Deborah Dreyfus, MD is a native of New York City. Deborah received her B.A. in English from Cornell University in Ithaca in 2001. Following graduation, she spent a year teaching in an Americorps program in Oregon. She then entered the University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey where, among her many activities, she helped establish and co-edited the school's Murmurs Literary Magazine, a compilation of short stories, prose and poems. Deb was selected to be a member of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism Society at UMDNJ. She has a strong interest in serving people with developmental disabilities. In her spare time, Deb enjoys writing essays, long distance running and spending time with her family and friends.

Kristina Espinoza, MD is originally form Jacksonville, FL and moved to the Midwest when she attended the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor majoring in Psychology and Biology. She enjoyed the cold weather enough that she decided to stay and attend the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. She took a detour from Family Medicine for over a year and began an Emergency Medicine residency at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. The experience was invaluable but left her lacking the connection she needed with her patients. From being the chairperson of the Medical Students for Minority Concerns, to volunteering as a big sister, Kristina has enjoyed giving back to the community in her free time. Her other interests include reading, spending time with her nephews, traveling Latin America, and taking trips to the dog park.

Sarah Francois, MD was born in Belleville, WI. Sarah and her family have been long time patients at our clinic there. Sarah completed her B.S. in Kinesiology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2002 before moving to Milwaukee to attend the Medical College of Wisconsin. While a student at MCW, she volunteered at the Saturday Clinic for the Uninsured. She was also active in the school's admissions process. Sarah's interest in family medicine includes particular a focus on sports medicine and women's health. Sarah knows St. Mary's well, having worked as a physical therapy aide at the hospital for several months prior to entering medical school. She has a close relationship with her family who still live in Belleville. She is an accomplished athlete who, among other things, enjoys running and training for marathons.

Christian Kastman, MD - hails from the Badger state, growing up in Kenosha, WI where in high school he decided that practicing medicine was his calling. Following an undergraduate career in Madison, where Chris earned a B.S. in Medical Microbiology/Immunology and Bacteriology, he made the decision to stay in Madison and attend the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, a great location for an avid Badger and Packer fan. While in medical school, he volunteered at the Grace Episcopal Drop-In Shelter clinic. Chris comes from a large family consisting of seven brothers and sisters. His family stretches the globe from China to Arizona. His wife, Katie, works in product improvement with Oscar Meyer Foods. Chris' interests include films, music, poker, golf and books covering naval warfare during the Napoleonic Era.

Kari Kindschi, MD is a lifelong Madison resident. She completed her B.A. in Political Science and Spanish from UW-Madison before earning her MD at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health in May. Last year, Kari received the Bjorn Lund Scholar award which enabled her to participate in a month of clinical study in geriatrics in Oslo, Norway. During medical school, Kari was involved in the Moms and Maternity Support (MoMS) group as a member and co-leader. She served as the liaison between the FMIG and AAFP while a 2nd year student. Kari also volunteered her services to MEDIC, a group that provided health care to Madison's underserved community. Kari's outside interests include biking, hiking, soccer, swimming and travel.

Greta Kuphal, MD is originally from rural Hartford, WI where she grew up with seven brothers and sisters and a variety of household companions including rabbits, sheep and a goat. She completed her B.S. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2000 after spending two years at the Green Bay campus. She then did a year of service through the AmeriCorps program at a clinic for the homeless in Casper, Wyoming. In 2002, Greta entered medical school at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, where she was selected to be a LOCUS fellow. As her project, she helped develop a documentary comparing the U.S. and Canadian health care systems. Her areas of interest include increased access to healthcare among all populations, serving the underserved and integrative medicine. She and her husband, Larry, are the proud parents of their baby girl, Cecilia, born in April of this year.

Leila Midelfort, MD is a Madison native. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota, where she was co-captain of the women's varsity rowing team.Leila then entered the Peace Corps and lived Honduras for two years doing ecological preservation work. She subsequently returned to Madison and spent a semester earning a degree as a Basic Emergency Medical Technician. Leila then entered medical school at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. She was involved in the MEDIC free clinics and was treasurer of the Family Medicine Interest Group. During medical school, Leila volunteered at a small clinic in rural Ecuador and traveled with fellow students to Cuba to study the health care system there. She enjoys canoeing, kayaking, backpacking, volunteer work and rowing.

