, MA
Taha Z. Shipchandler, MD Indianapolis, IN	Richard V. Smith, MD Bronx, NY
Masayoshi Takashima, MD Houston, TX	Marc C. Thorne, MD, MPH Ann Arbor, MI
Elizabeth Toh, MD Burlington, MA	Catherine P. Winslow, MD Carmel, IN
Sarah Wise, MD Atlanta, GA	Troy Woodard, MD Cleveland, OH
Charles Woodard, MD Durham, NC	Wendell G. Yarbrough, MD, MMHC Chapel Hill, NC
Jose Zevallos, MD Pittsburgh, PA

Oral Examiners

The ABOHNS Oral Examiners perform the essential role of administering the Oral Examination, which all otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeons are required to pass to become board certified (see About Our Certifications). Oral Examiners spend two days administering the Exam to candidates, and additional days for training. More than 100 Oral Examiners contribute on many levels to each Oral Exam and their dedicated involvement is critical to the success of the certification process. Oral Examiners are appointed by the Board of Directors after review and consideration of the prior ABOHNS service of eligible nominations received each year.

Item Writers

The ABOHNS Item Writers are members of the Task Force for New Materials. These volunteers are essential contributors to the exam process. Appointed by the Board of Directors, they create, review, and revise the multiple choice questions used for ABOHNS assessments (see About Our Certifications). Item Writers serve on the Task Force for New Materials for a three year term.

2024-2025 Item Writers
Al-Waleed Abuzeid, MD Seattle, Washington	Iram Ahmad, MD Palo Alto, California	Omar Ahmed, MD Houston, Texas
Karthik Balakrishnan, MD Stanford, California	Renee Banakis Hartl, MD Ann Arbor, Michigan	Rodrigo Bayon, MD Iowa City, Iowa
Ryan Belcher, MD Nashville, Tennessee	Daniel Beswick, MD Los Angeles, California	Michael Biavati, MD Dallas, texas
Selena Briggs, MD Washington, D.C.	Marisa Buchakjian, MD Iowa City, Iowa	Neal Burkhalter, MD West Columbia, South Carolina
Matthew Bush, MD Lexington, Kentucky	Anna Butrymowicz, MD San Francisco, California	David Chen, MD Tucson, Arizona
Clarice Clemmens, MD Charleston, South Carolina	Shelagh Cofer, MD Rochester, Minnesota	Christine DeMason, MD Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Karuna Dewan, MD Shreveport, Louisiana	Shumon Dhar, MD Dallas, Texas	Christine Dinh, MD Miami, Florida
Laura Dooley, MD Columbia, Missouri	Alexandra Espinel, MD Washington, District of Columbia	Erynne Faucett, MD Sacramento, California
Laura Garcia-Rodriguez, MD Detroit, Michigan	Soha Ghossaini, MD Flushing, New York	Mark Gilbert, MD Columbia, Missouri
Katherine Green, MD Aurora, Colorado	Jonathan Grischkan, MD Columbus, Ohio	Michael Harris, MD Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Matthew Hoffman, MD Iowa City, Iowa	Agnes Hurtuk, MD Maywood, Illinois	Michelle Hwang, MD Charleston, South Carolina
Amal Isaiah, MD Baltimore, Maryland	Andrew Johnson, MD Annapolis, Maryland	David Kent, MD Nashville, Tennessee
Sung-Won Kim, MD Olympia, Washington	Erin Kirkham, MD Ann Arbor, Michigan	Natalie Krane, MD Portland, Oregon
C. Carrie Liu, MD Tucson, Arizona	Christopher Liu, MD Dallas, Texas	Kimberly Luu, MD San Francisco, California
Benjamin Malkin, MD Oakland, California	Amy Manning, MD Columbus, Ohio	Alison Maresh, MD New York, New York
Alexander Marston, MD Boston, Massachusetts	Jose Mattos, MD Charlottesville, Virginia	Jessica Maxwell, MD Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Jason May, MD Augusta, Georgia	David Melon, ND Hickory, North Carolina	Matthew Miller, MD Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Mia Miller, MD Los Angeles, California	Chris Miyamoto, MD Indianapolis, Indiana	Michael Moore, MD Indianapolis, Indiana
Robert Morrison, MD Ann Arbor, Michigan	Benjamin Oberman, MD Durham, North Carolina	Lindsay Olinde, MD Shreveport, Louisiana
Lewis Overton, MD Raleigh, North Carolina	Sam Oyer, MD Charlottesville, Virginia	Enver Ozer, MD Columbus, Ohio
Reema Padia, MD Salt Lake City, Utah	Nathan Page, MD Phoenix, Arizona	Andrea Park, MD San Francisco, California
Priyesh Patel, MD Nashville, Tennessee	Rusha Patel, MD Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Sapna Patel, MD Atlanta, Georgia
Yash Patil, MD Cincinnati, Ohio	Prasanth Pattisapu, MD Columbus, Ohio	Nora Perkins, MD Albany, New York
Anette Pham, MD Rockville, Maryland	Angela Powell, MD Plattsburgh, New York	Karthik Rajasekaran, MD Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Yin Ren, MD Columbus, Ohio	Ryan Rimmer, MD New Haven, Connecticut	Lauren Roland, MD San Francisco, California
Adam Rubin, MD Saint Clair Shores, Michigan	Babak Sadoughi, MD New York, New York	Breanne Schiffer, MD Salt Lake City, Utah
Minka Schofield, MD Gahanna, Ohio	Jeff Sharon, MD San Francisco, California	Jigar Sitapara, MD Bethesda, Maryland
Charles Stewart, MD Owing Mills, Maryland	Daniel Sun, MD Cincinnati, Ohio	Zahrah Taufique, MD New York, New York
Kathleen Tibbetts, MD Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Melanie Townsend, MD Louisville, Kentucky	Ozlem Tulunay-Ugar, MD Little Rock, Arkansas
Seckin Ulualp, MD Dallas, Texas	Esther Vivas, MD Atlanta, Georgia	Heather Weinreich, MD Chicago, Illinois
Mitchell Worley, MD Spartanburg, South Carolina	Michael Yim, MD Shreveport, Louisiana	Yu-Lan (Mary) Ying, MD Neward, New Jersey
Joe Zenga, MD Wawatosa, Wisconsin

Staff

Our staff members are here to support physicians and uphold our mission. Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions you may have.

Administration

**Brian Nussenbaum, MD, MHCM**
*Executive Director*
bn@abohns.org

**Steve Telian, MD**
*Associate Executive Director*
sat@abohns.org

**Diana Harrell**
*Administrator*
dlh@abohns.org

**Marisa Zarate**
*Administrative Assistant*
mmz@abohns.org

**Michelle Ortiz**
*Administrative Coordinator*
mo@abohns.org

**Carla Medlenka**
*Communications Specialist*
cam@abohns.org

**Giovanni Pedroza**
*Director of IT*
gp@abohns.org

Exam Development

**Heather Burnett**
*Senior Content Coordinator*
hib@abohns.org

**Catherine Landicho**
*Content Coordinator*
cvl@abohns.org

Training Programs / Otolaryngology Training Exam

**Shannon Lamkin**
*Senior Resident Coodinator*
sll@abohns.org

Primary & Subspecialty Certification

**Rosa La Neve**
*Certification Coordinator*
rml@abohns.org

**Aliyah Forte**
*Subspecialty Coordinator / Continuing Certification*
abf@abohns.org

Continuing Certification

**Amar Preet, MBA, MHA**
*Continuing Certification Specialist*
ap@abohns.org

**Nikki Ladet**
*Certification Specialist*
nl@abohns.org

Group