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Gary L. Timmerman, MD, FÅ˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­, MAMSE, is the current Chair of the ACSSurgeons as Leaders Course. He serves as professor and chair of the surgery department at the University of South Dakota Sanford Medical school. For over 15 years, he has served as his hospital’s Level II trauma director, a surgeon physician advisor, been on numerous hospital boards and committees, and is the past hospital chief-of-staff and past South Dakota state trauma director. He was recently appointed the Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) medical director for the Sanford Healthcare Enterprise. He previously worked in private practice in his hometown of Watertown, SD, for nearly ten years. Dr. Timmerman received his medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and completed a general surgery residency at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago.

Dr. Timmerman volunteers extensively with the Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­, having served as President of the South Dakota Chapter, Governor of both the South Dakota Chapter and the Association of Surgical Education, member and Chair of the Committee on Young Surgeons, Vice-Chair and Chair of the Board of Governors, and on the Advisory Council for Rural Surgery. He is also the past chair of the Health Policy and Advocacy Group (HPAG) and a member of the Board of Regents. With the assistance of his medical center and the Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­, he helped lead the creation of a new general surgery residency program in South Dakota to train rural and community general surgeons.

Melina R. Kibbe, MD, FÅ˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­, FAHA, is the current Co-Chair of the ACSSurgeons as Leaders Course. Dr. Kibbe became president of UTHealth Houston and the Alkek-Williams Distinguished Chair in September 2025. Prior to this appointment, she served as the University of Virginia (UVA) School of Medicine’s dean and chief health affairs officer. Dr. Kibbe is a nationally renowned researcher in the field of vascular surgery and former chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of North Carolina (UNC). Prior to UNC, Dr. Kibbe was vice chair of Research in the Department of Surgery and deputy director of the Simpson Querrey Institute for BioNanotechnology at Northwestern University. She graduated from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, completed her internship, residency, and research fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and completed her vascular surgery fellowship at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Clinically, Dr. Kibbe has significant experience with both open and endovascular surgery, including the treatment of carotid stenosis, peripheral vascular disease, abdominal aortic aneurysms, and vascular access. She is board certified in general and vascular surgery. Dr. Kibbe’s research interests focus on developing and evaluating novel therapies for patients with vascular disease. She co-founded and served as the chief medical officer for VesselTek BioMedical, LLC, a company that specialized in the development of medical devices to treat vascular disease. She has been continuously funded for her research since 2005, and her work was recognized by President Obama in 2009 with a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

A member of the National Academy of Medicine and the American Society for Clinical Investigation, Dr. Kibbe is the editor-in-chief for JAMA Surgery and has served as president for the Association for Academic Surgery, the Midwestern Vascular Surgical Society, the Association of Veterans Affairs Surgeons, and the Surgical Biology Club II. Her bibliography includes over 300 peer-reviewed publications and more than 250 nationally and internationally presented abstracts. She has received numerous awards, including the Society of Vascular Surgery (SVS) Lifeline Research Award, SVS Women’s Leadership Award, American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) Gender Equity Award, AMWA Women Leaders in Medicine Award, Northwestern University Tripartite Award, Thomas Sheen Award from the New Jersey Chapter of Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­, Presidential Citation from the Association of VA Surgeons, and the University of Chicago Distinguished Service Award. She also received the Virginia Business 2023 Women in Leadership Award and has earned 24 awards for teaching excellence as a faculty member.

James W. Fleshman Jr., MD, FÅ˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­, FASCRS is Chief of Surgery and Sparkman Endowed Professor and Chairman of the department of surgery at Texas A&M Health Science Center, Baylor University Medical Center. Dr. Fleshman specializes in the treatment of colorectal diseases. He is board certified by the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery and the American Board of Surgery. Dr. Fleshman graduated from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, before completing a residency and fellowship in General Surgery at The Jewish Hospital of St. Louis, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO. He is also fellowship trained in Colon and Rectal Surgery from the University of Toronto in Toronto, Canada. Dr. Fleshman has developed an international reputation in the laparoscopic treatment of colorectal cancer, the training of surgeons in the laparoscopic resection of colorectal problems and the development of randomized controlled trials to evaluate the use of laparoscopic techniques in the treatment of colorectal cancer. Prior to moving to Dallas as the Chairman of the Department of Surgery at Baylor University Medical Center, part of Baylor Scott & White Health, Dr. Fleshman served as the Chief of the Section of Colon and Rectal Surgery and Professor of Surgery at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Fleshman has also served as President of the American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery, President of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons and President of the ASCRS Research Foundation. He is currently a Regent of the ACS(Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­) and serves as Chair of the Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care for the ACSBoard of Regents.

