Congratulations to the students at Loyola University of Chicago's Stritch School of Medicine for founding the newest chapter of Citizen Physicians! We're thrilled to have you!

​Kate Nowakowski is passionate about civic engagement and health policy. She spent a year working with underserved populations as part of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. She also has examined issues such as American Indian health, end of life care and precision medicine in her research in biomedical ethics. She has witnessed our broken health care system and its disservice to patients and hopes to change it through health policy work in future. When asked about why she wanted to bring Citizen Physicians to her campus, Kate responded: "Healthcare professionals have a unique perspective on many issues and it's tremendously important that we help them engage in the political process to better inform our systems going forward. Citizen Physicians strives for this goal and I'm excited to participate."

​Stephanie Glick is deeply invested in community health and advocacy as a future physician. She studied biology, public health and development at Houghton College. Following graduation, Stephanie spent a year working as a medical assistant in community health centers in Sierra Leone and Buffalo, NY. She engages in current issues and believes that gaining insight into policy and understanding the system she works in is a critical component of providing quality care to her future patients. When asked why she's excited about Citizen Physicians at Loyola she answered: “I am convinced that civic engagement is key for bringing positive change in a broken system and I am excited to see how Citizen Physicians will encourage healthcare providers to find their voice.”

​Nicolas Semenchuk staffed the Health and Reform & Human Services Committees in the Arizona House of Representatives during Medicaid expansion, and subsequently worked as a community organizer and campaign manager for decision-makers that expanded access to care. The adversity his family experienced in accessing care inspired his decision to pursue medical training at Loyola University Chicago, Stritch School of Medicine. His career goals are to provide quality primary care in underserved communities while also informing policy, system, and environmental interventions that improve delivery efficiency and community health outcomes. To this end, he is excited to join Citizen Physicians and work toward increasing civic action among medical students and professionals at Loyola University Medical Center.

​Maggie Bennett is originally from Wilmington, NC. She grew up on the beach before moving to Boston for undergrad and her masters in cell biology. Now a student at Loyola, she looks forward to working to further civically engage herself and her peers this coming year!

Welcome to the family, Loyola students! Now let's get to work!

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the third annual National Medical Student Voter Registration Campaign, a Citizen Physicians initiative to get a voter registration drive in every medical school across the country!

Organizers receive one of our Citizen Physicians lapel pins for your white coat.

Sign up here to receive more information.

Please share this post with friends at other medical schools (or your school's student listservs if you are personally not able to coordinate) to help us spread the word.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions.

We are thrilled to announce our newest chapter of Citizen Physicians led by two extraordinary and passionate medical students at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Juliana Costanzo Dixon attended the University of Arizona where she studied Anthropology and Molecular Biology. She first became involved in politics as a campaign volunteer during the 2016 presidential primary. After graduating, she worked as a petition circulator gathering signatures for ballot initiatives in Arizona. Juliana is now a member of the inaugural class of the Population Based Urban and Rural Community Health program at University of Massachusetts Medical School, a program focused on preparing future physicians to work in underserved populations. "I believe that public policy can profoundly impact social determinants of health, so it is important for healthcare professionals to remain civically engaged. I am proud to be supporting Citizen Physicians in this goal. "

Shiv Bhadola has called Massachusetts his home for his entire life. After attending MA Boys State, an American Legion program focused on government and citizen involvement, in high school, he went to Boston University, where he majored in neuroscience. In his spare time, Shiv loves keeping up with sports, especially basketball, and making hip hop music. "I think Citizen Physicians has the capability to get motivated individuals engaged at a time of political change, and so I look forward to helping it move forward."

We are thrilled to announce that Victoria Kempter, MBA, has joined the Citizen Physicians Board of Directors.

Always one to be excited by the opportunity to blend a passion for civic engagement with finance, Victoria is excited to serve as Treasurer for Citizen Physicians. Currently, Victoria works in finance at Delta Air Lines. She earned an M.B.A. from Emory's Goizueta Business School and a B.S. in Mathematical Economics from the University of Richmond. Prior to business school, she worked in Washington, DC in finance and administration at the political organization EMILY's List. While in DC, she also served on the Executive Committee of the volunteer-run nonprofit Women's Information Network for nearly three years.

Originally from Albuquerque, NM, Victoria currently lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband Nathan and their cat Jezebel.
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Victoria will bring her passion and expertise to our young organization and we couldn't feel luckier to have her join us.

Welcome, Victoria!

We are thrilled to welcome Suparna Reddy, JD, to Citizen Physician's Board of Directors. A recent graduate of Columbia Law School, Suparna has wasted no time and has already helped guide Citizen Physician's 501(c)3 filing process. 

Suparna brings years of fundraising, development, and advocacy experience to the Board with her previous involvement with “No Place for Hate” campaign, as well as work with community NGOs and political activities both in the USA and India.

With regard to joining the Board, Reddy states: "I am particularly impressed by how CP chooses to tackle this issue of physician civic engagement by starting with the grassroots effort of getting medical students and physicians to vote, while also providing opportunities to explore higher levels of engagement through events and networking."

Suparna: we're so glad you've joined the team!

I'm honored to announce that Ambassador Mark Dybul has joined our Board of Directors. Mark has informally provided guidance and mentorship from the time Citizen Physicians was just an idea. So I am thrilled that with his return to the States after his tenure as Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria, he will be formally joining Liz Schrayer, Barbara Bush, Emily Flower, and Nicole Alexander-Scott on our official Board.

​Mark Dybul, MD, is the Faculty Co-Director of the Center for Global Health and Quality and Professor in the Department of Medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center.

Mark has worked on HIV and public health for more than 25 years as a clinician, scientist, teacher, and administrator, most recently as the Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

After graduating from Georgetown Medical School in Washington D.C., Mark joined the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as a research fellow under director Dr. Anthony Fauci, where he conducted basic and clinical studies on HIV virology, immunology and treatment optimization, including the first randomized, controlled trial with combination antiretroviral therapy in Africa.

Mark was one of the founding architects in the formation of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, better known as PEPFAR. After serving as Chief Medical officer, Assistant, Deputy and Acting Director, he was appointed as its leader in 2006, becoming U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, with the rank of Ambassador at the level of an Assistant Secretary of State. He served until early 2009.

Mark has written extensively in scientific and policy literature, and has received several Honorary Degrees and awards, including a Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa, from Georgetown University.

Mark: we're thrilled to have you!

Posted by:
Aaron Shapiro
Founder, Executive Director

[Bio originally posted here and re-posted with permission from Mark Dybul]

Medical students are engaging now more than ever before. Join the movement!

Citizen Physicians is re-launching our National Medical Student Voter Registration Campaign. Participating is easy. Sign up here to receive more information about how to set up a voter registration campaign at your school and get a Citizen Physicians pin for your white coat! Read more here.

We're excited to announce the launch of our new and improved website! We hope you pay us a visit!