Meet the 2024 Leadership Academy Faculty

Prior to his role as SHM CEO in July of 2020, Dr. Howell was faculty at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine for 20 years.

Dr. Howell trained for his Electrical Engineering Degree at the University of Maryland at College Park in 1992 and received his MD degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1996. He completed Internal Medicine residency at Johns Hopkins Bayview where he spent an additional year as Chief Resident. Upon completing residency in 2000, Dr. Howell remained at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine for 20 years, becoming Professor of Medicine in 2016.

Kierstin Cates Kennedy, MD, MSHA, FACP, SFHM, is dual trained in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and practices as an academic hospitalist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where she holds a rank of clinical associate professor of medicine and serves as Chief Medical Officer. She is fellowship trained in quality improvement in healthcare and has a specific interest in leadership and professional development of hospitalists.

Dr. Kheyandra D. Lewis is an Assistant Professor in Pediatrics at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. She received her BS in biology at Philadelphia University, her MD from Temple University School of Medicine, and Master’s in Medical Education at the University of Cincinnati. After completing pediatric residency training and a chief residency at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, she joined the Section of Hospital Medicine.

Mark V. Williams, MD, FACP, MHM, serves as Professor & Chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine at the Washington University School of Medicine and BJC HealthCare in St. Louis, Missouri leading 120+ clinicians. A nationally recognized leader in hospital medicine, Dr. Williams was a founding member of the Society of Hospital Medicine, one of the first two elected members of the SHM Board, and was subsequently selected as President of the organization. Additionally, he served as the founding Editor of the Journal of Hospital Medicine and served as Principal Investigator for SHM’s Project BOOST (Better Outcomes by Optimizing Safe Transitions).

Brian Harte, MD, MHM, is president of Cleveland Clinic Akron General, which includes a 532-registered-bed teaching and research medical center, an employed physician practice group, and other resources including visiting nurse services; and Cleveland Clinic’s Southern Region, which includes more than a dozen Cleveland Clinic healthcare facilities. He joined Akron General in September 2016 and previously served as president of Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights. Prior to Hillcrest, Dr. Harte was president of Cleveland Clinic South Pointe Hospital.

Amit Prachand is the Associate Vice President, Information and Analytics in the Office of Administration and Planning at Northwestern University. Amit leads Institutional Research efforts to collect, integrate, and analyze institutional and external data to support institutional decision-making, planning, and policy development. He is also an instructor in the MS in Higher Education Administration and Policy in the School of Education and Social Policy.

Dr. Marcus is founding Director of the Program for Health Care Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Marcus’ research, scholarship, and applied practice examine the advancement of healthcare and public health negotiation, conflict resolution, and leader development.

Dr. Glasheen is the Director of the Institute for Healthcare Quality, Safety and Efficiency, the Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs—Quality and Safety Education, and Professor of Medicine with Tenure at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. The IHQSE offers multiple distinct development programs in quality, safety, and healthcare leadership having trained more than 3,000 participants. It is the only quality development program in the country to be associated with improvements in publicly reported hospital quality rankings.

Rusty is a hospitalist and founder of 1821Health, an evidence-based healthcare leadership development company with a mission of “Building Leadership Capabilities.” His passion for developing leaders and shaping organizational culture are hallmarks of his 26 years as a physician executive.

Michael earned a bachelor of science degree in clinical-community psychology from the University of Michigan-Flint and master’s and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from Bowling Green State University. He completed a pre-doctoral internship and postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Kansas School of Medicine Wichita. Subsequently, he was a full-time psychology professor for 20 years, during which he wrote more than 250 published articles, book chapters, and books.

Ankit Mehta is a hospitalist with HealthPartners and an Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota (UMN). He has a keen interest in the intersection of arts, humanities, and medicine. He co-created a one-day communication and empathy course, “CRAVE” (Communication, Resilience, Authenticity, Vulnerability, and Empathy) at HealthPartners for practicing clinicians. Dr. Mehta also directs a “medical improv” course, an adaptation of improvisational theater principles in a medical context to enhance skills including communication, empathy, and teamwork. He currently chairs the research committee for the National Medical Improv Collaborative group. He has presented at various regional, national, and international conferences. Dr. Mehta’s research is focused on the impact of improv training on communication, empathy, emotional intelligence, and uncertainty tolerance.

Dr. Mary Fredrickson is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota Department of Medicine where she directs the Hospital Medicine Pathway. She is a practicing hospitalist with HealthPartners Medical Group in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dr. Fredrickson’s leadership experience has included Section Head for the Department of Hospital Medicine and most recently as physician lead of Complex Care Review and as a Physician Advisor.

Dr. Jennifer O’Toole is Designated Institutional Official (DIO) and Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education at UC Health and the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine (UCCOM). Clinically she is an adult and pediatric hospitalist at University of Cincinnati Medical Center and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC), and a Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at UCCOM. She holds a Master of Education degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Cincinnati College of Education.

Dr. Khaalisha Ajala, MD, MBA, FHM is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and an academic hospitalist at Emory University School of Medicine (SOM).  As a champion of medical education, she is the Assistant Site Director of Education of Hospital Medicine at Grady.  She is the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) 2021 recipient of the Excellence in Humanitarian Services Award. As a member of SHM’s DEI Committee, she leads efforts to increase the presence of URIM learners at SHM’s Annual Converge in 2022, 2023 and 2024. She is also a member of the editorial board of The Hospitalist and is the chair of Global Hospital Medicine of SHM.

Kimberly D. Manning, MD is a general internist/hospitalist who serves as Vice Chair of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Department of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. Manning is Professor of Medicine and additionally serves as residency program director for the Transitional Year Residency Program at Emory. Beyond her roles in the Department of Medicine, she has been a society small group advisor at the Emory since their curriculum reform in 2007. Dr. Manning continues to hold this position and currently co-leads the Semmelweis Society—one of the four academic houses in the medical school.