The biggest impediment to career transition is inertia.
Meet Our Conference Faculty
Our faculty consists of your colleagues who have transitioned to a non-clinical career and will discuss the opportunities available in their field or industry. Many of our faculty members are alumni of the conference.
Dr. Abunto is a medical doctor with over 20 years of clinical research experience. She received her Doctor of Medicine at the University of the East and served as a Family Medicine Medical Director. Dr. Abunto completed her Master of Public Health as Magna Cum Laude from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and is obtaining an Executive MBA in Healthcare at the Katz Graduate School of Business. She assumed a position as an Epidemiologist at the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging at the Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Science, conducting colorectal cancer research in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute. Currently, Dr. Abunto is the Regional Medical Science Liaison Leader for the Northeast at Exact Sciences.
Ryan Bayley, MD is an executive coach and physician advocate who has worked with thousands of clinicians to optimize their careers and happiness. He is the founder of Bayley Coaching Solutions (www.ryanbayleyMD.com), a physician-focused executive coaching and consulting firm. Dr Bayley is also a nationally recognized speaker and author, as well as a consultant to large healthcare organizations. Dr. Bayley completed his undergraduate at Harvard, and subsequently attended Vanderbilt Medical School. He also currently holds an associate adjunct position at Duke University Medical Center, where he leads courses on physician well-being and career design. Dr. Bayley is a SEAK alumnus.
Dr. Stephanie Brown, MD, PCC, is not just a life coach but a dynamic keynote speaker and facilitator, consistently inspiring and empowering her audience. As a recognized Top 1% Life Coach by Yahoo Finance, she brings a wealth of experience to her speaking engagements. Dr. Brown has facilitated group coaching sessions for various audiences and conducted training workshops on “Conflict Resolution and Boundaries” during the World Bank’s Wellness week. Dr. Brown extends her impact through exclusive workshops and retreats. These include her most recent endeavors such as Illuminate U!, Re-enVision, Refresh Retreat, and Realign Retreat. Each of these events reflects her commitment to guiding individuals through the process of challenging beliefs for positive change, fostering personal and professional transformation. Dr. Brown is a family practice physician who earned her BS at Duke and her MD at Howard.
Robert J. Cooper, MD, FACE, FACP is very active in non-clinical pursuits including knowledge company consulting, file review consulting, and expert witnessing. He is Boarded in both endocrinology and internal medicine, is clinically active and is a graduate of SUNY StonyBrook and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Cooper is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Tufts University. He is a SEAK alumnus.
Juan (Juancho) Daccach, MD has over 10 years’ experience in the medical device industry, including Medical Safety Officer, Global Orthopedics, Joint Reconstruction for Johnson & Johnson and currently as VP Global Product Safety for Merz Aesthetics. Dr. Daccach is an Orthopedic Surgeon with fellowships on both total knee and hip replacements and prosthetic joint infection management. He received his MD at Pontificia Universidad Javieriana in Colombia and completed his fellowships at the Universidad de Barcelona in Spain. Dr. Daccach is also a certified personal, executive, and health coach.
Jennifer Driscoll, MD has been a full-time employed, remotely based Medical Consultant for Unum since 2022. Dr. Driscoll is a family practice physician with 18 years of clinical experience. She is a mother of six who earned her BS from the US Naval Academy, her MS from MIT and her MD from the Uniformed Services University. Prior to attending medical school Dr. Driscoll was an engineer.
Tracy Eskra, MD, MBA, CPE, FAAPL serves as a physician advisor for ECU Health — Formerly Vidant Medical Center. Previously, Dr. Eskra served for 10 years at Vidant as Vice-President of Medical Affairs for Clinical Documentation and Efficiency. Dr. Eskra is an internist who formerly practiced both as a primary care physician and as a Hospitalist. Dr. Eskra earned her BS from Pittsburgh, her MD from Penn State and her MBA from Alvernia. Dr. Eskra is a SEAK alumna.
Vince Faridani, MD, MBA, FACP, SFHM is a practicing inpatient hospice physician and locums hospitalist. He also maintains a part time real estate side business involving buying and renting out homes, investing in real estate syndicates, and being a real estate broker who makes and saves money by putting in offers on property. Dr. Faridani also serves as an expert witness. He obtained his BS from the University of South Florida and his MD from Saba University later training at Virginia Tech. Dr. Faridani is a SEAK alumnus.
