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Regional Council

Note: If you have recently been elected as a Regional or State Chair for the AMA-RFS, please register here.

Information about Regional Chairs

In order to help develop strategic relationships with leaders of state and specialty society resident sections, the RFS Governing Council (GC) recently created the Regional Council, a body that will be comprised of eight regional chairs and one liaison from the RFS Governing Council.

Regional Chairs will be responsible for maintaining contact with state leaders, fostering communication between local and national RFS leaders, recruiting new RFS members and developing new methods to increase resident/fellow participation at the Annual and Interim meetings. In addition, Regional Chairs will be vital links in disseminating information on how the AMA is positively impacting the lives of residents and fellows around the country.

Regional Chairs will be elected by their respective regions during the Annual Meeting and will conduct the business of the Regional Meeting at both the Annual and Interim Meetings. After being elected, each Regional Chair will serve for a one-year term that will conclude at the following Annual Meeting.

Regional Chair job

Within their respective regions, Regional Chairs are responsible for the following:

a. Informing state leaders of current RFS events

b. Increasing RFS membership

c. Soliciting ideas of how to improve RFS activities

d. Mobilizing RFS members for important AMA activities

e. Promoting cooperation between local and national RFS leaders

f. Developing new methods of how to increase resident/fellow participation in the RFS

g. Coordinating and presiding over Regional Meetings

At the Interim and Annual Meetings, the Regional Chairs are required to submit a short report of membership, legislative awareness and leadership promotion activities to their respective regions and the RFS Governing Council.

Regional Chairs will also have an open invitation to all General Sessions of the AMA-RFS Governing Council and shall be invited to additional leadership events at the discretion of the AMA-RFS GC Chair.

Region 7, Chair: Anuta Virapongse, MD (MA) Region 6, Chair: Rob Oldham, MD (VA) Region 5, Chair: Jeremy Lipshutz, MD (MI) Region 4, Co-Chair: Elizabeth Harper, MD (TN) Region 3, Chair: Timothy Beacham, MD (MS) Region 2, Co-Chair: Gregory dePrisco, MD Region 1, Chair: Jacob Ballon, MD (CA)

Region 1
Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
Chair: Michael Keng, MD (CA)
Email: michael.k.Keng@gmail.com
Vice Chair: Denise Whitfield, MD(CA)
Email: denise.whitfield@gmail.com

Region 2
Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin
Chair: Sara Woodward Dyrstad, MD (MO)
Email: sdyrstad@siumed.edu
Vice Chair: Jake Behrens, MD (WI)
Email: jbehrens2@uwhealth.org

Region 3
Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas
Chair: Jeremy Toler, MD (LA)
Email: jtoler@lsuhc.edu

Region 4
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
Chair: Muhammad Usman Khan, MD (TN) 
Email: usmankemc@hotmail.com

Region 5
Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia
Chair: Vandna Handa, MD (IN) 
Email: vhanda@iupui.edu

Region 6
Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia
Chair: Brandi Ring, MD (MD) 
Email: Brandi.ring@gmail.com

Region 7
Connecticut, New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont
Chair: L Carlos Zapata, MD (NY)
Email: lc.zapata204@gmail.com

Region 8
Specialties
Chair: Yvonne Butler, MD
Email: ybutler1@hfhs.org

If you are interested in serving on the Regional Council Committee, print, complete, and return the Regional Council application (PDF, 68KB, requires Adobe® Reader®) to the AMA Department of Resident and Fellow Services, 515 N. State St., Chicago, IL 60654.