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SACME 2025 Speakers

The 2025 theme is Advocacy in Action: Empowering CPD/CE Professionals to Lead Change and we have a lineup of empowering change-makers to present our plenary sessions and workshops.

Plenary Speakers  - go to Workshop Speakers

Monday, March 17, 2025, 8:30 am
Barbara Barnes Plenary

Advocacy in Leadership: Speaking Truth to Power!


Constance LeBlanc, CCFP(EM), MAEd, CCPE, MBA
Professor, Department of Emergency Medicine, Dalhousie University

Dr. Constance LeBlanc holds a Master of Arts in Education in Curriculum Studies, with a focus on the Hidden Curriculum as well as an EMBA in Business and Technology. She is a recent recipient of a certification in Diversity as a Canadian Certified Inclusion Professional. Her areas for scholarship focus on equity, diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility (EDIA); medical education; and leadership.

Dr. LeBlanc is Métis, francophone, has a mixed-race family, and was the first woman Emergency Physician at the Charles V. Keating Emergency and Trauma Center in Halifax Nova Scotia. She practices clinically, mentors, and supports women in her environment and produces scholarship on EDIA. She was recognized for her work as the recipient of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP) Emergency Physician of the year in 2019 and the CAEP President’s Award in 2022. She has served two terms as Associate Dean of Continuing Professional Development and Medical Education Research at Dalhousie University in Canada.

Since July 2023, she has served as president and CEO of the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada.


Monday, March 17, 2025, 1:30 pm 

Training Health Justice Leaders for Real Policy and Population Health Impact


Bethany Hamilton, JD
Director, National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership, Milken Institute School of Public Health

Bethany Hamilton has spent her career working at the intersection of health equity and social justice. She most recently served as Deputy Director, State Affairs at the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), where she led projects focused on expanding Medicaid, defending the Affordable Care Act, and strengthening the ability of community health centers to carry out their mission.She advanced health care workforce development initiatives as part of NACHC’s Community HealthCorps Program, and began her career as an Equal Justice Works AmeriCorps Legal Fellow at Legal Assistance of Western NY, where she built a re-entry law clinic and co-managed a law student summer associate program. As a former member of NCMLP’s Advisory Council from 2014-2019, she served as a bridge between the two sectors and was part of the team that oversaw NCMLP’s transition to become a federally-funded technical assistance hub for health centers.



Ellen Lawton, JD
Senior Fellow, Health Begins

Ellen Lawton leads training and technical assistance for the national Health Housing and Justice Initiative, a partnership with Kaiser Permanente and the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership. A national expert in the integration of legal professionals into the health care setting to address the social determinants of health, Ellen helped found and then led the National Center for Medical-Legal Partnership at George Washington University from 2001-2020. She is internationally recognized for her leadership in developing the medical-legal partnership model having published leading articles describing this work in clinical and legal journals. She received the Innovations in Legal Services Award from the National Legal Aid and Defender Association and was a member of the Legal Services Corporation’s 2019 Opioid Use Task Force. She is also a member of the board of directors of the Institute for Community Health.


Tuesday, March 18, 2025, 8:30 am 

Positioning Your Organization for Success:  The Strategic Role of CE/CPD


Ayelet Kuper, MD, DPhil
Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Toronto

Ayelet Kuper practices medicine within the Division of General Internal Medicine at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; she is also a scientist and associate director at the Wilson Centre for Research in Education, University Health Network/University of Toronto. She is a Professor of Medicine with cross-appointments to the Institute of Health Policy Management and Evaluation, the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, and Anne Tanebaum Centre for Jewish Studies, all at the University of Toronto.

Dr. Kuper has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and is frequently invited to speak internationally about topics related to multiple aspects of health professions education. She has also won national awards for her academic work (most recently the 2024 AFMC May Cohen Equity, Diversity and Gender Award from the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada and the 2024 Senior Investigator Award from the Canadian Society of Internal Medicine). She is the current President of AMEE: The International Association for Health Professions Education.