Andrew Oleszkowicz, MD comes to us from Detroit where he completed his MD at Wayne State University School of Medicine. Prior to medical school, Andrew completed his B.S. in Exercise and Health Science at Alma College in Alma, MI. During his undergraduate career, he volunteered at the Michigan Masonic Retirement Home, where he taught low-impact resistance exercises to the elderly residents. At Wayne State, Andrew made a major commitment to the school's co-curricular "Fabric of Society" program doing a variety of service activities. Outside of medical school, Andrew also volunteered his time as a youth day camp counselor and as a youth mentor. Andrew's wife, Mariah, is a high school teacher who will be teaching in Madison this coming fall.

Emily Porter, MD is a Madison native. She finished her B.S. in Kinesiology at the UW- Madison before heading to the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee for her MD where she was elected to the AOA medical honor society. Prior to entering medical school, Emily received her certification as an athletic trainer. Emily has a very strong interest in sports medicine, having had the opportunity to serve as medical staff for several Badger sporting events including the 2000 Final Four appearance, as well as the 2000 Rose Bowl. She is a talented figure skater, who has competed and instructed for years. Emily also enjoys soccer, reading, watching sporting events, running, and relaxing at a family cabin in northern Wisconsin.

Kate Schueller, MD is originally from Sheboygan, WI. She completed a year of study at Miami University of Ohio before transferring to UW-Madison to finish her degree in Art History in 1995. This led Kate to Europe, where she had the chance to see first hand many of the works she had studied for so long. Kate then entered the University of Alberta to work on her secondary education degree which she earned in 1999. Her next journey led her to Yamaguchi, Japan where she and her husband taught English. Kate then returned to Wisconsin to begin medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin, where she was a leader in the Family Practice Student Association and a volunteer at the Saturday Free Clinic. She was elected to the AOA medical honor society. Kate's interests include art, furniture painting, travel, and activities with her six nieces.

Joe Skariah, DO comes to us from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. He attended DePaul University and earned a B.A. in political science in 1999. He was elected President of the Student Government Association at DePaul. He then completed a Masters of Public Health at the Northwest Ohio Consortium for Public Health in Toledo where he was also a leader, serving as President of the Graduate Student Senate. A Chicago native, he returned there for medical school and has been active in the Illinois Academy of Family Physicians advocating for health care justice, tort reform and tobacco regulation as well as authoring a white paper for the IAFP's Rural Health Task Force. In addition, Joe has competed in several marathons and enjoys playing the saxophone.

Stephanie Skladzien, MD is originally from the west Chicago suburb of Kildeer, IL. She completed her undergraduate education at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN where she earned a B.A. in Chemistry. Stephanie was very active in athletics while at St. Olaf. She competed in swimming, cross-country (M.I.A.C. conference champions) and as a 4-time member of the All-Conference water polo team. Stephanie then moved back to familiar ground to begin her medical education at the Rosalind Franklin University/Chicago Medical School. She served on her medical school's admissions committee and was a leader in two local running clubs. Stephanie remains an active triathlete with roughly 20 triathlons under her belt.

Amanda Swenson, MD is a graduate of the University of Missouri, where she earned a B.S. in Medicinal Chemistry and her M.D. at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Medicine. Her interest in medicine was inspired by her experiences as a teen volunteer at a children's hospital in Kansas City, her hometown. Amanda was a leader in medical school where she served as class president in both her 3rd and 4th years and participated in numerous committees. She was awarded the Claude K. Leeper Memorial Scholarship for outstanding academic performance and special sensitivity in the practice of medicine. An avid reader, Amanda enjoys works of both fiction and non-fiction, especially books pertaining to history or archeology. She is also a proud Kansas City Chiefs fan and enjoys swimming, hiking and collecting antique jewelry.

Born, raised and educated on the East coast, Mindy comes to Madison from Wake Forest University of Winston-Salem, NC, tobacco country and the home of John Tesh. Mindy completed her undergrad at Williams College in Williamstown, MA before heading to Williamsburg, VA to start her masters in Marine Science at William and Mary. Upon completing her masters at William and Mary, Mindy took on a fellowship offered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration where she and other marine science graduates were put into legislative and executive positions to learn the impacts of national policy. Mindy's medical interests include women's health, geriatric care and preventative medicine to name a few. Mindy is our second twin from the class of 2010.

