Pinnacle Conference 2019

DECEMBER 6-8, 2019 | FOUR SEASONS | DALLAS, TEXAS

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Four women sitting on chairs, engaged in a panel discussion with a screen displaying text in the background. They appear to be interacting and smiling.
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Meet The 2019 Speakers

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Bonnie Mason MD

Welcome Address: Quintessential Practice Pearls for Pinnacle

  • As a retired orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Mason is the wearer of many hats, including that of nationally recognized speaker, master mentor, physician advocate, coach, educator, entrepreneur, wife and mom.

    In 2004, Dr. Bonnie Mason founded Nth Dimensions, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, to increase gender, racial and ethnic diversity in the field of orthopaedic surgery. Since then, Nth Dimensions has created a longitudinal Physician Pipeline Initiatives Curriculum to develop the next generation of diverse leaders, scholars and physicians. With a mission to increase the number of women and underrepresented minorities in specialty fields of medicine, Nth Dimensions, a physician founded, non-profit organization, educates medical students about specialty choices such as Orthopaedics, Radiology and Physical Therapy through early exposure, immersion and ongoing mentoring.

    Since its inception in 2004, Nth Dimensions has exposed more than 5000 medical students from 80 US medical schools to the field of orthopaedic surgery in association with more than 100 volunteer surgeons, powered by de novo corporate relationships and industry support from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery, the American College of Radiology, the American Academy of Dermatology and Zimmer Biomet. Surgery. With an 83% average annual match rate of Nth Dimensions Scholars in orthopaedic surgery residency programs, 30% are women and 90% are underrepresented minorities. In 2019, 19 out of 21 Nth OSI scholars matched in orthopaedics, a 90% match rate, which supersedes the 76% national match rate in orthopaedic surgery.

    Dr. Mason’s experience as a board-certified orthopaedic surgeon and physician administrator of a private practice led her to develop, in partnership with fellow physicians, a comprehensive business of medicine and financial curriculum for young physicians, Beyond the Exam Room (BTER). Through BeyondtheExamRoom.co®, Dr. Mason delivers this live curriculum to future and practicing physicians nationwide with the support of experienced physician and expert faculty. The BTER curriculum has since been converted to online master courses and individual coaching opportunities, which resulted in BTER physicians negotiating more than $5 million dollars in additional revenue and compensation.

    Dr. Mason holds faculty appointments in Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Texas, Medical Branch in Galveston and as an adjunct Associate Professor of Graduate Medical Education at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. She has published book chapters, numerous peer-reviewed articles, and facilitates hundreds of presentations and publications for her students annually. Dr. Mason’s professional endeavors include national committee and board positions within the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery (AAOS). Most recently, Dr. Mason was nationally recognized by the AAOS with the prestigious Diversity Award in 2015.

    Forced into early retirement from medicine due to a diagnosis of RA at 29 years of age. Thereby her favorite quote by Leonardo da Vinci is, “Obstacles cannot crush me. He who is fixed on a star does not change his mind.” Her mission is to:

    ~ lead by example on how to navigate change, especially unexpected change

    ~ fill voids with tangible and practical innovations in education and action

    ~ motivate others to do things differently, as a master of adaptability

    For her work, Dr. Mason has been featured in Black Enterprise, Becker’s Spine, Entrepreneurs Podcast Network, BlackDoctor.org, Docs Outside the Box and The Network Journal and was also featured on ABC-TV Chicago. In addition, she has received numerous awards and recognition, from the J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society’s Mentoring Award

    and a Nominated Change-Maker, White House Women of Change both in 2017 to being asked to serve on the ACGME’s first Diversity and Inclusion Task Force in 2018.

    For the past 18 years, Dr. Mason has spent more than10,000 hours annually coaching and mentoring physicians at every level, which inevitably cuts into time with her hubby, Dr. Thomas Mason, Chief Medical Officer of the Office of the National Coordinator, and her two sons, who are future leaders are affectionately known as the “Bear Cubs.” She is thankful for the ongoing support, patience and mission alignment from them, as well as her entire family, her irreplaceable network of friends and her divine work family at Nth Dimensions and Beyond the Exam Room.

