The NCAFP Leadership

Each year the Academy elects a new Board of Directors comprised of family physicians from across North Carolina. All board directors and officers originate from each of the NCAFP's seven (7) districts. The current NCAFP Academy officers, directors and delegates are listed below.

2012-2013 Executive Officers - Biographies of our current family medicine leadership team.

2012-2013 Board of Directors - Snapshots of physicians representing family medicine from across the state.

NCAFP Family Medicine Councils - Four chapter groups addressing key topics in family medicine and the NCAFP strategic plan.

NCAFP Board Committees - The permanent operational committees of the chapter.

2012-2013 Executive Officers

President

Shannon B. Dowler, MD

Asheville, NC

Dr. Dowler graduated from The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University in 1999 and completed her residency training in family medicine at the MAHEC Family Medicine Residency Program in Asheville. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians and has served on the NCAFP Board of Directors since 2003. She currently serves as Chief Medical Officer for Blue Ridge Community Health Services in Hendersonville. In addition to her clinical service, Dr. Dowler serves as a trustee on the Western North Carolina Medical Society Foundation, and is a member of the Physician Advisory Group, a clinical advisory board for North Carolina's Medicaid program. Most recently, Dr. Dowler also joined the Care Share Health Alliance's Board of Directors.

President-Elect

William Dennis, MD

Henderson, NC

Dr. Dennis graduated from medical school at East Carolina University/Brody School of Medicine in 1999 and completed his residency in 2002 at Anderson Area Medical Center in Anderson, SC. Prior to his medical career, he graduated from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill with a B.A. in Journalism, and spent 20 years as an editor, reporter, and columnist at the Henderson Daily Dispatch newspaper in Henderson, NC. During medical school, Dr. Dennis was a 1996 Rural Health Scholar, received the Merck Award for Academic Excellence in 1998, and was awarded the American Society of Clinical Pathologists’ Award for Academic Excellence and Achievement in 1999. He was also a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, an academic honors society for medical students. Dr. Dennis currently serves as a hospitalist at Maria Parham Medical Center in Henderson. In addition to his executive service, Dr. Dennis most recently served as Co-Chair of the NCAFP's Advocacy Council.

Vice President

Thomas R. White, MD

Cherryville, NC

Dr. White attended Duke University and graduated Magna Cum Laude. He received his medical education at Duke and graduated with honors and election to Alpha Omega Alpha. After his internship and residency at Charlotte Memorial Hospital in Charlotte NC, he served on the teaching faculty there. Dr. White practiced in Charlotte and served as a faculty member before returning to his hometown of Cherryville NC, where he has practiced for the past 23 years. He is currently the medical director for Cherryville Primary Care and his local 15 office medical network, Cleveland Health Ventures. Dr. White is board-certified in Family Medicine, obtained his board certification in Geriatrics in 1983, and is certified by the American Board of Clinical Lipidology. He was recently appointed to the Board of Directors of the Southeast Lipid Association. He is married to Diana and has two children, Whitney & Daniel.

Secretary Treasurer

Rhett L. Brown, MD

Charlotte, NC

A graduate of Davidson College, Dr. Brown attended the Medical University of South Carolina before completing his residency in family medicine at Carolinas Medical Center. He was in private practice for 10 years before joining the faculty at the Family Medicine Residency Program in Charlotte in 2002. Dr. Brown has been active in practice redesign, implementation of chronic disease models, quality improvement projects, EMR applications and physician management. Dr. Brown recently joined Novant Medical Group and opened a new office, Presbyterian Family Medicine Midtown in Charlotte in October 2011.

Board Chair

Brian R. Forrest, MD

Apex, NC

Dr. Forrest completed medical school at UNC Chapel Hill and his residency in Family and Community Medicine at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem. He also completed a Holderness Medical Research Fellowship in Diabetes and an Albert Schweitzer Fellowship in Public Health while at UNC Chapel Hill. He is the Founder and President of Access Healthcare and the Access Hypertension Clinic in Apex, NC. His special interests include hypertension, new models of practice and prevention of cardiovascular disease. He is an amateur magician and teaches martial arts as a Black Belt in the discipline of Hap Ki Do. He currently serves on the NCAFP Board of Directors and is Chair of the Advocacy Council.

Executive Vice President

Gregory K. Griggs, MPA, CAE

Henderson, NC

Mr. Griggs has been on staff with the NCAFP since 2005 and is a member of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). He completed his undergraduate studies at UNC-Chapel Hill and his graduate training in association and non-profit management at North Carolina State University. He formerly served as CEO of the Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce and as Executive Vice President of the Association Executives of North Carolina and the Filter Manufacturers Council. Married with two children, Greg is Past President of the Henderson Lions Club, a current active member of First United Methodist Church in Henderson, and serves the Kerr-Vance Academy on its Board of Directors.

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NCAFP Board Directors

2012-2013 NCAFP Directors

Each Academy Director is elected to represent family physician members by reviewing major policies and plans of the association, and communicating the needs of its constituency.

Directors

District 1 Jessica Triche, MD

District 2 Matthew M. Williams, MD

District 3 Scott E. Konopka, MD

District 4 Tamieka Howell, MD

District 5 Janice E. Huff, MD

District 6 Alisa C. Nance, MD

District 7 David A. Rinehart, MD

At-Large Holly Biola, MD

At-Large Charles W. Rhodes, MD

IMG Constituency Joseph P. Pye, MD

Minority ConstituencyBenjamin F. Simmons, MD

New Physicians Constituency Jennifer L. Mullendore, MD

FM Department Constituency Michael L. Coates, MD

FM Residency Directors William A. Hensel, MD

Resident Director Mo Shahsahebi, MD (Duke)

Resident Director-ElectAaron George, DO

Student Director Katy Kirk (ECU)

Student Director-Elect Julie Barrett (ECU)

Family Medicine Department Chairs

Chair (WFU) Michael L. Coates, MD

Alternate (Duke) Lloyd Michener, MD

Alternate (UNC) Warren P. Newton, MD, MPH

Alternate (ECU) Kenneth K. Steinweg, MD

National AAFP Congress Delegates

AAFP Delegate Mott P. Blair, IV, MD

AAFP Delegate Karen L. Smith, MD, FAAFP

AAFP Alt-Delegate L. Allen Dobson, MD

AAFP Alt-Delegate Michelle F. Jones, MD