David Haustein, MD, MBA is an Associate Dean for the Springfield Clinical Campus at the University of Missouri School of Medicine and also serves as a Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. As part of his responsibilities Dr. Haustein sees patients approximately 20% of his time. He previously practiced at the University of Louisville School of Medicine and as the Section Chief of PM&R and the medical director over major medical equipment for the Louisville VA. Dr. Haustein is board certified in PM&R with additional subspecialty certification in neuromuscular medicine. He is also certified by the American Board of Electrodiagnostic Medicine. He serves on several national committees and editorial boards and has contributed to over forty publications, including national board examinations. Dr. Haustein is a SEAK alumnus.
Jonathan Jaffin, MD, currently retired, had 11 years experience as a Specialist Executive with Deloitte — a top global advisory firm which employs dozens of physicians. Prior to transitioning to consulting, he served in the United States Army for over 30 years and his roles included Chief of Staff of the Dismounted Battle Injury Task Force, Director, Health Policy and Services, Deputy Commander and Acting Commander US Army Medical Research and Material Command, and Commander (CEO) of the Walter Reed Health Care System. Dr. Jaffin is a trauma surgeon who earned his MD at Johns Hopkins and his AB at Princeton.
Kevin Joseph, MD, MBA has vast experience as a senior level healthcare executive. He currently serves as Market Chief Clinical Officer at Ascension Health, where he has approximately 100 physician leaders reporting to him directly or indirectly. Other roles Dr. Joseph has served in with healthcare systems include Senior VP for Inpatient Operations, Chief Medical Officer, and Chief Executive Officer. He is the author of the award-winning book Cracking the Healthcare Leadership Code: How Purpose, Humility, and Accessibility Can Transform Your Organization. Dr. Joseph earned his BS at Johns Hopkins, his MD at Vanderbilt, and his MBA at UMass and is board certified in emergency medicine.
Jennifer Layden, MD, PhD is the Director for the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In this position, she is responsible for leading, coordinating, and executing a comprehensive public health data strategy and improving the availability and use of public health data to inform decision-making and action. A primary focus of Dr. Layden’s role is to provide leadership for CDC’s Data Modernization Initiative and serve as an advisor to the CDC Director. Prior to this position, she served as Deputy Director in CDC’s Office of Science (OS). Dr. Layden is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including CDC’s Charles C. Shepard Science Award. Before coming to CDC, Dr. Layden served as the Deputy Commissioner and Chief Medical Officer for the Chicago Department of Public Health and as the State Epidemiologist and Chief Medical Officer for the Illinois Department of Public Health. Dr. Layden received both her MD and her doctorate in epidemiology from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she also completed her internal medicine and infectious disease clinical training. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame.
Morgan Leafe, MD, MHA is a successful medical writer who has experience in many forms of medical writing including CME/CE needs assessments & content creation, board-style multiple choice questions & explanations, patient-facing educational materials & blogs, advisory board & conference coverage, slide decks, news stories and medical copywriting. She is also a professional resume writer for physicians as well as serving as a career counselor for aspiring physician medical writers. Doctor Leafe is board certified in both pediatrics and clinical informatics and has 14 years of clinical experience. She received her BS from Rutgers and her MD from Thomas Jefferson. Dr. Leafe is a SEAK alumna.
Robert McDermott, MD is an allergist who founded the HEALING INTELLIGENCE™ Network with a mission to enhance wellness among physicians while simultaneously boosting efficiency and quality within hospital systems. Dr. McDermott has swiftly developed a notable presence in the public speaking circuit. In addition to his clinical work, he engages in one-on-one coaching for other physicians, innovation, and participates in speaking engagements representing Microsoft and Nuance, focusing on the advantages of artificial intelligence and the Dax platform in the medical field. His academic credentials include a Bachelor of Science degree from Colorado State University and a Medical Doctorate from the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Dr. McDermott is also an alumnus of SEAK.
Rebecca Lynne Moles, MD, CPC is a Child Abuse Pediatrician who transitioned from academic medicine to health insurance utilization management as a Medical Director for Elevance. She is a certified professional coach with a special interest in physician burnout in early and midcareer physicians. Dr. Moles is a SEAK alumna. She has held faculty appointments at UConn, Yale, and UMass. She earned her BA and MD at the University of Rochester, completed an Internal Medicine/Pediatrics residency at UMass and Child Abuse Pediatrics fellowship at Brown, and earned her professional coach certification from iPEC.