Tuesday, March 18, 2025, 1:30 pm 

Patient Engagement in Research Dissemination and PCORI Funding Opportunities


Rachel Mosbacher, MPA
Associate Director, Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award Program at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)

Rachel Mosbacher, MPA is the Associate Director for the Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award Program at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI). Rachel is responsible for strategic decision making and high-level management and monitoring of the program, its funded projects, and program activities that advance PCORI’s engagement mission.


Workshop Speakers

Sunday, March 16, 2025, 9 am to 11 am ET

From Data to Action: Using Evidence to Advocate for Your Office

Linda Caples, PhD

Director Continuing and Professional Development, Medical College of Wisconsin




Barb Anderson, MS

Director, Office of Continuing Professional Development, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health

Barbara Anderson, MS is currently the Director of the Office of Continuing Professional Development in the School of Medicine and Public Health and the Interprofessional Continuing Education Partnership (ICEP) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Barbara has led ICEP from its inception in 2015. Today ICEP is a comprehensive interprofessional continuing education program meeting the needs of healthcare professionals throughout Wisconsin and beyond. Barbara has more than 20 years of experience in continuing medical education. She holds a Master of Science degree in Continuing and Vocational Education and a bachelor’s degree in journalism and public relations from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Brian Tomczyk

Data Analyst, Office of Continuing and Professional Development, Medical College of Wisconsin

Brian Tomczyk is the Data Analyst for The Medical College of Wisconsin’s Office of Continuing Professional Development. Since joining the team in early 2023, he has guided the creation of a data warehouse and reports utilizing program data to advocate for the CME enterprise. He is always seeking ways to use software packages to streamline complex, labor-intensive processes such as activity evaluation and PARS reporting. As an aspiring statistician, Brian is currently a student in The Medical College of Wisconsin’s MA Biostatistics and Data Science program.





Generative AI for Innovative Multimedia in Continuing Professional Development: Practical Tools and Ethical Insights

Heather MacNeill, MD, BSc(PT), MScCH(HPTE), FRCPC
Faculty Lead, Educational Technologies, CPD, University of Toronto






Ken Masters, PhD, HDE, FDE
Associate Professor: Medical Informatics, Sultan Quboos University







Sofia Valanci, MD, PhD
Program Advisor, Learning Strategy, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada


Teaching for Quality (Te4Q)
All day course, Part 1 in AM, Part 2 in PM

This two-part workshop, offered by the AAMC, is a condensed version of the Teaching for Quality (Te4Q) course which is a faculty development program designed to equip clinical faculty to teach and integrate quality improvement and patient safety (QIPS) concepts into their educational programming more effectively. By training clinical faculty how to integrate QIPS across the continuum of health professions education, Te4Q ensures that QIPS is integral to medical student, resident, or clinician training. This mini version of the popular course will include brief didactics on adult learning and educational design, interactive application exercises, resources, and take-home tips for designing your own tailored educational program. Those who complete both pre-conference workshops and successfully complete a local application project are eligible to receive the AAMC Te4Q Certificate. 


Alisa Nagler, JD, MA, EdD
Assistant Director, Trauma Education Programs, ACS
Te4Q Faculty, AAMC

Dr. Nagler is Assistant Director for Trauma Education Programs with the American College of Surgeons (ACS). In this role she provides leadership including strategic planning oversight and high-level management for the global Trauma Education Programs. This includes creating an overall vision for Trauma Education that incorporates innovative teaching and learning strategies based on trauma healthcare needs assessments and program evaluation. Prior to this role, she was the Assistant Director for Accreditation, Validation and Credentialing. In that role, she was responsible for oversight and advancement of several major initiatives including the Continuous Professional Development Accreditation Program, which approves internal and external educational activities for continuing medical education credit, utilizing best practices in process and promoting educational innovation. Dr. Nagler also oversaw the Program for Educational Validation and Credentialing, offering personalized tracking and guidance for lifelong learning through MyCME and identifying opportunities for research and project implementation regarding evaluation and validation of knowledge and skills for surgeons across their careers. Lastly, she provided oversight of the ACS Academy of Master Surgeon Educators, advancing the science and implementation of education through innovation and promotion of the highest achievements in lifelong learning. Before joining ACS, Dr. Nagler was the Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education (GME) at Duke Medicine. There, she helped build a GME faculty development infrastructure, developed institution-wide educational programs for residents and fellows, and was instrumental in moving medical education research and scholarship forward.

