Robert Wooten Recognized as Healthcare Legend

Wake PA faculty member Robert L. Wooten, PA-C '81, was honored as a Healthcare Legend of East Winston-Salem during a luncheon hosted by Winston-Salem State University on Nov. 6. According to the event’s program, “PA Wooten’s lifelong dedication to health equity and mentorship has made a lasting impact on the profession and the communities he has served.”

Each year during homecoming week, Winston-Salem State recognizes the progress made in healthcare for African Americans and the East Winston community during the Healthcare Legends Awards Luncheon. The event is a heartfelt tribute to the extraordinary individuals and organizations making an impact on the health and wellness of East Winston-Salem residents.

The luncheon is presented in partnership with the Northwest Area Health Education Center of Wake Forest School of Medicine and the Winston-Salem State University School of Health Sciences.

Four photos of Robert Wooten being honored as a Healthcare Legend of East Winston-Salem.
Photos from the luncheon show Wooten accepting his medal from Winston-Salem State University Chancellor Bonita Brown and celebrating with family and friends.

News & Updates

Traci Brown

Traci Brown, Operations Administrator for PA Studies, was accepted into the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Rising Stars Leadership Program.

Kelly Renee Conner, MMS, PA-C, PhD

Kelly Conner was a guest on the fourth episode of the Leading From Our Scars podcast on June 5. Conner chaired the APP Symposium at the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting in Los Angeles on Dec. 7. It was her final symposium as chair, ending her three-year term.

Read More
Lauren Eyadiel, MMS, MS, PA-C, SLP, FHFSA, HF-Certified

Lauren Eyadiel was accepted into the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Rising Stars Leadership Program. She was invited to speak at the Heart Failure Society of America’s Annual Scientific Meeting in Atlanta in October on "Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork." Eyadiel is the first PA Fellow of the HFSA.

Read More
Sarah Jane Garvick, MS, MPAS, PA-C

Sarah Garvick is serving on the Wake Forest University School of Medicine Standing Committee on Promotion and Tenure.

Chris Gillette, PhD

Chris Gillette was asked to serve as a grant reviewer for the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). The reviews are part of a special emphasis panel for the U19 Limited Competition: NIMHD Initiative for Improving American Indian and Alaska Native Cancer Outcomes. He was also asked to serve as a peer reviewer for the National Institutes of Health's Health Services and Systems branch (NIH HSS) in November 2024, and as a grant reviewer for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Healthcare Research Training Grant for February 2025. He was invited to give two talks to the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, in November – “The role of opioid policies in addressing the opioid epidemics,” and “Women's Health Initiative-United States.”

Chris Gillette, PhD, holding an award at the Dean's Faculty Achievement Banquet.
Wake PA Director of Research and Scholarship Chris Gillette, PhD, (center) with Wake Forest University School of Medicine Dean Dr. Ebony Boulware (left) and PA Studies Department Chair Gayle Bodner. Gillette was recognized at the Dean's Faculty Achievement Banquet on November 11 for his promotion to professor in 2024.
Andrea Elizabeth McKinnond, MMS, PA-C

Andrea McKinnond and her husband have generously established the “Jamerson and Andrea McKinnond Family Endowed PA Advocacy in Health Equity Research and Education Fund."

Courtney 'Coco' J. Perry, PharmD

Coco Perry was elected to an open seat on the Carolina Pediatric Pharmacy's Board of Directors.

Megan Danielle Pinder, PA

Megan Pinder has been promoted to Assistant Professor.

Delaney Drechsler, MMS, PA-C

Delaney (Dreschler) Provenza has been promoted to Assistant Professor.

Caroline Grey Bell Sisson, PA-C

Caroline Sisson has been chosen by ARC-PA to be a site visitor after a competitive process. In this prestigious appointment, she will add to the important work accreditation provides for the PA profession. Sisson also facilitated several New Faculty Jump Start Workshops for PAEA in the summer of 2024.

Natalie Smith, DMSc, PA-C

Natalie Smith has been selected to join the Post-Professional PA Doctorate Accreditation Task Force. This group is charged with providing guidance for future accreditation of DMSc programs by ARC-PA. Sharing Wake PA’s vision of rigor and excellence will be paramount to long term success for the PA profession.

Ethan Arthur Riley Stonerook, MS, MPAS, PA-C

Ethan Stonerook is the author of one of three essays in JAAPA’s “Art of Medicine” collection that won a 2024 Apex Award for publishing excellence. Links to the essays can be found on JAAPA's website. Stonerook also presented on “Being a PA” at the American Society of Bioethics and Humanities conference in September.

Faculty and Staff Step It Up

Twenty faculty and staff members participated in a Team Walking Challenge in November. The group was divided into four teams that were paired up weekly for head-to-head challenges. Kelly Conner logged the most steps with 501,452 steps in November. Lori Cook won for most improved from Week 1 to Week 4, increasing her daily average by almost 3,000 steps. The Soul Sisters et al team won more weekly challenges overall. Members are Laiton Steele, Sarah Garvick, Gayle Bodner, Josh Waynick, Miranda Chiang and honorable mention – Angie Kurczewski. The entire group logged a total of 4.75 million steps!

December Community Service

Wake PA faculty and staff completed not one but two community service projects on December 17. In the morning, staff members assembled bags with snacks for students from the Winston-Salem Street School to take home for the holiday break.

In the afternoon, faculty and staff members helped the Community Meals team at the Second Harvest Food Bank package well-balanced meals for delivery to children, seniors, and neighbors living with disabilities. The Wake PA team assembled 767 meals during their visit. Currently, the Community Meals team is packaging more than 12,000 meals per week to help feed people in 18 NC counties!

Service Highlights

Wake PA faculty and staff members assembling bags and packaging meals on Dec. 17.

image text
image text
image text
image text
image text