Andrea A. Hayes Dixon, MD, FÅ˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­, PhD(H), FAAP, became the first black woman dean of Howard University’s College of Medicine in 2022. With the distinction of becoming dean, Dr. Hayes Dixon adds to an already extensive list of groundbreaking accomplishments. In 2004, Hayes Dixon became the first African American woman in the nation to become a board-certified pediatric surgeon. In 2006, she became the first surgeon in the world to perform a high-risk life-saving procedure in teens with rare forms of abdominal cancer. Just last year, she became the first woman chair of the Department of Surgery at Howard University. Prior to joining Howard University, Dr. Hayes Dixon served as the surgeon-in-chief and division chief of pediatric surgery at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Children’s Hospital, where she also served as a professor of pediatric surgery and surgical oncology. She leads a basic science laboratory, which focuses on rare sarcomas and maintains clinical research efforts. Dr. Hayes Dixon specializes in refractory and resistant tumors in children, specifically soft tissue sarcomas in children. Patients from around the world request her services because of the rare diseases she investigates. She previously served as the section chief of pediatric surgery at the University of Texas (UT) MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Dr. Hayes Dixon obtained her bachelor’s degree in religion from Dartmouth, followed by her Doctor of Medicine from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College. She completed a residency program at the University of California Davis, East Bay, and a molecular biology fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Hayes Dixon then completed a pediatric surgical oncology fellowship at the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, and a pediatric surgery fellowship at the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children. She also participated in a special fellowship in melanoma and sarcoma at the UT MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Dr. Hayes Dixon has earned membership into the American Surgical Association and has served as chair of the cancer committee for the American Pediatric Surgical Association. She has also been selected to the pediatric disease query PDQ, a national committee that vets every publication on pediatric cancer and summarizes it on the NIH website. She is a past President of The Society of Black Academic Surgeons and is a member of the Board of Regents of the Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­. Additionally, she was appointed by President Trump to the National Cancer Advisory Board.

Matthew M. Hutter, MD, MBA, MPH, FÅ˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­, is a general and gastrointestinal surgeon who focuses on advanced laparoscopic, foregut, and bariatric surgery. He currently serves as the chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). He trained and worked at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) until 2025, where he served as the Director of the Codman Center for Clinical Effectiveness in Surgery at MGH, as an executive director of the Department of Surgery Quality and Safety Program, and as a Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Hutter was elected as president of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) in 2019–2020. He has been the Chair of the Data Committee for the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP^®) and has helped to lead the development and implementation of the national data collection system for bariatric surgery since its inception in 2005. Dr. Hutter has served as a member of the Board of Governors for the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, as chair of the Health Care Quality and Outcomes Committee for the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract, and currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Fellowship Council as the Secretary/Treasurer.

Dr. Hutter graduated from Harvard University and Harvard Medical School, completing his surgical residency and a fellowship in advanced laparoscopic and bariatric surgery at MGH. He earned a master’s in public health (MPH) from Harvard’s School of Public Health and a master’s in business administration (MBA) from the MIT Sloan School of Management. His overall academic focus is on the development, implementation, and responsible use of data collection systems in surgery, with a focus on assessing and improving the quality of surgical care.

Larry R. Kaiser, MD, FÅ˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­ is the President, CEO and Thomas W. Langfitt Chair at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. He also remains as a senior advisor with the consulting firm Alvarez and Marsal in their Healthcare Industry Group, Health System Practice. He is a cardiothoracic surgeon by training and specializes in working with healthcare systems, primarily in restructuring, process improvement and strategy. With more than 20 years of leadership experience in a variety of healthcare institutions, Dr. Kaiser was most recently the president and CEO of the Temple University Health System. He was responsible for the acquisition of the Fox Chase Cancer Center and spearheaded the development of several nationally recognized programs, including the #1 lung transplant program in the country. During his time at Temple, he also served as the inaugural Lewis Katz Dean of the Lewis Katz School of Medicine.

Immediately prior to joining Temple, Dr. Kaiser served as president of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, the largest of the health-related institutions of the University of Texas, where he was responsible for six schools and a 950-member multi-specialty physician practice. Prior to that he spent 17-years at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was the John Rhea Barton Professor and chairman of the Department of Surgery and surgeon-in-chief of the Penn Health System. Other positions he has held include faculty appointments at Washington University, St. Louis, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Cornell University.

