Finding mentor with lasting impact worth the time, effort

Leaders of the Ohio AFP gather during a chapter meeting, including (back row, from left) Sarah Sams MD, FAAFP; Linda Stone, MD, FAAFP; Cathy Bishop, DO, FAAFP; Lisa Righter, MD, FAAFP; and (front) Colette Willins, MD; Renee Markovich, MD, FAAFP; and Mary Jo Welker, MD, FAAFP.

Sept. 15, 2025

Women on the AAFP Board of Directors are sharing stories about the women who shaped their training, careers and leadership paths during Women in Medicine Month.

We heard from AAFP President Jen Brull, MD, FAAFP, and President-elect Sarah Nosal, MD, FAAFP, in part one of this three-part series. In this second installment, four other Board members reflect on the mentors who inspired them to lead.

California family physicians Cynthia Chen-Joea, DO, MPH, CPH, FAAFP, (left) and Kim Yu, MD, FAAFP, pose for a photo during the National Conference of Constituency Leaders in Kansas City, Missouri.

One of the most influential mentors in my career has been Kim Yu, MD, FAAFP. From the beginning, she modeled what it means to lead with integrity, courage and compassion. As an early-career physician navigating advocacy and leadership, I often felt unsure of how to step into those spaces with confidence. Kim didn’t just encourage me—she opened doors, invited me into spaces I didn’t yet know I belonged in, and reminded me that my voice mattered.

The biggest difference maker was her intentional mentorship. She listened deeply and guided with wisdom, honesty and authenticity. I still remember debating whether to run for co-convener of the women’s constituency while pregnant a few years ago during the National Conference of Constituency Leaders. I worried it would be too much, that I didn’t have enough experience and that I wasn’t “enough” to lead.

I asked many people for advice, but it was Kim who went above and beyond to help me. She offered specific feedback on my speech, helped me clarify my “why,” listened to me practice and encouraged me to lead from the heart. I found my voice and won the election.

I can’t always recall her exact words, but the feeling she always leaves me with is unforgettable: That I am capable, important, and that what I have to say matters and I can make a difference in this world. Because of Kim’s mentorship, I show up more boldly not just for myself, but for my daughter, and for every physician still learning to believe they belong and deserve to be heard.

—Cynthia Chen-Joea, DO, MPH, CPH, FAAFP
New physician member of the Board

As a new physician, I attended the Ohio AFP’s annual meetings for CME, but I was not involved in chapter leadership. Linda Stone, MD, FAAFP, changed that.

Linda was a family physician in my community, faculty at Ohio State and the second woman president of the Ohio AFP. We had connected, in part, because her students rotated in my clinic.

At one of those Ohio AFP meetings, I found Linda working in the chapter foundation’s booth. She was there to raise funds and awareness about the foundation, but Linda always found time to help individuals, too.

She encouraged me to get involved with the chapter and to serve as a district director. I had never considered it.

As I got more involved, Linda gave me invaluable advice not only about leadership but about important career decisions. She had started her own family by the time she was in medical school, and she was wonderful at helping those of us who were raising kids and joining the leadership track find balance.

Linda started an honor society program emphasizing compassionate care at the medical school and invited people to related events at her home. That was a great example for me because it wasn’t just about teaching medicine or helping people with their careers. It was about being an example for life. While many people treated mentoring as an academic endeavor, Linda saw it as a humanistic endeavor.

She made an effort to really know people. When a person felt like they weren’t good enough, Linda could find that best part of you and help you see it, too.

—AAFP Director Sarah Sams, MD, FAAFP

I was a new resident in 1999 when I sat down in the male-dominated boardroom as the newly elected resident director at my first North Carolina AFP board meeting. My journey through medical school came at a time when misogynistic comments were ubiquitous, and strong female physicians were marginalized with labels like “bossy,” “brassy,” or other “B” words.

As a strong-willed young woman, I wondered how I would fit in.

North Carolina family physicians Shannon Dowler MD, FAAFP, left, and Maureen Murphy MD, FAAFP, pose for a photo before the start of an AAFP meeting.

At the head of the table at that first board meeting was a beacon of hope in the form of a bold and unapologetically unique leader, Maureen Murphy, MD, FAAFP, who had just been installed as the second woman president in our chapter’s history. Maureen was funny, generous and just off-center enough that I felt an immediate kinship with her.

Maureen was my first mentor in medicine. While I was a medical student she had, unasked, wrapped me in her protective arms, validated me as an emerging woman leader and enthusiastically encouraged me to seek election as resident director.

Twenty-five years later, we have remained side by side through a series of professional celebrations, including my election as president of North Carolina AFP, her recognition as AAFP Family Physician of the Year and, over the years, both of us receiving North Carolina Family Physician of the Year.

Last year, she supported me in my successful bid for the AAFP Board of Directors with a clear voice that encouraged me to stay true to my own quirky and unique style.

Finding a mentor with a lasting impact takes work and dedication by both parties, but it is well worth the commitment.

—AAFP Director Shannon Dowler, MD, CPE, FAAFP

I am so fortunate to have had brilliant and kind women in medicine who helped me in every step of my family medicine journey. I always knew I wanted to be a family physician, but I did not know how beautiful and diverse my career could be until special people showed me how it could be done.

Katherine (Tina) Krause, MD, my residency advisor, showed early on that strong women in family medicine could also have fascinating lives outside of our careers. Tina was a brilliant diagnostician, a world traveler and a master gardener. To this day, she is the only female to serve as an interim chair of a family medicine department in Connecticut. I hope to be a little bit more like her someday—at least in my gardens!

Early in practice, it was Charlene Li, MD, who introduced me to my Connecticut AFP family, and to the Core Content Review of Family Medicine product. She was one of the five women before me who served as CAFP president, and was an original editor of Core. I am forever grateful that her mentorship taught me to use my medical brain in different ways, as a medical editor and chapter leader.

Jane Walker, MD, my first practice partner and dear friend, showed me how to balance work and family. She helped me step out of my traditional box to study acupuncture. She brought fun, laughter and integrity to each day in the practice we ran together for 10 years.

All these women, all on different paths in family medicine, helped me to carve my own. I am grateful and would not be who I am without them.

—AAFP Director Kathleen Mueller, MD, FAAFP