STFM Bishop Society
The Bishop Society is a community of experienced senior leaders in STFM and is intended to recognize senior leaders in academic family medicine, to provide a forum for them to interact with one another and contribute to STFM’s mission.
The Bishop Society will serve as a resource to STFM and the community of academic family medicine. The Society will hold an annual Bishop Society meeting at each STFM Annual Spring Conference to discuss current challenges facing our discipline.Bishop Society members may also be:
- Speakers for STFM fellowship programs
- Developers of leadership sessions at conferences
- Coaches for STFM leadership programs and activities
- Advisors to STFM leadership on issues of relevance to academic medicine
Goals of the STFM Bishop Society
Recognize Distinction
To recognize and honor STFM members who have made distinguished career contributions to academic family medicine
Forum for Interaction and Project Work
To create a forum for these leaders to interact and communicate with one another, and to work on projects and activities at the request of STFM leaders
Encourage Continued Involvement
To encourage senior leaders to remain actively involved in STFM even for those who have assumed leadership roles outside of the discipline
Leadership, Mentorship, and Counsel
To create a resource for mentorship and leadership training for STFM members, and to create a resource for counsel and advice for STFM leaders
How to Apply, Leaders, and Members
How to Apply to Join the Bishop Society
The Bishop Society is intended to serve as a professional home for mid- and senior-career faculty who have held multiple leadership positions within and outside of family medicine. Up to five new members are added to the Bishop Society each year. The following criteria will be used to select new Bishop Society members:
- Winners of the annual F. Marian Bishop Leadership Award are automatically nominated for membership.
- Nominations are accepted from the STFM Board of Directors, the STFM Foundation Board, and from current Bishop Society Members. STFM members can apply for themselves.
- Each year in June, the Bishop Society Selection Committee* announces a call for nominations to the general membership.
- The Bishop Society Selection Committee has the final decision on determining new members to the Bishop Society.
- Factors used to select new Bishop Society members include:
- STFM members interested in promoting the mission of STFM and acting as mentors and consultants to other STFM members
- STFM members who have made significant contributions to family medicine education over time
- STFM members who have held multiple leadership positions within and outside family medicine
To apply or nominate another member, please send the following materials to Traci Brazelton by August 30 each year to tbrazelton@stfm.org:
- Name, address, email address, photo, biosketch, and shortened CV (5 pages or less)
- A one-page letter explaining why you are interested in being a Bishop Society member and your agreement to support the ongoing mission of STFM
The Bishop Society Selection Committee* selects up to five new Bishop Society members annually. Nominees not selected are reconsidered for 3 years after the nomination. The new Bishop Society members are announced each year in November.
*The Bishop Society Selection Committee includes the 3 leaders of the Bishop Society, the immediate STFM past president, the STFM executive director/CEO, and up to two Bishop Society general members.
Leaders
Current Leadership
The Bishop Society is led by a chair and vice chair, who are recommended by the Bishop Society members and approved by the STFM Nominations Committee. These leadership roles have 3-year terms, which may be renewed upon approval by the STFM Nominations Committee. An STFM Board member will be appointed by the STFM president to serve as liaison to the Bishop Society.
Current Leaders
- Jeffrey Borkan, MD, PhD, co-chair
- Valerie Gilchrist, MD, co-chair
- Jeri Hepworth, PhD, co-chair
Members
Members
- Alfred Berg, MD, MPH
- Klea Bertakis, MD, MPH
- Viviana Martinez-Bianchi, MD
- Stephen P. Bogdewic, PhD, MA
- Jeffrey Borkan, MD, PhD
- Marjorie Bowman, MD
- Elizabeth Burns, MD, MA
- Lucy Candib, MD
- Peter Carek, MD
- Patricia Carney, PhD
- Heidi Chumley, MD, MBA
- Jack Colwill, MD
- Joshua Freeman, MD
- John Frey III, MD
- Valerie Gilchrist, MD
- Robert Graham, MD
- Kevin Grumbach, MD
- Warren Heffron, MD
- David Henderson, MD
- Jeri Hepworth, PhD
- James Herman, MD, MSPH
- Joseph Hobbs, MD
- William Hueston, MD
- Norman Kahn, MD
- Victoria Kaprielian, MD
- Lars Larsen, MD
- Michael Magill, MD
- William Miller, MD, MA
- Carlos Moreno, MD, MSPH
- Warren Newton, MD, MPH
- Thomas Norris, MD
- Daniel Ostergaard, MD
- Elissa Palmer, MD
- C.J. Peek, PhD
- Robert L. Phillips Jr, MD, MSPH
- Denise Rodgers, MD
- John Saultz, MD
- Joseph Scherger, MD
- Julie Schirmer, ACSW, LCSW
- Thomas Schwenk, MD
- Edward Shahady, MD
- Jeannette South-Paul, MD
- Jeffrey Susman, MD
- David Swee, MD
- Mark Stephens, MD
- Deborah Taylor, PhD*
- Robert Taylor, MD
- Janet Townsend, MD
- Daniel VanDurme, MD, MPH*
- Judy Washington, MD
- Philip Zazove, MD
- Steven Zweig, MD, MSPH
*deceased
History of the Bishop Society
On August 2, 2018, the STFM Board of Directors approved a proposal to create the Bishop Society as a platform for recognition and interaction of senior leaders among STFM’s members. This proposal was made by the 30 previous recipients of the STFM-sponsored Bishop Fellowship, with John Saultz, MD, as the lead author.The Bishop Fellowship was created by a generous donation from the estate of F. Marian Bishop to the STFM Foundation and accepted its first class in 2001. After funding for the program was discontinued, the last class of fellows completed the program in 2016.Since the beginning of the program, current and former Bishop Fellows have met each year at the STFM annual meeting under the leadership of the fellowship director, Robert Graham, MD. The purpose of these meetings has been to allow former fellows to remain in contact with one another and discuss issues related to the fellowship and leadership in academic family medicine. With the end of the fellowship, the group looked for models so the community could continue and recognize senior leaders in academic family medicine and contribute to STFM’s mission. The group’s plan was approved by the STFM Board.The STFM Board invited individuals to be founding members of the Bishop Society:
- All former Bishop Fellows
- The fellowship director
- All former winners of the STFM Foundation’s F. Marian Bishop Leadership Award