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Elizabeth Lemoine JD

The Ten Commandements of Employment Contracts

  • Elizabeth Lemoine is a partner in the Dallas office of Wick Phillips Gould & Martin, LLP and focuses her practice on supporting medical providers. She has represented physicians, medical device manufacturers, group practices, pharmacies, and other service providers in a variety of health care-related matters, including employment contract negotiations, billing and recoupment disputes, practice dissolution, fraud and abuse counseling, and HIPAA compliance.

    Elizabeth’s background in commercial litigation provides a unique perspective that helps health care providers understand “real world” business pitfalls and how to successfully navigate business disputes during contract negotiation. Elizabeth is also well-versed in handling all aspects of commercial litigation for health care providers and general business clients.

    Elizabeth received her B.A. from Duke University, J.D. from The George Washington University Law School, and LL.M. in Health Law from Loyola University of Chicago. Elizabeth is married to Sean, also a lawyer, and is mom to middle schoolers Jack and Rachel as well as two unruly dogs.

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Lynette Scherer MD

Don’t Pick Me Because I’m A Woman

  • Dr. Lynette Scherer is an internationally recognized, fellowship-trained trauma surgeon certified by the American Board of Surgery in general surgery and trauma/critical care. She is currently the Chief Executive Officer for Surgical Affiliates Management Group, Inc., the first company to specialize in providing surgical hospitalists and the only company with published, proven results demonstrating improved clinical, financial and efficiency metrics.

    Dr. Scherer received her medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. She completed her general surgery residency and trauma/critical care fellowship at the University of California, Davis Medical Center. While at UC Davis, Dr. Scherer served as professor of surgery and chief of trauma. She also assisted the Air Force in training trauma surgeons to treat soldiers wounded on the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as traveled to Afghanistan for on-site evaluation as part of this assignment.

    In addition to being board certified by the American Board of Surgery, Dr. Scherer is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and is an active member in the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma. She has recently published work in the Annals of Surgery which focuses on the choice of fluid resuscitation during the first 24-hours after injury. In addition, her work in evaluating the life-saving effects of administering tranexamic acid (TXA) was recently presented at the Western Trauma Association and has been published in the Journal of Trauma and Treatment.

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Rupa
Wong MD

Building A Patient Base

  • Dr. Rupa Wong is a board certified pediatric ophthalmologist, wife, mom to 3 kids, entrepreneur, and the managing partner of Honolulu Eye Clinic for the past 14 years. She has been featured on the Best Doctors Lists since 2010 and was even featured on the cover of Honolulu magazine for that issue. She also serves as Clinical Associate Professor at University of Hawaii School of Medicine.

    Dr. Wong also has numerous passion projects including founding a women's medical conference, Pinnacle Conference a business and leadership development conference for women in medicine and hosts the It's Good To See You Podcast, an up and coming podcast which tackles issues of work-life balance, personal and professional growth for professional women and being a boss on your own terms. She is active on social media where she discusses harmonizing work and life, eye health, eye makeup health, as well as the gaps in business knowledge that medical school does not address.

    Her non-profit work exemplifies her commitment to children in the community, as well as medical education, and includes serving on the Board of Directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters Hawaii,YoungMD Connect, and previously on the Board for Association for Healthcare in Social Media, for which she was a Founding Member. She also previously served on the Board of Directors of Project Vision Hawaii. As a member of Big Brothers Big Sisters, she single handedly organized an annual event which has brought in over $100,000 of charitable contributions with no assistance required from the administrative team. She is active in her professional organizations as well, serving as Vice Chair of Digital Education of the American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmologists and Strabismus, a member of the Recruitment Task Force and SocioEconomic Committee and on the Foundation Advisory Board. Dr. Wong also serves on the Gala Committee for the American Academy of Ophthalmology which raises funds for the organization’s charitable endeavors.