Alia Radwan, MD, MS is an Associate Medical Director at Avant Healthcare — having previously served as a medical writer and then a senior medical writer. Avant Healthcare is a full-service medical and marketing communications agency which partners with pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and diagnostic clients to engage and educate healthcare professionals. Dr. Radwan trained for two years in OB/Gyn. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida and her MD from Chicago Medical School.
Sushama A. Scalera, MD is an emergency medicine physician who transitioned to become a pharmacovigilance (drug safety) physician. After serving as a Global Safety Lead, most recently with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, she became Managing Director of Scalera Consulting Group, a medical consulting firm providing medical monitoring, pharmacovigilance and risk management services to biotechnology companies. Dr. Scalera employs clinical physicians on consulting contracts and provides training in medical review of global case safety reports, pharmacovigilance procedures, and health authority regulations. She earned her BA at Wellesley College and her MD from Boston University.
Kelsey M. Veilleux, MD is a Project Manager for Dartmouth Health where she has worked on various research including opioid use disorder and a very large multi-center PCORI project studying colon cancer prevention. Dr. Veilleux transitioned to clinical research directly after graduating from medical school in 2019. She obtained both her BS and MD from the University of Vermont and is a SEAK alumna.
Michael H. Wetzel, MD, DBIM, CLU® is the Chief Medical Director for Equitable Financial. Prior to Equitable, Dr. Wetzel was a VP, Medical Director with Prudential and an AVP, Associate Medical Director with the Hartford. He is board certified in Family Medicine and Insurance Medicine. Dr. Wetzel earned his BS at Penn State and his MD from Thomas Jefferson Medical College.
Brian Wind, DO, FAOCO is an ophthalmologist who has had a 30 year career. He is the inventor and CEO of Steri-Write, the world’s first and only UV-C LED pen sanitizing device. Dr. Wind managed, developed, and manufactured the product from conception to pilot to the on-the shelf product being sold world-wide. He has authored and been issued 5 US patents on UV-C writing instrument sanitizing technology. Dr. Wind earned his undergraduate degree at Ithaca College and his DO at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He is a SEAK Alumnus.
Brian Young, MD is an experienced physician informaticist. He most recently worked at a system VP/Director level for CommonSpirit health, a very large integrated health system. His previous role was in the Duke University Health System implementation (5 go-live waves over 2 ½ years) of the EPIC system as a provider trainer for the inpatient, ambulatory, and transplant applications. Dr. Young received his MD and BS from Wake Forest, his Masters in Predictive Analytics (MS) from Northwestern University, and an MBA degree from University of Cincinnati. Previously, Dr. Young practiced as an emergency room physician following both surgical and internal medicine residency training. Dr. Young is a SEAK alumnus.
Meet Our Conference Mentors
You will find our faculty very giving of their time and very willing to answer your individual questions after their presentations, at the networking functions and when not presenting. To increase your networking experience and increase one-on-one attention, we have also assembled a team of mentors to be available to talk one-on-one with the attendees (at no additional charge).
Maria Abunto, MD, MPH, is a former Senior Manager of Medical Affairs who excels in leading a team of Medical Science Liaisons. With five years of dedicated industry experience, she began her career as an MSL and quickly advanced to a senior management position. Passionate about mentorship, Dr. Abunto has actively guided many aspiring and current MSLs, finding fulfillment in coaching and sharing insights about her career journey. Her commitment to mentorship and professional development underscores her dedication to fostering growth within the MSL community.
Ryan Bayley, MD is a successful physician coach who has worked with thousands of clinicians. His practice (www.ryanbayleyMD.com) focuses on burnout resilience, career transition, and leadership and serves both individual physicians (and non-physicians) and institutions. Dr. Bayley is an emergency medicine physician and SEAK alumnus.
David Best, MD, MBA is the CEO and Co-Founder of the MDea family of companies, including BESTMSLs (BESTMSLs.com), a recruiting and contract medical science liaison organization, The Doctor’s Channel (TheDoctorsChannel.com), the world’s largest short form video site for doctors including CME, and MDea (MDeaNY.com), a medical communications agency. Celebrating over 40 years in medical communications working at such companies as Saatchi & Saatchi, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Elsevier. He is currently on the United States Olympic Committee for Bobsled/Skeleton. If David looks familiar, he was on the CBS reality series Greatest American Dog with his Jack Russell terrier, Elvis.
Stephanie Brown, MD is a coach who specializes in assisting professional women and physicians who feel there is something more for them in life. Dr. Brown is a family physician with over 20 years’ experience and a SEAK alumna.
