John G. Wiegenstein Leadership Award

David C. Seaberg, MD, CPE, FACEP

Dr. Seaberg graduated with a BA in chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis and attended the University of Minnesota School of Medicine. Between his second and third year of medical school, he completed a research fellowship and then went on to complete his emergency medicine residency at the University of Pittsburgh.

He launched his leadership career arc first as a research director at the University of Pittsburgh, then as residency director at the University of Florida, Jacksonville, and subsequently chair of emergency medicine at the University of Florida, Gainesville. In 2017, he became the inaugural dean at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine Chattanooga, also serving as chair of emergency medicine and senior vice president of physician integration at the Erlanger Health System.

Dr. Seaberg was elected to the ACEP Board of Directors and became President in 2011 and Chair of the Board in 2012. His servant leadership style led him to take on the challenge of helping US Acute Care Solutions reestablish the Summa Department of Emergency Medicine as chair and Executive Vice President. He has been fortunate to work with some of the most dedicated and talented emergency physicians and leaders in the world. This has helped him start six emergency medicine residencies and three departments of emergency medicine during his career.

James D. Mills Outstanding Contribution to Emergency Medicine Award

John J. Rogers, MD, CPE, FACEP

Dr. Rogers attended Ohio University on a swimming scholarship, where he studied architecture for two years. He transferred to Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, also on a swimming scholarship, and graduated with a degree in biology. He completed a surgical internship at the University of Iowa College of Medicine. He finished his surgical residency at the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon.

Dr. Rogers began working in emergency departments in 1979 part-time, which continued during his practice as a general/trauma surgeon. He was on the surgical faculty of Mercer University, teaching residents but also performing stem cell research, and was one of the first in the area to perform advanced laparoscopic procedures. Finding his heart belonged to emergency medicine, he began full-time emergency medicine in 1994, mainly in rural and small hospitals.

Dr. Rogers served as President of the medical staff on two occasions. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Bibb County Medical Society and serves as their Vice President. He is a member of the Medical Association of Georgia’s Council on Legislation and is a delegate to the Medical Association of Georgia House of Delegates. He is the current ED medical director at Coliseum Northside in Macon.

Dr. Rogers assumed several leadership roles in the Georgia Chapter of ACEP, including chapter President, and remains on the GCEP Board of Directors to this day. He has served on several ACEP committees, chaired both the Rural and Workforce Sections, and founded the Telemedicine Section. He was elected to the ACEP Board of Directors in 2011 and served two terms.

John A. Rupke Legacy Award

Peter M. Fahrney, MD, FACEP(E)

As a Seabee medical officer in Vietnam, working as a volunteer in the 3rd Marine Division MASH unit, Dr. Fahrney focused his attention on trauma and saving lives. Later, he was appointed as the command medical officer for the 12 battalions of Seabees that made up the Atlantic Command (COMCBLANT), involving the oversight of the individual battalion departments and preparing them for combat conditions.

At that time, the US Navy did not recognize the importance of specialized emergency training, so Dr. Fahrney sought and landed a position at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, where he remained for his entire 32-year career. He was excited to find that there were others of like mind, and he soon attended meetings in Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia, with the “founding fathers” of emergency medicine. Soon, ACEP was established.

Once he joined the College in 1969, he was “all in” and served in many capacities. After the formative “Constitutional Convention” at the first meeting of the new Council in Washington, D.C., in 1973, Dr. Fahrney was elected as the first Speaker of the Council and presided over its tumultuous first meeting. He was also elected that year to the Board of Directors, where he served two terms. During his membership in ACEP, he has served on many committees and assisted in getting the acceptance of the specialty of emergency medicine within the American Medical Association (AMA).

“It is the purpose of our lives to make a difference and cause a better world” is the credo that has guided him during his exciting career.

Colin C. Rorrie, Jr, PhD Award for Excellence in Health Policy

Steven J. Stack, MD, MBA, FACEP

Dr. Stack spent seven years at The Ohio State University in medical school and emergency medicine residency. Early on, he became involved in the American Medical Association, beginning another journey with an unimagined destination.

