Governance

The Association of VA Surgeons was established in 1967 to improve patient care, medical education and research in surgery in the VA.

Our goals are:
- to promote the interchange of ideas and issues that affect VA surgeons
- to provide a forum for discussion of issues of concern to the membership
- formulation of an organized representation

Officers

Bylaws
  • President: Alan Dardik, MD, PhD  
  • President-Elect: Ronnie Rosenthal, MD
  • Past President: Faisal Bakaeen, MD
  • Vice-President: George Sarosi, MD
  • Secretary: Danny Chu, MD
  • Treasurer: Edith Tzeng, MD
  • Recorder: Jason Johanning, MD
  • ACS Board of Governors: Seth Spector, MD

Constitution

Committees

Archives Committee
Chair: Walter Longo, MD - West Haven, CT

Member:
  • Gordon Telford, MD - Milwaukee, WI
  • Bill Cheadle, MD - Louisville, KY
  • Bob Kozol, MD - Lakeworth, FL
  • Kamal Itani, MD - West Roxbury, MA
  • John Tarpley, MD - Nashville, TN
  • Aaron Fink, MD - Sarasota, FL
Audit Committee
Chair: Faisal Bakaeen, MD - Cleveland, OH (2020)

Members:
  • Melanie Morris, MD - Birmingham, AL (2020)
  • Christy Chai, MD - Houston, TX (2020)
Awards Committee
Chair: Lorraine Cornwell, MD - Houston, TX (2020)

Members:
  • Scott Gruber, MD - Detroit, MI (2020)
  • Steven Rakita, MD - Tampa, FL (2020)
  • Edith Tzeng, MD - Pittsburgh, PA (2021)
  • Panos Kougias, MD - Houston, TX (2022)
  • Hossein Almassi, MD - Milwaukee, WI (2022)
Bylaws Committee
Chair: Nader Massarweh, MD - Houston, TX (2022)

Members:
  • Melissa Perkal, MD - New Haven, CT (2020)
  • Kamal Itani, MD - West Roxbury, MA (2020)
  • ​James Yun, MD - Jackson, MS (2021)
  • Marc Basson, MD - Grand Forks, ND (2021)
  • Gale Tang, MD - Seattle, WA (2021)
Council of Chiefs
Chair: Sam Awad, MD - Houston, TX (2021)
Vice-Chair: 

AVAS Foundation
Chair: Mark Wilson, MD - Pittsburgh, PA (2020)

Members:
  • Melissa Perkal, MD - New Haven, CT (2020)
  • Gordon Telford, MD - Milwaukee, WI (2020)
  • Seth Spector, MD - Miami, FL (2021)
  • Antonio Robles, MD ​- Loma Linda, CA (2021)
Local Arrangements Committee
  • ​​2020 - Danny Chu, MD (Pittsburgh)
  • ​2021 - Seth Spector, MD (Miami)
Membership Committee
Chair: Kathleen Raman, MD, MPH - Rochester, NY (2021) 

Members:
  • Kevin Pei, MD - New Haven, CT (2020)
  • ​Ruth Bush, MD - Houston, TX (2020)
  • ​Robert Krouse, MD - Philadelphia, PA (2021)
  • ​Ryan Thomas, MD - Gainesville, FL (2021)
  • ​Shuab Omer, MD - Houston, TX (2022)
  • Ex Officio: Danny Chu, MD - Pittsburgh, PA (2021)
Nominating Committee
Chair: Faisal Bakaeen, MD - Cleveland, OH (2020)

Members:
  • Marco Zenati, MD - Boston, MA (2020)
  • Antonio Robles, MD ​- Loma Linda, CA (2020)
  • Peter Wu, MD - Seattle, WA (2020)
  • Lygia Stewart - San Francisco, CA (2020)
Program Committee
Chair: Brian Smith, MD - Long Beach, CA (2020)
Vice-Chair: James Maloney, MD - Madison, WI (2021)

​Members:
  • Lindsay Goldstein, MD - Gainesville, FL (2020)
  • Preeti John, MD - Baltimore, MD (2020)
  • Luke Brewster, MD - Decatur, GA (2021)
  • Jacquelyn Quin, MD - West Roxbury, MA (2021)
  • Ex Officio: Danny Chu, MD - Pittsburgh, PA (2021)
  • Ex Officio: Jason Johanning, MD - Omaha, NE (2020)
Research Committee
Chair: Jason Gold, MD - West Roxbury, MA (2022)

Members:
  • Christy Chai, MD - Houston, TX (2020)
  • Thomas Gardner, MD - Indianapolis, IN (2021)
  • Rajeev Dhupar, MD - Pittsburgh, PA (2022)
  • George Yang, MD - Birmingham, AL (2022)
  • Eric Kimchi, MD - Columbia, MO (2022)
ACS Committee on Trauma Representative
  • Ken Lipshy, MD - Salisbury, NC (2020) 
Social Media Committee (Ad Hoc)
Chair: Preeti John, MD - Baltimore, MD 

​Members:
  • Ken Lipshy, MD - Salisbury, NC
  • Danny Chu, MD - Pittsburgh, PA

Diversity and Inclusion Committee (Ad Hoc)

Chair: Shipra Arya, MD - Stanford, CA 

Executive Committee Members Only Page

Click on the button to access the Executive Committee Page for members of the Committee only (password-protected)