Russell Kohl, MD, FAAFP

Russell W. Kohl, MD, FAAFP, a family physician living in Stilwell, Kansas, and member of the Oklahoma Academy of Family Physicians, is speaker of the AAFP’s governing body, the Congress of Delegates. As speaker, Kohl is an officer on the AAFP Board of Directors. The AAFP represents 124,500 physicians and medical students nationwide. As an AAFP board member, Kohl advocates on behalf of family physicians and patients to inspire positive change in the U.S. health care system.

Kohl is chief medical officer with TMF Health Quality Institute, a Medicare quality improvement organization serving Arkansas, Nebraska, Mississippi, Texas, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He currently sees patients with the non-profit Care Beyond the Boulevard, providing direct medical care to people living in homeless encampments throughout the Kansas City metro area. He’s also a Colonel and Chief Flight Surgeon in the Missouri Air National Guard, where he serves as the State Air Surgeon. He previously served as chief medical officer of TransforMED, ran a full-scope solo practice in rural Oklahoma and served as faculty at the University of Oklahoma School of Community Medicine.

A member of the AAFP since 1998, Kohl began his association work by serving as a student delegate to the Congress of Delegates and as student chair of the AAFP National Conference of Students and Residents. Since then, he has held numerous leadership roles, including serving on multiple commissions, as the new physician member of the AAFP Board of Directors and as the chair of the Commission on Finance and Insurance. He held a variety of leadership positions within the Oklahoma AFP, including 16 years on the board of directors and a term as president.

Kohl has been an active member of both the Oklahoma State Medical Association, where he served on multiple committees and as a legislative liaison, and the Texas Medical Association. As a member of the National Association of Parliamentarians, he is well versed in parliamentary procedure and its application.

Kohl earned his bachelor of university studies degree in fire protection and safety engineering from Oklahoma State University. He earned his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, where he also completed his residency in family medicine.

Kohl is board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and has earned the AAFP Degree of Fellow, awarded to family physicians for distinguished service and continuing medical education.