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Pamela
Mehta MD

Pioneering Practice Ownership

  • Dr. Pamela Mehta is a board certified orthopaedic surgeon practicing in Northern California. Dr. Mehta has been in practice for over 10 years and started her own solo concierge private practice called Resilience Orthopaedics in 2016. She focuses on surgery of the shoulders, knees, hips and hands and has a passion for getting her patients back to their active lifestyles. In addition to her clinical practice she advises several medical companies and startups. She is passionate about women designing a life on their own terms when it comes to career and family. She shares her life as a practice owner and mom to 3 on her social media platforms @dr.pamelamehta.

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Heather
Hammerstedt MD

Panel

  • Heather Hammerstedt MD MPH is a board-certified emergency physician, full partner and assistant medical director with Vituity, a physician-owned multispecialty group, in Boise Idaho. Additionally, she is a board-certified lifestyle medicine physician and CEO of Wholist, where she uses the evidence behind weight, sleep, food, exercise, mindfulness and more to help empower and implement sustainable lifestyle transformation via innovative coaching and consulting programs. Working with her background in Integrative Nutrition, health coaching, lifestyle medicine, telehealth and medical acupuncture, she has pulled together alternative and conventional practitioners to create proactive integrative health and wellness programs around weight, fitness, women’s health and mind body care. She came to Boise in 2008 from Boston, where she had worked as an attending Emergency Physician for Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians. She completed her medical studies at Temple University School of Medicine, and did her postgraduate residency in Emergency Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess’s Harvard Affiliated Emergency Medicine Residency program. Current EM related specialization includes Idaho ACEP chapter president, family medicine residency clerkship director, and advocacy and legislative work state-wide. She also holds a Masters of Public Health degree from Harvard School of Public Health, with a concentration in international health sector development and nutrition. She is one of the founders of the nonprofit 501c3 organization, Global Emergency Care (GEC) and currently functions as Executive Director. GEC currently has an ongoing clinical, academic, and consultant relationship with stakeholders in Uganda, where they have created the country’s first emergency medicine training programs for advanced providers and physicians and are working with the national government to create a national emergency care system. She loves life in Idaho with her husband, skiing, rafting, running, and chasing after two small boys and a big chocolate lab.

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Joan
Oloff DPM

Panel

  • Dr. Joan Oloff was born and raised in New York. She grew up in her father’s shoe store, where she saw many women try on heels that never looked comfortable. As a first generation college graduate, she received her BS at NYU. She went on to study podiatric medicine at Temple University College of Podiatric Medicine in Philadelphia. Following a residency in foot and ankle surgery, she started her professional career teaching at the California College of Podiatric Medicine, becoming the first woman with an appointment in the department of surgery. She also served as volunteer clinical faculty at Stanford University. Following the birth of the first of her three children, she transitioned into private practice. She opened the Los Gatos Foot and Ankle Center, then built and became the managing partner of the Los Gatos Medical Office Center, a 20,000 sq ft medical building in Los Gatos, California. She also helped to create and became a managing partner of VIP Surgicare, a fully accredited surgery center housed within the same building. In 2013, she created a luxury shoe company, fulfilling a life long dream to end the suffering of women who enjoy high fashion footwear. Her insole construction was awarded a patent in 2019. They are currently being sold at Bloomingdales in SF, bloomingdales.com, and her own e-commerce store.

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Renee
Paro MD

Panel

  • Dr. Renee Rodriguez Paro is a board certified Pediatric Cardiologist who specializes in general pediatric cardiology as well as fetal and preventative cardiology. She works in a large multispecialty private group practice in the Bay Area called the Palo Alto Medical Foundation with an office located in Dublin, California. She is the Department Chair of Pediatric Cardiology, Pulmonology and Lipidology as well as a Geographic Wellness Leader and Chair of the Exercise Sub Group of the medical group’s Health and Well Being Committee.

