MEMBERSHIP Proposed Slate of 2023–2025 AAN Board of Directors

developed an interest in treating headache patients but continues to enjoy caring for all neurologic diseases.

Prior to joining the University of Minnesota, she was a physician owner/partner at Minneapolis Clinic of Neurology, one of the largest physician-owned, single-specialty neurology clinics in the country. She spent seven years on its board of directors and was treasurer for one year. During her decade with this clinic, she learned a lot about the business of medicine and what it takes to survive in the days of modern medicine and payment reform.

Benish began her involvement with the AAN as a member of the inaugural class of the Emerging Leaders Forum. She has served on the Practice Committee, Quality Committee, Data Analytics Subcommittee, and Registry Subcommittee.

Treasurer

Charles C. Flippen II, MD, FAAN, is the Richard D. and Ruth P. Walter Professor of Neurology faculty member of UCLA Goldberg Migraine Program at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, vice chair for Education in the Department of Neurology and associate dean of the Center for Continuous Professional Development at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA (DGSOM).

Flippen is a diplomate of adult neurology of the American Board of Psychiatry Neurology (ABPN) and of headache medicine of the United Council of Neurologic Subspecialties. He is a member of the American Headache Society, International Headache Society, Fellow of the American Neurological Association, and Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, where he serves as treasurer of the AAN.

In addition to his AAN activities, Flippen represents the ABPN on the Neurology Residency Review Committee of the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education and

2023–2025 AAN Board of Directors

Wayne E. Anderson, DO, FAHS, FAAN, is a neurologist subspecialty certified in headache and pain medicine. Since childhood, he knew he wanted to be a physician and work with the brain but did not know which path to take: psychiatry, neurology, or something related such as neuroradiology. However, after a few medical school rotations, it became clear: neurology.

After residency at University of California, Davis, he worked in both solo and group practice models, including a hybrid private practice within a hospital-based neurology center. The different continued from page 11 serves on several intramural committees in the DGSOM.

Flippen is also active within the general Los Angeles community through his service as a board member of 100 Black Men of Los Angeles, member of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Delta Xi Boulé, and member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Immediate Past President

Orly Avitzur, MD, MBA, FAAN, is a practicing neurologist with offices in Tarrytown and Carmel, New York. She is a former chair of the AAN Medical Economics and Management Committee, the Practice Management and Technology Subcommittee, and the Audit Committee. She is editor-in-chief of Brain & Life®, the AAN's patient and caregiver magazine and website. Avitzur is a medical writer and has written for Neurology Today ®, the official news source of the AAN, reporting on trends and innovations in the practice of neurology since 2001. Her stories have included broad coverage of technology in clinical care; the evolution of the health care regulatory environment; the neurology pipeline; equity, diversity, and inclusion; and, most recently, neurologists on the front line during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For 10 years, Avitzur served as a health editor for Consumer Reports, and as its medical director from 2015-2018. She is the recipient of several APEX writing awards and the 2009 AAN Journalism Fellowship award. She attended Johns Hopkins University for her undergraduate studies and during medical school at the Pennsylvania State University, Avitzur received the Merck Award for Academic Excellence. She is a clinical instructor at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, CT, where she completed her neurology residency, and a clinical assistant professor at New York Medical College in Valhalla, NY. She received her Master of Business Administration from the University of Connecticut.

practice models offered a unique understanding of the benefits and challenges of both employed and private practices.

He has been actively engaged in Academy projects, participating on the Practice Committee, eLearning Subcommittee, Advocacy Engagement Subcommittee, and in several work groups. He has represented the American Academy of Neurology in joint work groups in other specialties, including the American Board of Anesthesiology exam writing committee and the American Academy of Ophthalmology workforce on vision and concussion. A graduate of both the Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum and the Transforming Leaders Program, he is dedicated to the field of neurology and is passionate about ensuring the future of the profession. In addition to advocacy programs such as Neurology on the Hill, current projects include promoting awareness of the importance of neurology through public education.