Dr. Stack’s career has been a combination of clinical practice and leadership. In 2006, he became the first board-certified emergency physician ever elected to the AMA board of trustees and served in 2015–2016 as the AMA’s youngest president since 1854.

As his journey in AMA leadership concluded in 2017, he completed an MBA program at The University of Tennessee and became an adjunct professor teaching health policy and advocacy.

Then, in an unexpected twist of fate, he was appointed commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Public Health in February 2020, just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the nation and upended the world. Dr. Stack’s life journey, though, has prepared him well for today’s challenges.

Throughout the journey, he’s aspired to be a servant leader. Along the way, one of his great joys in life has been the many people who have so dearly shaped him, kept him grounded, and shared so many laughs at his own quirks and oddities.

Pamela P. Bensen Trailblazer Award

Sharon E. Mace, MD, FACEP

Dr. Mace attended Syracuse University on a scholarship, majoring in chemistry. During college, she worked as a nurse’s aide at the county home. She attended medical school at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, New York, and did a pediatric residency at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland. After completing a pediatric cardiology fellowship, she received a grant from the American Heart Association and did an additional two years in pediatric cardiology research during the day while working in the emergency department on evenings and weekends.

During her time in Ohio, Dr. Mace served on the Ohio ACEP Board of Directors and chaired the Education Committee. She did the first medical helicopter flight for the first air medical transport in the state.

After seven years, Dr. Mace returned to New York to be near family. She worked in various positions including ED director at Saratoga Springs, ED director of St. Mary’s Hospital, and pediatrician and chair of the emergency department at St. Elizabeth Hospital. She started the 911 dispatch for Monroe County, was EMS medical director for Monroe and Saratoga Springs Ambulance Services, and worked with Monroe Community College to establish an EMT/paramedic training program. She was elected to the NY ACEP Board of Directors.

After about a decade, academic emergency medicine again beckoned, and Dr. Mace became director of pediatric education and quality improvement and director of the observation unit at the Cleveland Clinic. She is currently director of research and assistant director of EMS.

Judith E. Tintinalli Award for Outstanding Contribution in Education

Tracy G. Sanson, MD, FACEP

Dr. Sanson is a board-certified emergency physician who practices clinically as an independent contractor. Dr. Sanson heads her own consulting firm, specializing in leadership training, personal development, faculty development, and wellness.

She has served in several and varied leadership positions with the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM), the Council of Residency Directors (CORD), and ACEP. She has been a member of the ACEP faculty for many years, including for the ACEP Teaching Fellowship and the Emergency Department Directors Academy. She is a past president of the Government Services Chapter of ACEP and has been a Board of Directors member and past chair of the Education Committee for the Florida Chapter of ACEP.

Dr. Sanson completed her medical degree and emergency medicine residency training at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She has held director positions in the U.S. Air Force, the University of South Florida, and TeamHealth. She was education director for the Joint Military Medical Centers Emergency Medicine program (now SAUSHEC) in San Antonio, Texas, and the University of South Florida Emergency Medicine program in Tampa. Dr. Sanson has won several teaching, leadership, and mentoring awards. She is a career educator in emergency medicine and leadership in health care.

Diane K. Bollman Chapter Advocate Award

Bob Ramsey, CAE

Fifty years ago, Mr. Ramsey, the retired executive director of the Virginia College of Emergency Physicians (VACEP), entered association management as a way to fulfill his passion for helping others. As a leader, talent scout, and teacher, Mr. Ramsey found happiness and success facilitating business groups working together to make a difference. A lifelong learner, Mr. Ramsey has been a certified association executive for 42 years. His leadership was recognized by the Virginia Society of Association Executives (Outstanding Association Executive 2018), his U.S. Navy flight class (Regimental Commander), his college (Outstanding Senior Award, Alumni Achievement Award), and his fraternity (National Achievement Award).

VACEP hired Mr. Ramsey in 2013 to increase its position and influence in Virginia’s house of medicine. VACEP’s leadership adopted a new, cost-saving chapter business model resulting in a substantial increase in revenue. Physician engagement expanded as the chapter nearly doubled in size. He also partnered with ACEP to find ways of supporting chapters with part-time executive directors.

