GSA Steering Committee

The GSA Steering Committee is the executive committee for the Group on Student Affairs and is comprised of the executive leadership, the chairs of the GSA National Committees, the GSA regional chairs, as well as liaisons from the Council of Deans (COD), Organization of Student Representatives (OSR), and National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (NAAHP). The areas represented by the GSA encompass a wide range of issues, policies, and operational characteristics that require study and deliberation on an ongoing basis. In order to provide a mechanism for the study of issues and problems associated with this full range of complex and diverse issues, the GSA Steering Committee established national committees in the areas of admissions, student affairs, student diversity affairs, student financial assistance, and student records.

Message From the Chair

Joel Maurer, MD
Senior Faculty Advisor in Admissions and Careers
Michigan State University College of Human Medicine

Dear fellow AAMC Group on Student Affairs (GSA) colleagues,

It is with genuine gratitude that I serve as your 2024-2025 GSA National Chair. When I reflect on the scope of my involvement with the AAMC, I initially think of a very humbling, exciting, overwhelming, and somewhat intimidating experience attending my very first Learn, Serve, Lead meeting in Washington, DC. I was relatively new as my institution’s assistant dean for admissions and was eager to learn as much as possible about medical school admissions at the national level. What I didn’t expect, though, was how highly attended this meeting would be with so many experienced individuals representing a variety of core affinity groups within an academic medical community! I had to make some sort of sense of all this. And for me, that started with the GSA.

After acclimating to my new administrative role, the GSA was there for me, providing a wealth of resources and networking opportunities to assist with my day-to-day operational needs. I was so grateful to have this community by my side, helping me think about a variety of ways to improve admissions through holistic review and its alignment with the mission of my college. The GSA community helped give me the strength and gumption to overhaul our admissions processes to improve fairness and equity to the applicant while challenging certain institutional assumptions about the status quo. And at a subsequent Central Region GSA Spring Meeting in Rochester, MN, I did a somewhat scary thing: I “raised my hand” to volunteer! Having received so much from the GSA, I wanted to express my gratitude by giving back. And through the ongoing culmination of lived experiences on the Central Region GSA Steering Committee, the National Committee on Admissions (COA), and the National GSA Steering Committee, I now find myself humbled and honored to lead our greater GSA community as we continue the hard work of serving our students while making sure we also prioritize serving ourselves.

As Dr. Marcy Verduin, GSA 2023-24 National Chair, stated in her message from last year, “The landscape of medical education is undergoing rapid and accelerated change.” This hasn’t changed over the course of this last year, nor do I see it slowing down anytime soon. The scope of our work in moving forward with issues related to learner support can feel daunting, especially as we focus on the equity needs of our community and those we serve across the medical education continuum: working with the pre-health advising community to improve the transition to medical school, enhancing opportunities for students to finance their education, understanding the overall impact of USMLE Step 1 becoming a pass/fail exam, improving our understanding of program signaling as students transition to residency training, and promoting GSA collegial wellness related to our personal and professional needs (just to name a few!). Regardless of how we identity within the greater GSA (admissions, financial aid, student diversity, student records, or overall student affairs and services), these issues require the input and support of the collective GSA membership. Your willingness to share ideas and experiences helps us best address ongoing issues. Your feedback on the challenges we address is paramount to the continued growth of our community and those whom we serve. It is with a sense of excitement (and a healthy dose of trepidation!) that I look forward to working with all of you this coming year. I promise to give you my best effort as we continue the hard work of serving our students.

In closing, I suspect that all of you have a story on how you became involved with the GSA, and gathering them for a GSA-serving community document might make for an interesting read! If not doing so already, I encourage you to lean on the GSA to extend a helping hand when times get tough. Be confident in your strength and bravery when needed. But most of all, don’t be afraid to “raise your hand!”

With PLUR (Peace, Love, Unity, and Respect),
Joel

Steering Committee Members

Chair

Joel Maurer, MD
Senior Faculty Advisor in Admissions and Careers
Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
November 2024–November 2025

Chair-Elect

Tara K. Cunningham, EdD, MS
Associate Dean for Student Life
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
November 2024–November 2025

Vice-Chair

Alex Grieco, MD
Associate Dean for Student Life, Special Assistant to the Vice Dean for Education
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Education and Anatomy, Assistant Professor of Radiology
Ohio State University College of Medicine
November 2024–November 2025

Immediate Past Chair

Marcy Verduin, MD
Associate Dean for Students and Professor of Psychiatry
University of Central Florida College of Medicine
November 2024–November 2025

Previous Past Chair

Hilit Mechaber, MD
Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
November 2024–November 2025

Committee on Admissions (COA) Chair

Leila E. Harrison, PhD, MEd, MA
Vice Dean for Admissions, Student Affairs, and Alumni Engagement
Clinical Assistant Professor
Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University
November 2023–November 2026

Committee on Student Affairs (COSA) Chair

Cherie A. Singer, PhD
Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs
University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine
November 2023–November 2026

Committee on Student Diversity Affairs (COSDA) Chair

Donna Jackson, EdD
Assistant Dean for Admissions
Director, Student Outreach Programs
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
November 2022–November 2025

Committee on Student Financial Assistance (COSFA) Chair

Casey Wiley, MEd
Manager of Financial Aid
University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville
November 2024–November 2027

Committee on Student Records (COSR) Chair

Carol McGhie, EdD, MSEd
Executive Director of Medical Education
University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine
November 2023–November 2026

Central Region (CGSA) Chair

Jill Volk, MSEd
Director, Diversity and Inclusion, Outreach and Recruitment
Director, Admissions and Recruitment
Rush Medical College
November 2024–April 2026

Northeastern Region (NEGSA) Chair

Elizabeth Lamos, MD
Assistant Dean for Student Affairs
University of Maryland School of Medicine
April 2024–April 2025

Southern Region (SGSA) Chair

Joshua Hanson, MD, MPH, MBA
Associate Dean for Student Affairs
Long School of Medicine University of Texas Health San Antonio
April 2024–April 2025

Western Region (WGSA) Chair

Tanisha N. Price-Johnson, PhD
Associate Dean of Student Affairs
Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California
April 2024–April 2026

Council of Deans (COD) Liaison

Michael J. Stamos, MD
Dean, School of Medicine
University of California Irvine
April 2024–April 2025

National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (NAAHP) Liaison

Joon Kim, EdD
President, NAAHP
Senior Director and Instructor of Postbaccalaureate Programs
Keck Graduate Institute
August 2024–August 2026

Organization of Student Representatives (OSR) Liaison

Youssef Aref, MPH
MD Candidate
California University of Science and Medicine School of Medicine
November 2022–November 2024

AAMC Staff Liaison

Irena Tartakovsky, MD, MS
Director, Constituent Engagement
Association of American Medical Colleges

Please send any questions, suggestions, or requests for meeting minutes and archived agendas to gsa@aamc.org.

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