Rachel B. Levine, MD, MPH
Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Cross Continuum Consultant in CPD, AAMC

Dr. Levine is professor of medicine and Associate Dean for Faculty Educational Development at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Levine completed medical school at McGill University in Montreal, Canada and residency training in Internal Medicine at Boston University Medical Center. Following residency, she completed a fellowship in Medical Education at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Levine’s areas of expertise include adult learning principles and facilitation of learning strategies. She directs or co-directs several faculty development programs to build teaching skills and promote scholarly educators that have institutional and national impact. Dr. Levine also directs leadership programs for early career faculty. She has published on women in academic medicine with a focus on leadership and sponsorship. Dr. Levine is active internationally as a member of the AMEE Faculty Development Committee. Dr. Levine’s areas of expertise include adult learning and faculty development in teaching skills. She has vast experience designing and facilitating programs (online and live) aimed at promoting the development of scholarly educators and leaders in medical education. She currently co-directs the Longitudinal Teaching Skills Course of the Johns Hopkins Faculty Development Program (now in its 31st year) and the Johns Hopkins Summer Teaching Camp in partnership with the Institute for Excellence in Education. Levine has presented workshops (locally, nationally and internationally) on teaching skills and other faculty development topics including career advancement and promotion for educators in the biomedical sciences. She is passionate about enhancing faculty teaching skills and promoting the academic success of educators.

Lisa Howley, MEd, PhD
Sr Director for Transforming Medical Education, AAMC
TE4Q Director, AAMC

Dr. Howley is an Educational Psychologist who has spent 30 years in the field of medical education supporting learners and faculty, conducting research, and developing curricula. She joined the AAMC in 2016 to advance the continuum of medical education, support experiential learning, and transform the curriculum across its member institutions and their clinical partners. She leads a portfolio that advances competency-based education, curricular design and faculty development, medical education scholarship, and the transition to residency. Prior to joining the AAMC, she spent eight years as the Associate DIO and AVP of Medical Education and Physician Development for Carolinas HealthCare System in North Carolina. In that role, she led a number of medical education initiatives across the professional development continuum, including graduate medical education accreditation, as well as physician leadership development for the large integrated healthcare system. She concurrently served as Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, where she led curriculum and faculty development. She also held a faculty appointment in educational research at UNC-Charlotte where she taught social science research methods and led and collaborated on numerous studies of effective education. Earlier in her career, she was a member of the medical education faculty at the University of Virginia School of Medicine where she developed the first clinical skills assessment center and designed and led performance-based assessments and simulation-enhanced curricula. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Central Florida, and both her Master of Education and Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Virginia.



Sunday, March 16, 2025, 1 pm to 3 pm ET

Creative Fundraising and Compliance for Continuing Education


Annette Mallory Donawa, PhD, MS.Ed
Associate Provost, Office of Continuing Professional Development, Thomas Jefferson University





Rebecca Kolb, MA
Education Consultant, 
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

Rebecca has devoted 19+ years to healthcare education. She partners with healthcare professionals to design, implement, and evaluate accredited educational interventions at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Prior to working directly in medical education, she served as a Quality Improvement Consultant for primary care community healthcare professionals. She holds a MA in Research Methods from Towson University, MD.


Podcasting Fun-0-1: An Introduction to Podcasting in Healthcare Professional Education

Brian S. McGowan, PhD, FACEhp
Chief Learning Officer & Co-Founder, ArcheMedX, Inc.

Dr. McGowan has served in leadership positions in numerous medical educational organizations and commercial supporters and is a Fellow of the Alliance (FACEhp). He founded the Outcomes Standardization Project, launched and hosted the Alliance Podcast, and most recently launched and hosts the JCEHP Emerging Best Practices in CPD podcast. In 2012 he Co-Founded ArcheMedX, Inc, a healthcare informatics and e-learning company to apply his research in practice. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) (@BrianSMcGowan) and connect with him on Linkedin.


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