Honoring Junior Fellow District Chairs
Junior Fellow College Advisory Council (JFCAC) members pay tribute to outgoing 2022 Junior Fellow District Chairs. Thank you for your leadership!
Dr. Tesia Kim
Junior Fellow Chair
District I
Please join me in thanking Dr. Tesia Kim, District I Junior Fellow Chair, for her commitment to ACOG and her District. Her District I Junior Fellow Vice Chair, Dr. Farrah Saleh, said the following, “It has been an absolute pleasure and honor to work with Tess! She cares so much about her patients and colleagues, and she is such a passionate advocate. Thank you, Tess, for your dedication to ACOG District I!”
Dr. Sarah Weingarten
Junior Fellow Chair
District II
Please join me in thanking Dr. Sarah Weingarten, District II Junior Fellow Chair, for her commitment to ACOG and her District. Her District II Junior Fellow Vice Chair, Dr. Emile Redwood, said the following, “Sarah cares deeply about District II and was a wonderful mentor to me and our leadership. She worked hard on reintroducing us to life in person, JFIT and organizing Junior Fellow day at the national conference along with many other projects. We will miss you!”
Dr. Sabrina C. Brunozzi
Junior Fellow Chair
District III
Please join me in thanking Dr. Sabrina C. Brunozzi, District III Junior Fellow Chair, for her commitment to ACOG and her District. Her District III Junior Fellow Vice Chair, Dr. Kerry Campbell, said the following, “I have loved working with Sabrina during her time as chair of District 3. She has worked tirelessly to put together our much awaiting Junior Fellow Day, coming up in October, and spent many hours making it perfect. This will be the first in person since COVID and will be a success due to her efforts. I learned a lot from her and will miss her when her term is finished!”
Dr. Caroline Cochrane
Junior Fellow Chair
District IV
Please join me in thanking Dr. Caroline Cochrane, District IV Junior Fellow Chair, for her commitment to ACOG and her District. Her District IV Junior Fellow Vice Chair, Dr. Annam Abbasi, said the following, “Caroline and I started our journey in ACOG together as vice chair elects back in the day, and I am so impressed with the leader she has become. She serves as an example to others, and I couldn't be more honored to have learned from her over the years. I know I have some big shoes to fill. What's most impressive is that she does it all looking fab! I'd say I'll miss you, Caroline, but I know that but I know that you'll be there to support me through my transition to JF District Chair because that's the kind of person that that you are. It's been my pleasure!”
Dr. Caitlin Thomas
Junior Fellow Chair
District V
Please join me in thanking Dr. Caitlin Thomas, District V Junior Fellow Chair and JFCAC Vice Chair, for her commitment to ACOG and her District. Her District V Junior Fellow Vice Chair, Dr. Tawana Coates, said the following, “Dr. Thomas can be defined as a selfless advocate and it has been a pleasure to have her lead district V even through the uncertainty of a pandemic. Her compassion for underserved populations shines through her community work within the ACOG district V and as an academic generalist. She is one of the first individuals to step up to lead DEI projects or discussions, despite how uncomfortable they may be.”
Dr. Rebecka Bogue
Junior Fellow Chair
District VI
Please join me in thanking Dr. Rebecka Bogue, District VI Junior Fellow Chair, for her commitment to ACOG and her District. Her District VI Junior Fellow Vice Chair, Dr. Aparna Kailasam, said the following, “Rebecka, it has been a privilege and an honor to work with you this past year under your term as the District VI Junior Fellow Chair. You are truly a superwoman for having this position in your first two years in practice and while having a baby! Your ability to juggle meetings between breastfeeding and being on call while always being kind and charismatic is inspiring. If I can emulate a fraction of your energy and organization, I will consider it a success. I’m so happy that for the first time in many years, we will have a JF past chair stay in district! I will miss running meetings with you, but I’m so glad you’ll be around! Can’t wait for our next fervent 'Let’s Change the World' conversation over a bottle of wine in true District VI-style. Congratulations on an excellent officer term and thank you so much for everything!”