    Dr. Rodriguez Paro was born and raised in Southeastern Arizona. She received her Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry from Arizona State University and medical degree from the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. She completed her pediatric residency and pediatric cardiology fellowship at Stanford Children’s Hospital. In her final year of fellowship she served as a chief. Dr. Rodriguez Paro is of Mexican descent and is the first of her family to become a physician. In her active presence on Instagram she seeks to empower women who look like her to go after their professional goals.

    She is married to Dr. John Paro who is a Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon in same medical group as and the two of them host a podcast entitled “Reconciling Medicine” that seeks to discuss the balance of medicine and life. The two also co-founded the non-profit, Doctor Vegetable, whose long term vision is a community where thoughtful food choices learned in childhood help lead to a future without acquired heart disease. They have two children and are active in their chosen community of Pleasanton California in the amazing East Bay Area. In her free time Renee runs marathons, participates in triathlons and is a lover of all things active.

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Aaleya
Koreishi MD

Practice Management and Pearls:
Beyond Patient Care in Private Practice

  • Aaleya Koreishi, MD founded Cornea Consultants of Texas and began patient care at her new location in Arlington, TX in January of 2013. Specializing in Cornea, Cataract and Refractive Surgery, Dr. Koreishi is proud to serve the Dallas-Fort Worth area, helping patients regain sight and quality of life.

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Jessica
Shepherd MD

Panel

  • Dr. Jessica Shepherd is a board certified OB/GYN, women's health expert and minimally invasive surgeon. She attended medical school at Ross University and then completed her residency at Drexel University-Hahnemann Hospital in Philadelphia. She then went on to complete a Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Fellowship at the University of Louisville where she also completed her MBA. Currently she practices at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, TX.

    Her interest in women's health has allowed her to become an engaging and well known media personality that is seen regularly as an expert on Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Talk, Dr. Oz, Steve Harvey, CBS News, and FOX news. She is also on the Advisory Board for Women's Health Organization, Ro Medical

    and has contributed to various journals including Cosmopolitan, Teen Vogue, Women's Day, Self, Family Circle, Parents, Best Health, Essence, and Healthline.

    Her passion for women’s health has allowed her to be an advocate for conditions such as fibroids, endometriosis and health care disparities. As a health care expert, she strives to educate women on their bodies and how to address their physical, sexual, emotional health in addition to the incorporation of wellness. She has been a keynote speaker at BlogHer several times and has worked on campaigns with celebrities for women’s health including Brooke Burke, Sheryl Crowe, Erin Andrews, and Dr Jackie Walters of Bravo’s Married To Medicine.

    Her involvement with various foundations as a board member of American Heart Association and Texas Women’s Foundation, has allowed her to actively make decisions in the women's health realm. Dr. Shepherd is a passionate advocate for women as she continues to create pathways for women to be in their best health.

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Roohi Jeelani MD

The Dance Between Research and Patient Care

  • Roohi Jeelani, MD, FACOG, is a double board certified Reproductive Endocrinologist and Infertility Specialist (REI). A graduate of Ross University School of Medicine, she completed both her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology and her fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Wayne State University – Detroit Medical Center. During her medical training, Dr. Jeelani received numerous awards in the areas of fetal medicine and reproductive medicine. In addition, she has authored a variety of publications and book chapters in well known journals highlighting cutting-edge REI advancement and has presented at national/international conferences and symposiums focused on advancements in women’s health. Dr. Jeelani is an active member of many medical associations. A highly-skilled reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist focusing on all areas of reproductive health, Dr. Jeelani has a special interest in oncofertility, toxins’ impact on reproductive function, chemotherapy, and oocyte cryopreservation.

Dr. Natalie Crawford smiling, wearing a white blazer and pink dress, standing next to green foliage.

Natalie
Crawford MD

Protecting Your Professional Persona

  • Dr. Crawford is co-founder of Fora Fertility, a boutique fertility practice in Austin, Texas is board certified in both Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. She promotes fertility awareness and education through social media on Instagram, with over 110K followers, her blog, and her wildly successful podcast “As a Woman” podcast, with over 2 million downloads, and on her YouTube channel.

