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.
2009-2010 Executive Officers - Biographies of our current family medicine leadership team.
2009-2010 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.
2009-2010 Executive Officers
President
R. W. 'Chip' Watkins, MD, MPH, FAAFP
Greensboro, NC
Dr. Watkins graduated from the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina in 1986, and completed his internship and residency in Family Medicine at Florida Hospital, Orlando in 1989. Dr. Watkins received his masters in Public Health in Health Promotion and Nutrition from Loma Linda University School of Public Health in Loma Linda, California in 1990. He has over 20 years experience in private practice, teaching, and corporate medicine. His interests include integrative medicine, nutrition, neuro-endocrinology, and predictive genomics. He has lectured on a wide variety of topics at the local, national and international levels. In addition, he has authored a number of journal articles and textbook chapters.
President-Elect
Richard W. Lord, Jr., MD
Winston-Salem, NC
Dr. Lord is a graduate of the Bowman Gray School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC. He completed his residency at Rush/Christ Family Practice Residency in Chicago, IL. Dr. Lord was an assistant professor of family medicine at both Bowman Gray and Rush/Christ Family Practice Residency. He was in private practice for three years in Virginia before returning to North Carolina. Dr. Lord has been active in the NC Academy for a number of years, and is currently an At-Large Director on the Board of Directors. He is presently on the faculty at the Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem.
Vice President
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.
Secretary Treasurer
Shannon B. Dowler, MD
Asheville, NC
Dr. Dowler graduated from the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina in 1999. She completed her residency and fellowship at MAHEC Family Practice Residency Program in Asheville and is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. Dowler previously served as Treasurer for the NCAFP Foundation Board, and currently serves as Chair of the Foundation Board of Directors for the Buncombe County Medical Society. Dr. Dowler has served on the NCAFP Board for several years and is completing a one-year term as Secretary/Treasurer. Dr. Dowler recently became the Medical Director at Blue Ridge Community Health Center in Hendersonville, NC.
Board Chair
Robert Lee Rich, Jr., MD
Bladenboro, NC
Dr. Rich graduated in 1979 from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He completed his medical education at Bowman Gray School of Medicine in 1984, and went on to East Carolina University School of Medicine, where he was the Co-Chief Resident in Family Medicine from 1986-1987. Dr. Rich practiced medicine at the Indian Health Service, Eastern Band of Choctaw Indians from 1987-1990, and received a commendation by IHS for meritorious service. He was in private practice from 1991-1995 in Elizabethtown, NC, and is currently the Medical Director in a group practice at Bladen Medical Associates, also in Elizabethtown. Dr. Rich also participates with the Family Medicine teaching program at NHRMC. Dr. Rich's interests include rural medicine, medical management, and business management.
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.
NCAFP Board Directors
2009-2010 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.
Printer-friendly
Send-to-a-Friend