Dr. Kaiser is board-certified in both surgery and thoracic surgery. He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry and medical degree from Tulane University, completing his residency and a fellowship in surgical oncology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He completed his residency in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Joel Cooper, Robert Ginsberg, and F. Griffith Pearson, where he participated in both the first and second successful lung transplants done one year apart.

Currently Dr. Kaiser is an adjunct professor of surgery at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. He also is the current Treasurer for the ACSBoard of Regents. Dr. Kaiser has served in a number of leadership capacities for other professional societies and associations, including his time as a director of the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. In 2005, he was elected to the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Kaiser’s clinical interests include lung cancer, malignant mesothelioma, and mediastinal tumors. He has authored 21 books and more than 350 peer-reviewed publications and currently serves on the editorial board of the Annals of Surgery and is an Associate Editor of the European Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Carlos A. Pellegrini, MD, FÅ˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­, FRCSI(Hon), FRCS(Hon), FRSCEd(Hon), FWÅ˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­(Hon), is a surgeon with expertise in surgical education, simulation, professionalism, and leadership. He is a pioneer in the development of technological surgical advancements and a world leader in minimally invasive gastrointestinal surgery. The son of two physicians, Dr. Pellegrini spent his childhood years in rural Argentina. He attended the University of Rosario Medical School and remained there for surgical training until 1975, when he emigrated to the US and completed a second surgical residency at the University of Chicago. In 1979, he was appointed to the faculty of the University of California, San Francisco. He remained there until 1993, when he moved to the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, to become chair of the Department of Surgery. In his 23 years as department chair, he assumed many leadership roles in the highest decision-making bodies across UW Medicine and chaired many committees overseeing a vast array of initiatives, including continuous professionalism improvement, diversity, and multidisciplinary practices.

In 2015, Dr. Pellegrini was appointed as the first chief medical officer of UW Medicine and as vice-president for medical affairs, University of Washington to provide senior leadership for clinical practice standards across all UW Medicine sites of practice, a position he held until December 2018. As he retired from UW Medicine, Dr. Pellegrini decided to apply his experience of more than 4 decades as a mentor, teacher, advisor and trusted colleague to help healthcare providers develop to their full potential, with particular emphasis on leadership skills. He sought additional training at SeattleCoach and became an executive coach focusing on coaching/mentoring healthcare executives.

Dr. Pellegrini is a Past-President of the ACSand the American Surgical Association. He was Chair of the Board of The Joint Commission from 2022–2024. He is a Founding Member of the ACSAcademy of Master Surgeon Educators and a member of the Academy Steering Committee. He participates in the highest leadership roles in regional, national, and international surgical societies, and his bibliography lists more than 400 peer-reviewed articles, chapters, editorials, and books.

Kenneth W. Sharp, MD, FÅ˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­, MAMSE, a Florida native, graduated from the University of Florida in 1973. His medical school education was at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, graduating in 1977. He did his surgical training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, including a year in surgical research at the Loch Raven Veterans Hospital and six months at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, England. He served as the Halsted Chief in 1983-1984. 

Dr. Sharp joined the faculty at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 1984 as an Assistant Professor of Surgery and is currently Professor of Surgery and Vice Chair of the Section of Surgical Sciences for Faculty Promotion and Development. Dr. Sharp has published a number of eclectic book chapters and papers spanning the broad field of general surgery including minimally invasive surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, trauma, surgical education and oncology topics. He has served to represent general surgery in numerous surgical organizations. He has served as President of the Tennessee Chapter of the ACS(2001) and President of the Southeastern Surgical Congress 2004 (and served as the Secretary Director of the Southeastern Surgical Congress from 2004-2015). He received the Distinguished Service Award from the SESC in 2017. He served as First Vice President of The Southern Surgical Association from 2010-2011 and President in 2022-23. He was awarded Honorary Fellowship in the Southern Surgical Association in 2021.