Aileen was born and raised in Madison, WI. She is a graduate of UW-Madison where she completed a B.S. degree in Molecular Biology. During her years as a Badger, she conducted research in the Physiology Department, lettered in Track & Field, and was an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. An interest in research led her to complete a Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and Genetics at the University of Minnesota. She completed her medical studies at Stanford University School of Medicine. While at Stanford, she was an active member of SNMA, conducted research, and organized health education workshops in the community. Her medical interests include community medicine and women's health. Aileen enjoys R&B music, making pizza, and following world track and field.

Originally from Antigo and a graduate of UW- Stevens Point, Nathan completed his medical education at Des Moines University- Osteopathic Medical Center in May and will be crossing back over the border to begin his residency in Madison this summer. While in medical school, he served as a teaching assistant in two anatomy courses taught to first year students. Nathan has a strong love for the outdoors and enjoys running, fishing, golf and weightlifting. Among Nathan's medical interests are sports medicine, preventative medicine and pediatrics. Nathan's choice of family medicine is owing, in part, to the opportunity he will have to incorporate osteopathic manipulative medicine into his practice.

Jill is returning to Wisconsin following a hiatus to Iowa for medical school at Des Moines University Osteopathic Medical Center. She began her college career as a Warhawk of the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater and will now come full circle as she and her husband Greg become Badgers. The transition should not be difficult as she enjoys boating, hunting and snow skiing. Jill is a self-proclaimed "great cook" and has volunteered (unknowingly) to cater the weekly seminar. Thanks Jill. In medical school, she served as a teaching assistant for an Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine Lab and as an active member of the Preventative Medicine Club. In addition, Jill found time to volunteer at a local elementary school, serving as a tutor for children with special learning needs.

One of two representatives in the class of 2010 from Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, Nadim brings to Madison his love of medicine and soccer. Before attending medical school, he was one of 1,800 students at Northfield, Minnesota's Carleton College, south of the Twin Cities. During his years as an undergrad, Nadim managed to balance a full course load with four years of competitive soccer, even leading as team captain. His hard work in the classroom and on the grass earned him recognition on the MIAC All Academic Team. In addition, Nadim is a published author, having an essay printed in the New York Times as part of a contest to win a vacation with op-ed writer Nick Kristof. While in medical school, Nadim had the opportunity to serve the rural population in Montana. Nadim is interested in sports medicine as well as rural medicine.

Laura has made the big journey west from far-off Milwaukee, Wisconsin, home of beer and Laverne and Shirley. Born and raised in Whitefish Bay, Laura attended Northwestern University in Evanston before joining AmeriCorps for one year prior to beginning medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Her experience with AmeriCorps/Jesuit Volunteer Corps took Laura to San Francisco where she worked with women and children with HIV. While in medical school, Laura was a very active member of the community while volunteering at the Saturday Free Clinic, served as Treasurer of the LGBT in Medicine group, and President of MCW Cares. Her medical interests include Sports Medicine and Childhood Obesity.

A native of Illinois and a graduate of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Laura comes to medicine from a non-science background. She received a Bachelor's Degree from The Pennsylvania State University in communications, a key skill, she believes, that separates a truly good physician from a merely qualified one. Laura will be available to answer any questions you might have regarding what exactly is a Saluki. Some, but not all, of Laura's volunteer work include Springfield's Project Fit City, a city program aimed at curbing obesity through encouraging physical activity. She mentored elementary school-aged children with special needs as well. Laura served as Chair to SIU's FMIG and last but not least, ran the Chicago marathon in 2004. We welcome Laura and her husband, a UW grad student, to Madison.

Jo's world-wide travels began with the inherent values of growing up in a Minnesota farming community, which propelled her down the path of service to others. After undergrad at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota, Jo spent four years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Thailand. She then worked as a volunteer and resource coordinator for Catholic Charities/Migration and Refugee Service where she redesigned, improved, and expanded the program to assist in the resettlement of refugees from Vietnam, Ethiopia, Somalia, Bosnia, and Haiti. From there, she became Acting Director of the Refugee Resettlement Agency, while still managing the Volunteer and Resource Program. Her work with refugees continued as she became country director of the American Refugee Committee's emergency relief program in Goma, Zaire. Between her third and fourth years of medical school at Oregon Health Sciences University, she returned to Thailand to do clinical research in HIV/AIDS.