Jennifer Bickel, MD, FAAN, is the chief wellness officer for Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL, where she is charged with creating system change to improve professional well-being through an operational emphasis on meaningful, essential work; a culture that promotes well-being; and through tailored support programs. She is also a professor of oncologic science at the University of South Florida. She serves as the chair of the American Academy of Neurology’s Wellness Subcommittee and as a member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Clinician Well-being and Resilience. She attended medical school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and completed her neurology residency at University of Kansas Medical Center.

As a headache medicine specialist, Bickel served at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, MO, until 2021 as chief of the headache section and as the headache medicine fellowship director. Her clinical program provided comprehensive care to children and adolescents with headaches including injections, infusions, medical acupuncture, mental health support, and clinical research. As a neurology educator, she has been active in many areas, including holding roles as the course director for medical neuroscience and as the SIGN advisor at University of Missouri-Kansas City. As faculty of the American College of Healthcare Executives, she leads seminars for health care administrators on how to prioritize clinician well-being within health care operations.

Bickel has been active in the AAN for over a decade, beginning with participating in the Palatucci Advocacy Leadership Forum in 2012 and in following years as advisor and faculty. Additionally, neurology advocacy includes serving on the BrainPAC Executive Committee, attending Neurology on the Hill, and leading grantsupported community outreach programs. In 2016, she became involved in AAN education through a focus on undergraduate education and the medical student pipeline. Currently, she is a member of the Education Committee. In 2017, she graduated from the AAN’s Transforming Leaders Program and later served as project advisor and physician liaison for the program. Since 2017, she has been a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for Neurology Today®. As the chair of the AAN Wellness Subcommittee, she also serves on the Member Engagement Committee.

Gregory J. Esper, MD, MBA, FAAN, is professor of neurology at Emory University School of Medicine and is a general neurologist. He earned his medical degree at Vanderbilt University, completed neurology residency at Washington

University in St. Louis, and finished a clinical neurophysiology fellowship and a clinical research fellowship in electrical impedance myography with Dr. Seward Rutkove at Harvard University's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He earned his MBA from Emory’s Goizueta Business School in 2009. Esper was recently recognized in Emory’s Physician Group Practice as a Diamond Provider, earning 99-percentile patient satisfaction ratings.

Esper serves Emory Healthcare as associate chief medical officer, a role that promotes systemwide standardization in clinical workflows across the growing 11-hospital academic health system with over 220 outpatient sites. He is the vice president of Lean Promotion, in which he leads Emory’s systemwide initiative for lean transformation. He is the medical director for Emory’s Connected Care systemwide telehealth program. He also serves as vice chairman of clinical affairs for the Emory Department of Neurology. Esper enjoys an appointment as affiliated professor of business administration at Emory University and is a member of Goizueta Business School’s corporate advisory board.

Esper currently serves the American Academy of Neurology as the chair of the Health Services Research Subcommittee, as a member of the Medical Economics and Practice Committee, and as a member of the Academic Committee. He is a member of Vizient’s Risk Adjustment Committee and Neuroscience Quality and Accountability Steering Committee. He recently served as a member of the American Association of Medical College’s COVID-19 Clinical Guidance Repository Working Group. He publishes and lectures on such topics as telemedicine, lean implementation in health care, health care reform, value-based care, medical economics, leadership, and talent management. He is passionate about health services research and envisions a nationally connected landscape for neurology-related discovery that defines the impact of health care reform on neurologists and how neurologists continue to add value to the US health system as health care evolves.

Esper is married to Dr. Christine Doss Esper, who herself is associate professor of neurology at Emory University and a movement disorders specialist. They have three children who enjoy sports, music, and TikTok. Esper is a violinist and a singer who enjoys opera, musical theater, and Byzantine chant.

Larry B. Goldstein, MD, FAHA, FAAN, is professor and chair of the Department of Neurology, associate dean for Clinical Research, co-director of the Kentucky Neuroscience Institute, co-director of the UK Neuroscience Research Priority Area, and interim director of the UK-Norton Healthcare Stroke Care Network at the University of Kentucky. Goldstein received his BA in 1977 from Brandeis University and MD from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1981. His subsequent professional training included an internship and neurology residency at Mount Sinai Medical