Mr. Ramsey is honored to stand in memory of Diane Bollman, whose legacy of helping others lives on forever in this award.

Council Meritorious Service Award

Michael McCrea, MD, FACEP

Dr. McCrea earned his MD from the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo in 2004. He has been an ACEP member since 2004, when he began his emergency medicine residency at The Ohio State University.

After finishing residency in 2007, he joined a large community practice in Mansfield, Ohio, where he served as quality director and assistant medical director. In 2009, he joined the emergency medicine residency as core faculty at St. Vincent’s in Toledo, becoming the program’s director of simulation education. He became assistant program director in 2012 and has received the Attending of the Year Award from the residents.

Dr. McCrea returned to the community as medical director of rural Wood County Hospital in Bowling Green, Ohio, from 2013 to 2014 while supervising residents in the community practice environment. In 2020, he became associate program director for the St. Vincent program.

He formally became involved with Ohio ACEP in 2010 through the chapter’s Leadership Development Academy. He has served as faculty for the written and oral board review courses and chapter authors for the Carol Rivers board review books. He is a current Ohio ACEP Board member and served two terms as chapter President. For his successful advocacy efforts on Ohio House Bill 7 for liability reform to change Ohio’s “I’m Sorry” statute, Dr. McCrea was awarded the Ohio ACEP Advocacy Award in 2019.

He began his service to national ACEP also in 2010 as an alternate Councillor for the Ohio Chapter and has served as a Councillor ever since, serving on both Council Reference and Steering Committees. For his early service to the Council, Dr. McCrea received the Council Horizon Award in 2014. Most recently, he was selected to lead the Task Force on Council Size in 2019. In addition to Council service, he also serves national ACEP on the State Legislative and Regulatory Committee and the Bylaws Committee.

Disaster Medical Sciences Award

Irving “Jake” Jacoby, MD, FACEP

Dr. Jacoby is emeritus clinical professor of emergency medicine at UC San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine and attending physician at the department of emergency medicine and hyperbaric medicine center at UCSD.

Dr. Jacoby is a graduate of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. He completed an internal medicine residency at Boston City and the Peter Bent Brigham hospitals as well as an infectious disease fellowship at Brigham. He has attended in the emergency department for more than 30 years and has participated in training more than 100 emergency medicine residents. In his role as hospital emergency preparedness and response coordinator for UCSD Health for 30 years, he organized dozens of hospital emergency preparedness exercises and was involved in planning, evaluating, and/or coordinating over two dozen community and state disaster exercises.

Dr. Jacoby is the commander of the California-4 DMAT (Disaster Medical Assistance Team) and has deployed on nearly two dozen major disasters under the National Disaster Medical System, including the Northridge earthquake (1994); the Olympic Games in Atlanta (1996) and Salt Lake City (2002); the evacuation of the City of Grand Forks, North Dakota, due to the flood of the Red River of the North (1997); Hurricane Georges, Shreveport, Louisiana, and St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands (1998); Ground Zero in New York City following the terrorist attacks on America (2001); Super Typhoon Pongsona in Guam (2002); Hurricanes Katrina (2005), Gustav, and Ike (2008); and Superstorm Sandy (2012) and Harvey (2017).

In the recent era of coronavirus, he has deployed for quarantining missions to Omaha, Nebraska, for one of the State Department’s Wuhan, China, evacuation flights and was involved in the screening and debarkation of the Grand Princess cruise ship passengers in the port of Oakland and the passenger quarantine care at Travis Air Force Base.

Dr. Jacoby is the author of multiple articles, editorials, and textbook chapters in the fields of emergency and disaster medicine, infectious diseases, and hyperbaric medicine.

He has received multiple awards, including the Golden Apple Teaching Excellence Award from a graduating emergency medicine residency class, the Doctor of the Year Award from UCSD Medical Center in 2001, the UCSD Chancellor’s Associates Award for Community Service in 2007, and the San Diego Health Champions Award from the San Diego and Imperial Counties Hospital Association in 2007. He also was elected to Fellowship of the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society in 2018.