Originally from rural Idaho, Kyla completed her medical education in Israel. In answer to the frequently asked "why Israel," Kyla sites the program's dedication to promoting health care for the underserved and under-resourced. During the spring of her final year in medical school, she completed her two-month elective rotation in Sevagram, India. Her decision to pursue family medicine stems from her background: her birthplace in Wyoming is considered medically underserved, as is the Idaho community where she grew up. Her undergraduate years at Marietta College in the Ohio River Valley brought her into contact with the local population who struggle with lack of time and resources to improve their health. After residency, Kyla plans to work in a rural area as a primary care physician and eventually for an organization like Doctors without Borders.

The sole UW-Madison representative in the Class of 2010, Surya will be an invaluable source of Madison-related information. Surya grew up in the small town of Marine, Minnesota and attended Macalester College before beginning his travels from to New York and finally to Madison for medical school at the University of Wisconsin. Surya's interest in the integrative approach to medicine led him to found UW's Integrative Medicine Interest Group. He is a member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society, was awarded an Advanced Fellowship/Graduate Assistantship scholarship for his medical education, and undertook a rotation at the Tibetan Delek Hospital in India where he shadowed physicians while studying Tibetan language and international health policy. During his winter vacation, Surya provided medical services to victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in New Orleans. He currently is a hatha yoga instructor and has an interest in botany.

Melissa comes to us from beautiful Blacksburg, Virginia, where she attended Virginia Tech's Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Her class, by the way, represents the inaugural class of Osteopathic docs sent through Virginia Tech. Originally from Iowa, she attended Wartburg College in Waverly before heading east for medical school. Melissa's professional interests include Women's Health, Sports Medicine and Rural Medicine to name a few. Her rural medicine interest led her to co-found VCOM's Chapter of the Virginia Rural Health Assoc. Melissa fondly recalls her initial introduction to the world of medicine, one she credits to shadowing her mother in a medical laboratory as a young child. In medical school, Melissa served as secretary to her school's mental health club and was an active member of the sports medicine club.

After four years of hard work in the Motor City, Cayle has opted for Madison's green parks and clean lakes to begin his residency. A graduate of the well-represented Wayne State University School of Medicine, Cayle has strong interests in sports medicine, world health and physical fitness. Cayle arrives in Madison along with his wife Tracy, an insurance agent/artist! For his undergrad, he attended Valparaiso University where, in his free time, he shadowed an oncologist and volunteered for Habitat for Humanity while serving as his fraternity's philanthropy chair. Cayle's future plans are open as he would love to work in a multitude of settings, be they urban, academic or rural. During medical school, he had the opportunity to shadow family physicians in these various settings, and it was the diversity of practice and doctor-patient relationships that solidified, for Cayle, his desire to pursue family medicine.

Meaghan Combs graduated Magna Cum Laude from Case Western Reserve University with a B.A. in Medical Anthropology. She was a Peace Corps volunteer in Burkina Faso, where she taught math and science in French to 6th-9th graders, coordinated a girls’ summer camp, and cycled over 300 kilometers educating more than 5,000 people about HIV/AIDS. While pursuing her M.D. and M.P.H. at Tulane University School of Medicine, Meaghan was active in numerous social justice action groups. She co-founded the Tulane chapter of Student Physicians for Social Responsibility, served as the Direct Action National Chair for the AMSA, and was the regional coordinator for AMSA Pharm Free. Hurricane Katrina, however, was the true watershed event that inspired Meaghan to transform her belief in social justice into action. In response to the crisis, she co-founded and coordinated the Fleur De Vie Clinic, a holistic, no-cost, student-led clinic in post-hurricane New Orleans. In her spare time, Meaghan enjoys Yoga, photography, gardening, painting, playing guitar and riding her bicycle. She joins the Madison Residency Program with her husband Neal Goldenberg.

Jessica Dalby completed her B.A. at the University of Texas in Austin and attended medical school at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. She brings to family medicine a passion for social justice and a deep love for other cultures. She has taught ESL in a number of settings, including a year-long teaching position in Japan, and her research interests have taken her to Mexico, Chile, Puerto Rico, and Honduras, where she developed fluency in the Spanish language. She also has a strong interest in women’s health. During medical school she co-founded Baylor’s first-ever Women’s Health Elective, a series of lectures designed to expose students to topics in women’s health not covered in the standard curriculum. She was also president of the Baylor chapter of the American Medical Women’s Association and a student leader for Medical Students for Choice. Jessica grew up in the Pacific Northwest, where the beauty of the natural environment inspired a deep love of nature. She spends most of her free time outside, hiking, biking, swimming, or playing a friendly game of ultimate frisbee.