Savi Chadha, MD, MPH is a Medical Science Liaison based in Santa Clara, California. He received his MD from St. James School of Medicine, a Master’s in Public Health from Benedictine University, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Loyola University Chicago. Dr. Chadha is a member of the MSL Society, the Medical Affairs Professional Society, and is a SEAK alumnus.
Sharon Chang, MD, FACS is a practicing breast surgeon and SEAK alumna who works for Kaiser Permanente Northern California. Part of her role with Kaiser is coaching clinicians and helping them to prevent and cope with burnout and feeling overwhelmed.
Juan Daccach, MD is an orthopedic surgeon who has over 10 years’ experience in the medical device industry. Dr. Daccach is also a certified personal, executive, and health coach.
Mark Davis, MD is a family practice and emergency medicine physician and SEAK alumnus whose non-clinical pursuits include politics (he serves as Marion (Ohio) County Commissioner), expert witness and various fulfilling volunteer pursuits in his community.
Tracy Eskra, MD, MBA, CPE, FAAPL is a SEAK alumna hospitalist whose currently serves as a full-time remote physician advisor and previously served for 10 years in medical administration as a Vice-President for Medical Affairs at a 900+ bed academic health system.
Vince Faridani, MD, MBA, FACP, SFHM is a practicing inpatient hospice physician and locums hospitalist whose non-clinical pursuits include real estate and expert witnessing. He is a SEAK alumnus.
Bruce Friedman, MD is a critical care physician and SEAK alumnus, who non-clinical experience includes telemedicine medical director, expert witness, advising, consulting, educational speaking, and developing new products.
John Golberg, MD is an orthopedic surgeon who retired from surgery in 2015 but maintains a part-time clinical practice and has developed a busy consulting business in the area of IMEs, utilization review and medical-legal file reviews. Dr. Golberg is a SEAK alumnus.
Carrie Holland is a board-certified family physician with additional certifications in personal training, health coaching, and life coaching. She is the CEO of her full-time life coach practice, where she helps smart women build strong habits: Eating, Moving, and Thinking. Women who work with Carrie have taken care of everything and everybody at the expense of taking care of themselves; Carrie helps them change that. She addresses the impact of women’s responsibilities at work and at home on their wellness. Using habit psychology, mindset management tools, and nutrition and exercise expertise, Carrie helps overstretched, high-level working women prioritize themselves and feel better. She is also the host of the weekly podcast, Strong is a Mindset.
Jacqueline Huntly, MD, MPH is a career and self-leadership development coach (www.thrivetoleadmd.com). She has extensive experience helping physicians bring energy, purpose and joy back into their lives through career transformation both in clinical and non-clinical fields. She believes that by using their imagination and by appreciating and taking inventory of all their skills, interests and talents, physicians can discover new and exciting ways to design a thriving life and career.
Stacie Laff, MD is a pediatrician whose non-clinical experience includes health insurance medical director, telehealth, and expert witnessing. Dr. Laff is a SEAK alumna.
Morgan Leafe, MD, MHA is double board-certified in pediatrics and clinical informatics and her non-clinical experience includes professional resume and Linkedin profile writing, freelance medical writing, editing, and copywriting, and clinical informatics. Dr. Leafe serves as a career counselor for aspiring physician medical writers and is a SEAK alumna.
Megan Horine Leivant, MD, DABIM, AALU is an internal medicine physician who has over 5 years experience as a life insurance medical director.
Lawrence Lurvey, MD, JD, MEd, FACOG is an OB/GYN and SEAK alumnus who will share insights on how to address burnout, position yourself for a future career transition especially when you may need to delay that transition, and use community involvement to both find personal fulfillment and help to make a difference.
David Jonathan Lutz, MD, FAAPMR is a Utilization Review Medical Director for Anthem in the field of Interventional Pain Medicine/PM&R. Dr. Lutz is also a real estate investor in single family homes. Dr. Lutz is a SEAK Alumnus.
Robert McDermott, MD is an allergist whose non-clinical endeavors include coaching other physicians, paid speaking engagements on physician burnout and being a physician inventor. Dr. McDermott is a SEAK alumnus.
Timothy J. McKnight, MD, MSHM is a pediatric hospitalist and SEAK alumnus whose diverse non-clinical experience includes, physician evaluator, health insurance, value consulting, and most recently, medical school administration helping underrepresented minority students to gain entry into medical school via early assurance pathways.