Honorary Membership Award

Pat Hughes, CMP

Ms. Hughes began her career at ACEP in 1988 as an accounting assistant in the finance department. She spent four years in that role until moving to the educational meetings department as planning and implementation coordinator. In that position, Ms. Hughes worked with faculty for ACEP’s annual Scientific Assembly and many other educational meetings in relation to hands-on skills labs and collecting and reviewing their syllabi.

Later, her role was expanded to include meeting planning for the Emergency Department Directors Academy. In 2003, Ms. Hughes earned her designation as a certified meeting professional, demonstrating her knowledge in the meetings and conventions industry.

In 2009, Ms. Hughes shifted her skills to the academic affairs department working on the Research Forum, Emergency Medicine Basic Research Skills (EMBRS), and Teaching Fellowship programs alongside ACEP staff member Marjorie Geist and later Loren Rives. She was promoted to the academic affairs meetings manager in 2014, where she remained until her retirement on July 1, 2020.

Ms. Hughes’ career at ACEP was a rewarding, fulfilling experience where she worked very closely with many ACEP members over the years who brought education to life for emergency physicians. The members and staff who worked with Ms. Hughes throughout her 32 years will miss her sense of humor, laughter and, most of all, her friendship.

Honorary Membership Award

Jane Scott, ScD, MSN

Dr. Scott has worked in the emergency care settings for years, starting as a nurse in the Duke University emergency department before ambulances had radios (1972–1974), the Hillsborough, North Carolina, Volunteer EMS squad (1974), and then the Johns Hopkins emergency department as a nurse practitioner. She presented her first research abstract at the University Association for Emergency Medicine meeting (1981), which was followed by numerous other emergency care publications.

After obtaining a doctorate from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Dr. Scott joined the Agency for Health Research and Quality as a program officer and developed a grant portfolio focused on acute cardiac care in prehospital, emergency department, and critical care settings. Returning to the academic setting, in 1995 she joined the UMD Charles McC Mathias National Study Center for Trauma and EMS, followed by serving as the research director of the program in trauma at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. During this time, she was central to EMS and trauma care development and research training for fellows.

In 2005, Dr. Scott joined the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as director of the office of research training in the division of cardiovascular sciences at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). That same year, ACEP and SAEM leadership began working with the NIH to improve research funding and training in emergency medicine. She recognized the need for research training and in 2008 started to create the NHLBI K12 program in emergency care research. Since then, she has managed the K12 program and worked extensively with the emergency medicine researchers at the eight training programs that have trained over 50 K12 scholars.

She has truly enjoyed working with the leaders in emergency medicine and has been thrilled to see the field of emergency medicine research blossom.

Honorary Membership Award

Hugh Dean Wilkerson, JD, MBA, CAE

A native Arkansan, Mr. Wilkerson has spent most of his life in Texas. He earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Arkansas, an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley, and a law degree from the University of Texas, where he was an editor of the Texas Law Review.

In the 1980s, Mr. Wilkerson practiced corporate law with a large Dallas law firm. During this time, he also served on the city council and as mayor pro tem of his community of Coppell, Texas.

In 1990, Mr. Wilkerson became the general counsel of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). Three years later, he became the national CEO of MADD and led the organization during the period of its greatest effectiveness in reducing drunk driving deaths, assisting victims of this violent crime, and preventing underage drinking.

He left MADD to become the executive director of ACEP. Mr. Wilkerson is an advocate at heart. He has met with several presidents and many governors, senators, and members of Congress. He is gratified that ACEP has seen growth in its media advocacy, legislative advocacy, and all parts of its operation during his tenure.

Mr. Wilkerson feels fortunate to have helped make a difference in advancing emergency care. Being part of the emergency medicine family has been the most enjoyable period of his 40-year career.

He is thankful to God for the blessings and opportunities he has had. In retirement, he looks forward to spending more time with his family, teaching adult Bible classes at his church, continuing to serve on the boards of a few philanthropic organizations, and traveling for pleasure to some exotic places.