After earning a B.A. in Biology from Duke University, Neal Goldenberg attended medical school at Ohio State University College of Medicine and then completed his M.P.H. at Tulane University in New Orleans. Neal brings to medicine a passion for serving all members of the community, including the uninsured. He was the Public Health Coordinator at Fleur de Vie Clinic, a student-run free clinic that provides medical, mental health, and social work services to uninsured people in New Orleans. He has also volunteered his time at the Common Ground Clinic in New Orleans and the Columbus Free Clinic in Ohio. He is an activist at heart, and organized medical student participation in several grassroots political campaigns to increase access to health care for local uninsured and underinsured people. Neal also has a strong interest in Integrative Medicine and co-founded the Integrative Medicine Interest Group at OSU. Neal combines his commitment to fitness and to the environment by biking whenever possible. His other interests include organic gardening, playing guitar and drums, backpacking and hiking, and Capoeira Angola. Neal comes to the Madison Residency Program through the couples match with his wife Meaghan Combs.

Ronni Hayon graduated from UW Madison with a B.A. in Zoology before heading west to California. While living in the Bay area she worked as a Reproductive Healthcare Specialist at Planned Parenthood, where she provided pregnancy options counseling and HIV counseling to a diverse patient population. She also volunteered as an HIV counselor at the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic and served as an outreach worker at a weekly street-based needle exchange program. Medical school then called her to the other coast, and she earned her medical degree from Drexel University in Philadelphia. As a medical student she continued to be active in volunteer work for at-risk populations. She was a student coordinator for the Streetside Health Project, and she worked as an Intimate Partner Violence Prevention Educator with area teens. She also served as a student coordinator for her campus chapter of Medical Students for Choice. In her off hours, Ronni enjoys music/performance, and she was the lead singer of a 10-piece band in San Francisco. She also loves bread-making.

Sam Heiks graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.A. in History from Bethel College. He first discovered his interest in medicine through his work with children and adolescents with special needs. At the Prairie View Special Purpose School in Kansas, he worked with students with severe behavioral problems, learning disabilities, and psychiatric illnesses that prevented them from attending public schools. Later, he served as a mental health worker on the child and adolescent inpatient unit at the Prairie View Behavioral and Mental Health Hospital. Sam also discovered a strong interest in integrative medicine working with two family physicians at the Celebration of Health Center in Ohio. These experiences ultimately led him to Wisconsin where he attended medical school at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. He lives with his wife and two daughters in a co-housing community in downtown Madison. Much of his free time is spent working with members of his housing community on grounds upkeep, business planning, and social event planning. His other interests include swimming, canoeing, hockey, ultimate Frisbee, soccer, classical guitar, and meditation.

Jill Klemin grew up in several small towns in North Dakota, where she was able to see first hand the impact good family physicians can have on rural communities. She graduated from Creighton University in Nebraska with degrees in Biology and Philosophy and then went on to complete her medical degree at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine. She loves working with children and originally envisioned herself as a pediatrician. She has volunteered in elementary classrooms through the Great Books Program, Doctor’s Ought to Care, and the Mad Science Youth Program, and she taught Sunday School and Summer Bible School for many years at her church in North Dakota. In addition to her love of pediatrics, though, Jill also has a strong interest in geriatrics and palliative care. Thus, she has ultimately chosen Family Medicine as the one unique specialty that can encompass the full spectrum of her medical interests. Jill spends as much of her free time as she can with her husband Peter, who is a resident in the OB/Gyn program, and their one-year-old daughter Addison. She also enjoys reading fiction for her book club, cooking, and gardening.

After earning her B.A. from Marlboro College in Vermont, Lara Knudsen completed her M.D. and M.P.H. at George Washington University School of Medicine. She has a strong interest in women’s health issues, especially in a global context. As an undergraduate, she spent eight months in Uganda conducting research and working in a maternity ward of a rural hospital. Then, before entering medical school, she traveled to Peru to continue her research and to volunteer as an ob/gyn assistant at a local hospital. On the home front, she also spent six years working on-and-off at a women’s health clinic in Oregon that specializes in abortion services. She is both the editor and a contributing author of Reproductive Rights in a Global Context, which won the ALA’s Outstanding Academic Book of 2007 Award. Lara also has a keen interest in integrative medicine and was co-founder and co-president of GWU’s Integrative Medicine Club. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, biking, and spending time with her fiancé. She is a fluent Spanish speaker.