R. Brian Mitchell, MD is a part-time practicing hematology/oncology physician and SEAK alumnus who has experience with expert witnessing, file reviews, and locums tenens. Dr. Mitchell also enjoys mentoring physicians looking to transition on how to figure out what their assets are and what their monthly income will be from those assets, how to figure out where they’ll be in 5 or 10 years, and issues such as medical insurance and how to start their own company.
Rebecca Lynne Moles, MD, CPC is a Child Abuse Pediatrician who now serves as a remote based health insurance utilization management medical director and a certified professional coach with a special interest in physician burnout in early and midcareer physicians. Dr. Moles is a SEAK alumna.
Nkiruka Ndu, MD, FACP, QME, CCHP-P is an internal medicine physician and SEAK alumna whose non-clinical activity includes independent medical examinations (IMEs), expert witness for correctional healthcare cases and independent contractor utilization reviews.
Robert Nordness, MD, MPH has had diverse roles at various-sized pharma companies and is Triple-Board Certified (Emergency Medicine, Occupational Medicine, and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine). He has special interest and experience in mentoring and assisting physicians who wish to break into pharma.
Ifeanyi Olele, DO, MBA, MS is a psychiatrist and SEAK alumnus. His non-clinical activities encompass being a medical reviewer/advisor to Health Line Media and a preceptor to PA/NP students. Dr. Olele actively creates social media content to promote mental health awareness. He is also the CEO of Genesis Psychiatric Solutions and Genesis TMS & Wellness, where he specializes in innovative mental health treatments and entrepreneurship in the medical field.
Smita Patel, DO, FAASM is a neurologist and SEAK alumna. Her non-clinical pursuits include utilization review and expert witnessing.
Alia Radwan, MD, MS trained in OB/GYN and later transitioned to a career in medical communications.
Jennifer Roux, MD is a pain medicine physician who works remotely in utilization review while being a full-time mom with two school age kids. Dr. Roux is a SEAK alumna.
Jawaria Suhail, MD is a Family Medicine physician who serves as a coach offering the full spectrum of coaching services to physicians looking to transition out of medicine including resume writing, LinkedIn profile coaching, and interview preparation. Dr. Suhail has seven years’ experience in utilization review and is a SEAK alumna.
Karyn L. Tapley, MD, MBA is an OB/GYN and integrative medicine physician and SEAK alumnus whose non-clinical experience includes locum tenens, running a successful and growing medical spa, real estate, financial planning, serving as a yacht broker, serving as a ringside physician, serving as a laboratory director, entrepreneur in the rare plant business, cannabis consulting and coaching physicians on the steps they can take to obtain personal and financial freedom, even if have student loan debt or other challenges.
Jonathan Terry, DO, QME, ABIHM, IFMCP is an employed and private practice psychiatrist whose non-clinical pursuits include expert witnessing, teaching in medical schools and residencies, authoring/publishing books, consulting for nonprofits, and coaching physicians seeking to empower their clinical or nonclinical practices. Dr. Terry is a SEAK alumnus.
Kelsey M. Veilleux, MD transitioned to her career in clinical research directly from medical school and is knowledgeable of various jobs in the field that do not require boards or a license. She is a SEAK alumna.
Jonathan Vitale, DO, MBA, CPE, MS, NCC is a family physician and SEAK Alumnus who has almost 10 years’ experience as a medical director performing utilization reviews, managing UM physicians, and other health insurance related duties. He is an experienced physician career coach and specializes in helping physicians transition to UM remote careers (www.drjonathan.com). Dr. Vitale is the founder of the popular Facebook group “Remote Careers for Physicians” with over 15,000 active physician members.
Brian Wind, DO, FAOCO is an ophthalmologist and SEAK alumnus. He is an inventor and entrepreneur who serves as the CEO of Steri-Write, the world’s first and only UV-C LED pen sanitizing device.
David Yeh, MD is a nuclear physician and radiologist (still practices part time), investment advisor, financial advisor and the author of the book The Busy Doctor’s Investment Guide (www.busydoctorsinvestmentguide.com) — which is offered free to SEAK attendees. His Wealthy Doctor Institute, LLC, (www.wealthydoctorinstitute.com) is a registered investment advisor. Dr. Yeh is a SEAK alumnus.
Brian Young, MD is an experienced physician informaticist and SEAK alumnus.
Sue Zimmermann, MD is an orthopedic surgeon and SEAK alumna. Her non-clinical experience includes teaching physician assistants and writing and editing for a board review company.