His national representation has included service as a Director of the American Board of Surgery (2006-2012) where he was Chair of the Gastrointestinal Surgery Advisory Council for four years. He has been an active member of the Halsted Society serving on the Halsted Society Board of Directors and as President of the Halsted Society 2017-2018. He has served in numerous positions for the ACS– as a Governor of the ACSwhere he served as the Chair of the Committee on Physician Competency and Health and as the Chair of the Nominating Committee of the Governors. He has served as a representative and Vice Chair to the Advisory Council for General Surgery and to the Advisory Council for Rural Surgery of the Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­. He has been on the Program Committee since 2013 and served as Vice Chair of the Program Committee 2015-2017. He is currently Chair of the Program Committee. He is a Director and Board Member of the ACSFoundation serving as the Secretary of the Foundation from 2014–2017 and continues as an active fundraiser and Regent Liaison to the Foundation. In 2018 he was elected as a Regent in the ACSand served on the Communications Committee, as Chair of the Member Services Liaison Committee and chaired the Nominating Committee. He was elected as a member of the ACSAcademy of Master Surgeon Educators in 2021. Most recently, he was awarded Honorary Fellowship in the Society of Black Academic Surgeons in 2025. He is married to Jane Evans Sharp from Dyersburg, Tennessee, and has two daughters: Sarah and Katie.

Beth H. Sutton, MD, FÅ˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­, practices as a general surgeon in private practice in Wichita Falls, TX. Dr. Sutton has extensive experience working as a self-employed general surgeon in a mid-size community in which the hospital has a Level II trauma center and an active acute care surgery service. She has served on almost every hospital committee and the hospital board and is a past president of the medical staff. She has been Secretary and President of the Texas Surgical Society and President of the North Texas Chapter of the Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­. 

Dr. Sutton earned her Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Baylor University and her Doctor of Medicine from Baylor College of Medicine. She completed a surgical internship at St. Paul Hospital, Dallas, Texas, followed by a residency in general surgery at Scott and White Memorial Hospital, Temple, Texas. 

Dr. Sutton served as President of the ACSfrom 2024 to 2025. She was elected Chair of the ACSBoard of Regents in 2019 and has also held other leadership roles within the Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­.

Kyla P. Terhune, MD, MBA, FÅ˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­, is the Senior Vice President for the Division of Education at the Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­. Prior to this position, she served as the Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Education at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and the Senior Vice President for Educational Affairs and ACGME/NRMP Designated Institutional Official at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She has served previously as Program Director of the General Surgery Residency at Vanderbilt, an Associate Chief of Staff at Vanderbilt University Hospital, and Chief of General Surgery at the VA Medical Center in Nashville.

She is a Past President of the Association of Program Directors in Surgery, was a founding officer of the National Association of DIOs (NADIO), a past Director on the Board of the ACGME, and has served on finance and audit committees for the NBME. A sought-after speaker and an innovative leader, she has received distinguished awards at the local and national level, including the inaugural David Leach Award from the ACGME in 2010, the Philip J. Wolfson Outstanding Teacher Award from the Association for Surgical Education (ASE) and the Five Pillar Leader Award from VUMC, both in 2021.

Dr. Terhune grew up in Batesville, Arkansas, received her A.B. degree in molecular biology from Princeton University, her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and her Master of Business Administration from the Owen School of Management at Vanderbilt University. She completed her residency in General Surgery and fellowship in Critical Care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Prior to medical school, she taught science and coached basketball and tennis at St. Andrew’s School in Middletown, Delaware.

Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FÅ˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­, is the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the ACSand a clinical professor at the University of Chicago. She was previously director of the Division of Member Services at the Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­, and before joining the College, Dr. Turner was in full-time academic practice on the University of Maryland School of Medicine faculty, where she was the surgery residency program director. Roles in national professional organizations or institutions include member of the Boards of Directors of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies and OceanFirst Bank (OCFC), member of CEO Council of The Joint Commission, Specialty Society CEO Coalition member, and the 2025 president of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies. Dr. Turner has served as past chair of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons Foundation Fund, the Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­â€™ Delegation to the AMA House of Delegates, AMA Council on Medical Education, and Surgical Section of the NMA, past president of the Society of Black Academic Surgeons and past member of the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center Board of Directors.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the Bowman Gray School of Medicine at Wake Forest University, Dr. Turner continued her training as an intern and resident in surgery at Howard University Hospital in Washington, DC. Her fellowship training in minimally invasive and laparoscopic surgery was completed at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Weill-Cornell University School of Medicine, and Columbia University School of Medicine in New York City. Her MBA was completed at the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business. Dr. Turner is board-certified in surgery, is a Fellow of the Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­, and is a member of the American Surgical Association, American Medical Association, National Medical Association, Southern Surgical Association, Southeastern Surgical Congress, Society of University Surgeons, Society of Black Academic Surgeons, Association of Women Surgeons, Latino Surgical Society, and an honorary member of EAST, the Excelsior Surgical Society, and Asociación Colombiana de Cirugía.