George Leydon earned a B.S. in Biology from Boston College and a M.A. in Medical Sciences from Boston University. He then went on to complete his medical degree at Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, Missouri. Throughout his life, George has spent much of his time in service to others, through both work and volunteerism. As a high school student he spent most of his Saturday mornings volunteering at a local nursing home, and throughout college he dedicated time each week to work at the Pine Street Inn, Boston’s largest homeless shelter. He also started a new Cub Scout Pack at a Boston housing development and organized spring break service trips with Habitat for Humanity. Then, following his undergraduate studies, George spent a year as a Jesuit Volunteer, serving as a homeless outreach worker and case manager at an agency that provided services to HIV positive men. Needless to say, George’s commitment to service and advocacy make Family Medicine the perfect specialty for him. When he’s not working or volunteering, George enjoys playing his guitar, backpacking, skiing, and cooking. He and his wife Charlotte recently welcomed their son Henry into the world.

Patrick McKenna grew up in the northern Wisconsin town of Antigo. After earning his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from UW-Madison, he took an untraditional path to medicine by first pursuing an MBA in Chicago and a Masters in Fine Arts at the University of Alaska. Ultimately, though, his Wisconsin roots lured him back to The Dairy State to attend medical school at the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. Patrick’s leadership and commitment to public service are evidenced by his work during medical school as a LOCUS Fellow and with the MEDIC free clinics in Madison. He served as MEDIC Council president during his second year and received the 2006 McGovern-Tracy Scholar award, which recognizes medical students who exemplify values of community service and leadership while in training. He also has a passion for global health and served as both a member and co-chair of the UW Global Health Interest Group. In his spare time, Patrick enjoys athletics of all kinds, including basketball, broomball, running, bicycling, canoeing, and skiing. He also enjoys gardening, cooking, baking, and sewing, and he has strong interests in politics, rural policy, sustainability, and creative writing.

A longtime native of New York State, Elizabeth Paddock earned her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and completed her medical degree at Albany Medical College. Her strong interest in social justice drew her to family medicine, and she comes to the residency with a long history of action of the behalf of the underserved. Before entering medical school, she worked at Crossroads Rhode Island, a clinic that provides free primary care to the homeless. As a medical student, she volunteered with Care from the Start, a longitudinal program focusing on health care issues of the underserved, and she traveled to Uganda to participate in a medical mission that provided free care to communities in need. She was also the vice president of her local AMSA chapter, a coordinator for Medical Students for Choice, and the editor of Student Perspectives and Activism, a student-run bimonthly publication. Elizabeth’s outside interests include environmentally friendly living, swimming, biking, canoe racing, and cross-country skiing. She is also an accomplished runner, with multiple marathons and triathlons under her belt.

Kate Porter grew up in Madison and, after eight years away, is now returning home to begin her residency. She earned her B.S. in Biopsychology from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, and she completed her medical degree at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Throughout medical school, Kate was an active volunteer with the Friendship Clinic and the Cristo Rey Clinic, both of which serve the underinsured population of Lansing. Her commitment to the underserved has also taken her as far away as Andhra Pradesh, India, and Malawi, Africa, where she helped provide compassionate and effective heath care to local populations in need. Kate has taken on leadership roles in numerous organizations, including the International Health Project and her local chapter of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians. She also has special interests in research and teaching: she has assisted in several research studies on cancer prevention, and she tutored medical students in the class beneath her during their Anatomy Lab. Kate is a fabulous knitter and enjoys traveling, hiking, biking, fishing, swimming, reading, and spending time with her family.

A native of Manitowoc, WI, Jackie Redmer first began her career in science through the study of insects. Ultimately, however, she chose medicine over entomology as the field that would best engage her core values of social justice, compassion, and community. As a medical student at UW-Madison, Jackie volunteered at the MEDIC free clinics in Madison, served as the MEDIC Council President, and completed a community health project with the San Lucas Health Program in rural Guatemala as a LOCUS Fellow. She also served a Public Heath Educator in Kazakhstan as a Peace Corp volunteer, and over the past year she has been a fellow with the UW Department of Family Medicine, combining clinical activities with course work in the UW Masters in Public Health Program. In addition to her interests in community service and human rights, Jackie has a strong interest in Integrative Medicine. She co-founded the UW Integrative Medicine Interest Group during medical school and looks forward to incorporating a holistic approach to healing in her future practice. In her free time, Jackie stays active with outdoor recreation, including running, hiking, biking, and canoeing. She practices Birkram Yoga and meditation, and she enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with family and friends.