Dr. Kimberly Simmons
Junior Fellow Chair
District VII
Please join me in thanking Dr. Kimberly Simmons, District VII Junior Fellow Chair, for her commitment to ACOG and her District. Her District VII Junior Fellow Vice Chair, Dr. Allen Ghareeb, said the following, “Dr. Kimberly Simmons has been such an incredible role model in the Junior Fellow leadership space. We learned how to navigate engagement in the time of COVID-19. We worked together for over a year and a half before we were finally able to meet! I will never forget how excited I was to meet in person - I'm thankful for ACOG for giving me lifelong mentors and peers to look up to. Kim, I hope you don't miss my panicked texts 15 times a week too much!”
Dr. Shruti Bala
Junior Fellow Chair
District VIII
Please join me in thanking Dr. Shruti Bala, District VIII Junior Fellow Chair, for her commitment to ACOG and her District. Her District VIII Junior Fellow Vice Chair, Dr. Milady Banegas, said the following, “Shruti has been an excellent leader, with such a great commitment. It is an honor to have known and work with her. I know she has a bright future ahead of her to continue advocating for women's health and wellness.”
Dr. Maura Jones
Junior Fellow Chair
District IX
Please join me in thanking Dr. Maura Jones, District IX Junior Fellow Chair, for her commitment to ACOG and her District. Her District IX Junior Fellow Vice Chair, Dr. Diana Ha, said the following, “Maura is a miracle worker. She has been an incredible and caring District IX Junior Fellow Chair leading us through projects and initiatives while also balancing her other leadership roles and responsibilities outside of ACOG. She will be missed!"
Dr. Lily Criscione
Junior Fellow Chair
Armed Forces District
Please join me in thanking Dr. Lily Criscione, Armed Forces District Junior Fellow Chair, for her commitment to ACOG and her District. Her Armed Forces District Junior Fellow Vice Chair, Dr. Lindsay Chatfield, said the following, "I have had the pleasure of knowing Dr. Criscione for the past four years. She has not just been our District Chair but she has been a co-resident, mentor, and friend. As a resident, Dr. Criscione worked tirelessly to advocate for diversity and resident wellness within our department, never backing down from tough conversations. She is one of the most driven, passionate, and selfless people I know. As overwhelming as moving across the world in your third trimester, becoming an attending, and becoming a mother of two all within a year might seem, Dr. Criscione handled it with grace and poise. She continued the great work of the Junior Fellows in our District as well as creating brand new initiatives that will only make us stronger and bring us closer together. We are a better, more unified District because of Dr. Criscione."
Dr. Nichole Ogojiaku
Junior Fellow Chair
District XI
Please join me in thanking Dr. Nichole Ogojiaku, District XI Junior Fellow Chair, for her commitment to ACOG and her District. Her District XI Junior Fellow Vice Chair, Dr. Sara Jones, said the following, “Nichole is a tremendous leader and wonderful human. She brings her thoughtful nature to every discussion and approaches each project with compassion. For example, she felt passionately about including family planning training in our annual district meeting and persevered to see it through. She listens to her team and takes the time to draw input from everyone, making her accomplishments always team successes. Each Junior Fellow meeting was filled with time for group discussion, enabling effective brainstorming and creative ideas. More than anything she has been a fantastic role model and is leaving huge shoes to fill!”
Dr. Veronica Alvarez-Galiana
Junior Fellow Chair
District XII
Please join me in thanking Dr. Veronica Alvarez-Galiana, District XII Junior Fellow Chair, for her commitment to ACOG and his District. Her District XII Junior Fellow Vice Chair, Dr. Melissa Schechter, said the following, “District XII would like to thank, Dr. Veronica Alvarez-Galiana, for her incredible work as our Junior Fellow Chair. She has been a fierce advocate for our Junior Fellows as well as our patients and we are very excited to continue to have her guidance as Junior Fellow Past Chair.”