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Academy Selects Appointees for Latest WEL Cohort
April 7, 2021, 11:56 a.m. News Staff — In February, the AAFP issued a call for applicants to serve as members of a cohort to participate in the Women’s Wellness Through Equity and Leadership Alliance, a collaborative effort composed of representatives of 10 of the country’s leading medical organizations that works to develop and create more equitable workplace experiences for women physicians.
After an extensive review process, the Academy has selected five members to participate in the next WEL cohort. They are:
Patricia Chico, M.D., a practicing family physician and team member with Mendocino Coast Clinics, a nonprofit, community-based health center in Fort Bragg, Calif. She has served in leadership roles at a number of federally qualified health centers, and has worked to increase and improve the level of education residents receive in health equity. She is also working to end coercive contracting practices in medicine.
Micaela “Mika” Godzich, M.D., M.S., a health sciences clinical assistant professor and associate residency program director in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at UC Davis Health in Sacramento, Calif. Godzich is also the director of the academic coaching program for medical students at the University of California, Davis. She is passionate about training a medical workforce that is representative of the communities it serves and has demonstrated a strong commitment to caring for uninsured and underinsured patients throughout her career, providing full-spectrum care in rural and urban health care settings in California and Washington.
Aline Hansen-Guzman, M.D., a practicing family physician and site director of the University of Colorado Morgan County Family Medicine Residency Rural Training Track at Salud Family Health Centers in Fort Morgan, Colo. Hansen-Guzman has spent her career providing care to underserved and diverse patient populations in rural areas. She helped found the rural training track in Morgan County to prepare family medicine residents to practice in rural areas and increase access to high-quality primary care. In addition, she helped form an organization in northeast Colorado to support the LGBTQ+ community in the region.
Naz Khan, M.D., M.B.A., regional Medicare medical director with Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield and a member of the New York AFP’s membership commission. She has been recognized as an excellent clinician, educator and patient advocate with a proven record of success and is known for creating a culture of accomplishment and collaboration. She is also a strong advocate for health care equity and for diversity in health care leadership, which is exemplified in her current role leading a racial equities and healthcare disparities initiative at Anthem.
Amaryllis Sanchez Wohlever, M.D., a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine & Rural Health at Florida State University College of Medicine, who has also served as chief resident and president of the Florida Association of Family Medicine Residents. For more than two decades, Sanchez Wohlever has worked to increase the confidence and courage of women physicians across the country, using her skills as a speaker and writer to empower them to become instruments of positive change, obtain joy in the practice of medicine and achieve greater meaning in life.
“The AAFP is excited to be a part of the WEL Alliance and begin the next year of the program with these five outstanding family physician members,” said Julie Wood, M.D., M.P.H., the Academy’s senior vice president for research, science and health of the public. “Participating in WEL is designed to encourage further leadership growth for women with networking and mentoring in an interprofessional and intersectional manner. This program provides participants a unique opportunity to collaborate with members of other medical organizations on topics that are important to the AAFP, and it gives them a chance to represent family medicine in areas that are relevant to their careers and their communities.”
Story Highlights
The new cohort will consist of 50 women physicians. In addition to the AAFP’s representatives, it will include members from the Alliance’s other partner organizations: the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Physicians, American Hospital Association, American Medical Association, American Medical Women’s Association, American Psychological Association, National Hispanic Medical Association and National Medical Association.
The cohort will commence with a virtual kickoff meeting April 15-16. Cohort members will participate in an 18-month curriculum that includes a series of virtual meetings, monthly webinars, and various mentoring, networking and evaluation activities.
About WEL
The WEL Alliance is funded by The Physicians Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps empower physicians and provides them with support and resources to manage health care reform and successfully navigate the health care system.
The Alliance was founded in 2018 and originally consisted of six partner organizations, including the AAFP. Its goals include providing support for women physicians at the individual and organizational levels, and developing a new wave of women physician leaders, with the overall effect of creating a healthier, more equitable work experience.
For more information, contact the WEL Alliance at wel@aap.org.