The Group on Educational Affairs (GEA) is pleased to announce a new section, Staff Professionals Across the Continuum of Education, also known as S.P.A.C.E.
Professional staff are vital to our institutions and are necessary for the development, delivery, and assessment of programs across the continuum in medical education. These professionals from across the medical education continuum are actively interested in opportunities to share best practices, resources, and expertise with peers within and across institutions.
The history of S.P.A.C.E starts with its approval as a special interest group within the Southern Group on Educational Affairs (SGEA) in July 2020. Since its inception, the SIG has hosted several professional development sessions, events, and meetings to bring staff professionals together to network and collaborate. The most noteworthy event was the Staff Track, a virtual conference to showcase staff professionals and their work across the regions of the GEA! As a result of all the great work as a SIG, a group of staff professionals came together to submit a proposal to expand this work on a national level. In January 2023, S.P.A.C.E. was approved by the GEA steering committee to become an official section of the GEA!
The purpose of this section is to provide a forum for staff professionals to connect, network, discuss common topics, share ideas, incorporate best practices, and build a better “toolbox” for medical education staff professionals nationwide. S.P.A.C.E. will continue to offer professional development sessions, events, and we are most excited about Staff Track 2024!
We would like to announce our S.P.A.C.E. section national leadership team. The team are a dedicated group of professionals looking to serve for the betterment of our staff professionals working within medical education. They are as follows:
Tyrese Hinkins-Jones, EdS, MEd
Founding Chair
Emory University School of Medicine
Director, Programs – Medical Education
Deborah Birnbaum, MBA
Chair-Elect
Indiana University School of Medicine
Educational Affairs Innovations Director and Scholarly Concentrations Program Director
Jon Goforth, MBA
Secretary
Wake Forest School of Medicine
Associate Director, Medical Education Operations
Laura Frost, C-TAGME
Membership Coordinator
University of Louisville School of Medicine Southern Region
GME Accreditation Manager
What We Need: YOU! We will soon be doing a call for open positions at the national and regional levels. But for now, we need dedicated staff professionals ready to help us grow this section to be a resource for all staff professionals working in medical education. Sign up TODAY!
We also need partnership, advocacy, and sponsorship from medical education deans and administrators to provide “space” and opportunity for staff professionals to participate. Please share with staff professionals in your institutions to show your support your staff development and growth!
This section would not be possible without the dedication, time, and effort of our wonderful group of staff professionals and regional group support. We want to say thank you to:
Tyrese Hinkins-Jones, EdS, MEd
Southern Region (SGEA)
Kimberly (Luebchow) Ford, MS
Southern Region (SGEA)
Jon Goforth, MBA
Southern Region (SGEA)
Laura Frost, C-TAGME
Southern Region (SGEA)
Deborah Birnbaum, MBA
Central Region (CGEA)
Emily Grunberger, BFA
Western Region (WGEA)
Erika Stone-Williams, MPA
Northeastern Region (NEGEA)
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