Innovative Change in Practice Management Award

Rahul Sharma, MD, MBA, FACEP

Dr. Sharma is professor and chair of the department of emergency medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. He is also the emergency physician in chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. In addition, he serves as chief and medical director for the NewYork-Presbyterian EMS enterprise and in several other executive roles, including as a member of the New York State Board for Medicine and as president of the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Medical Board.

Dr. Sharma is a national leader in the fields of emergency medicine, health care operations, telemedicine/virtual health care, and innovation. Since 2016, he has founded and launched several telemedicine programs including the award-winning Emergency Department Telehealth Express Care and the Center for Virtual Care. Most recently, he led efforts to transform emergency medicine health care delivery in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He has been an invited guest speaker at several national and international programs, including the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Sharma is the recipient of several awards, including Crain’s New York Business 2020 Notables in Health Care, ACEP’s National Faculty Teaching Award, and the 2017 Emergency Care Innovation of the Year Award.

In 2019, Dr. Sharma was named a top 25 innovator in the health care industry by Modern Healthcare as well as one of EMRA’s 45 Under 45 Influencers in Emergency Medicine.

Outstanding Contribution in Research Award

Alan E. Jones, MD, FACEP

Dr. Jones completed residency and a clinical research fellowship at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2001. He was on the faculty of the department of emergency medicine at Carolinas Medical Center for 10 years. He moved to the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in 2011 to focus on expanding clinical research and mentoring young research investigators. In 2013, he became chair of the department of emergency medicine at UMMC. In 2017, he became the vice-chair of the council of clinical chairs, and in 2019, he was named chief operations physician at UMMC.

Dr. Jones has served as the executive medical director of Mississippi TelEmergency, executive medical director of the UMMC Mississippi Critical Care Organization, and the chief telehealth officer for the UMMC Center for Telehealth. He has been a principal investigator (PI) on an R01 grant, co-PI on a UM1 grant, and co-investigator on multiple R01 and U01 grants. Additionally, Dr. Jones has received federal funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Communications Commission, Health Resources and Services Administration, and US Department of Agriculture.

Dr. Jones serves on hospital committees, editorial boards, and federal grant review committees; has held national society offices; and has authored numerous peer-reviewed and book chapter publications. In 2020, Dr. Jones stepped down as chair and was named assistant vice-chancellor for clinical affairs of the UMMC Health System. He continues to be an active researcher and clinician.

Outstanding Contribution in EMS Award

James M. Atkins, MD

Dr. Atkins graduated from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas and performed his internship and residency in internal medicine and his subspecialty training in cardiology at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. Dr. Atkins has had a long-term interest in cardiac arrest and the care of acute myocardial infarction, having written several papers and chapters on these issues.

In 1972, he was asked to supervise part-time the internal medicine portion of the emergency department at Parkland Hospital, which he did for five years when he convinced the system to hire the first full-time staff for the emergency department. He has been involved in the American Heart Association (AHA) at the national and local levels, having worked on several revisions of the standards for resuscitation from cardiac arrest and the management of acute myocardial infarction. For the AHA, he led teams to set up training programs for the European Red Cross and led a team to China to set up cardiopulmonary resuscitation and advanced cardiovascular life support training networks with the Chinese Red Cross. Dr. Atkins also has been involved with the American College of Cardiology Emergency Care Committee for many years.

Dr. Atkins was medical director of the paramedic system in Dallas County for 27 years. During those years, he trained 6,000 basic EMTs and 5,400 paramedics with the staff that he hired. He was chair of the accreditation body that accredits paramedic training programs, the Committee on Accreditation of Emergency Medical Services Professions, and was awarded the Dan Storer Award for outstanding volunteer.

Dr. Atkins is a member of the Texas Hall of Fame for EMS. He was involved with the National Heart Attack Alert Program (NHAAP) of the NHLBI for the entire 12 years of the program and has chaired the Access to Care Subcommittee and the Executive Committee of the NHAAP. This program established the goal of 60 minutes to treatment for myocardial infarction.

He has been a professor of internal medicine and emergency medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and works as a cardiologist at Parkland Memorial Hospital. He has received special awards for his service in the area from the AHA, the Food and Drug Administration, and the NHLBI, along with many awards from EMS entities and ACEP.