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Danielle
Jones MD

Achieving Flexibility Through
An Employed Position

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Lori
Atkins MD

Sunrise Yoga & Balance in Medicine 

  • Dr. Lori Atkins is an OBGYN in Fort Worth, Texas. She earned her undergraduate degree at Baylor University and her Medical degree from University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. She did residency at University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas.

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    Lori entered private practice in 1996 and became board certified in 1998. Since graduating residency has built three successful practices and helped to nurture and promote the career of her partners as they have joined her. Over the last 4 years Lori and her partners have created and nurtured Fenom Women’s Care, PLLC. Lori has served as an educator and is currently an associate professor at the UNT/TCU medical school. She has been a mentor to many during her busy career.

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    Fitness and a healthy lifestyle have always been important to Lori and have been a priority in her life. She began teaching yoga in 2007. She is a 1200 hour certified Baptiste Yoga instructor. She teaches classes weekly to the community online. She also started yoga class for cancer survivors and supporters at Baylor Scott and White Hospital Fort Worth in 2011, the classes are taught weekly as part of the THRIVE program.

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    She is married and a mother of 2: a son, 23 and a daughter, 9.Lori incorporates whole health into her life and her medical practice.

Pinnacle Conference Agenda 2019  

Welcome cocktail reception 

Saturday December 7, 2019

Breakfast and Welcome  

Bonnie Simpson Mason MD: Welcome Address: Quintessential Practice Pearls for Pinnacle
Founder Beyond the Exam Room, Founder Nth Dimensions, Orthopaedic Surgeon, Assoc Professor University of Texas School of Medicine & University of Louisville School of Medicine

Elizabeth Lemoine JD: The Ten Commandments of Employment Contracts
Attorney, Partner, Wick Phillips LLC

Lynette Scherer MD: Don’t Pick Me Because I’m A Woman
Trauma Surgeon, CEO Surgical Affiliates Management Group, Associate Faculty UC Davis Trauma surgery - previous chief

Rupa Wong MD: Building A Patient Base
Pediatric Ophthalmologist & Adult Strabismus, Managing Partner Honolulu Eye Clinic, Associate Professor, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii  

Pamela Mehta MD: Pioneering Practice Ownership
Orthopaedic Surgeon, Founder Resilience Orthopaedics

Mary L: Ladies! How much is Enough?

11:20-12:20 pm: Plated Lunch Q&A 

Heather Hammerstadt MD: Panel
Emergency Medicine Physician, Wholist Health Founder 

Joan Oloff DPM: Panel
Podiatrist,  Founder Los Gatos Foot & Ankle and Joan Oloff Shoes

Renee Paro MD: Panel
Pediatric Cardiologist, Partner at Palo Alto Medical Foundation

Jessica Shepherd MD: Panel
OB/Gyn, Associate Professor, Baylor University 

Aaleya Koreishi MD:  Practice Management and Pearls: Beyond Patient Care in Private Practice
Cornea & Refractive Surgeon, Cornea Consultants of Texas

Roohi Jeelani MD: The Dance Between Research and Patient Care
Reproductive Endocrinology & Fertility, Vios Fertility

Natalie Crawford MD: Protecting Your Professional Persona
Reproductive Endocrinology & Fertility, Founder Fora Fertility, Affiliate Clinical Faculty, University of Texas Dell Medical School, Dept of Women’s Health

‍Danielle Jones  MD: Achieving Flexibility Through An Employed Position
OBGYN, Southland Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand

‍Lori Atkins MD: Sunrise Yoga & Balance in Medicine 
Ob/Gyn Founder of Fenom Women's Care, Associate Professor University of North Texas/Texas Christian University

Social Media Workshop: Natalie Crawford MD, Danielle Jones MD, Pamela Mehta MD, Rupa Wong MD

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