About the program
Welcome to the AOBFP Item Writer Mentor Program. By pairing experienced mentors with a diverse new generation of writers, this program transforms clinical expertise into psychometrically sound exam items that reflect the true breadth of modern family medicine. Through a rigorous commitment to training, collaborative review and the inclusion of varied real-world perspectives, our participants ensure that AOBFP examinations remain fair, reliable and clinically relevant.
Current mentors
Katherine Galluzzi, DO, CMD, FACOFP dist., Item Writer Mentor Program Chair, has been practicing geriatric family medicine for over 40 years. A 1984 graduate of West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM), she completed her internship and family medicine residency at the former University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (present-day Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine, her geriatric faculty fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania and a faculty development fellowship at Temple University in Philadelphia.
Dr. Galluzzi has served as Chair of the department of geriatric and palliative medicine at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) since 1992 and has participated as an item writer for COMLEX for many years. Reading, writing and playing music are her non-medical interest, and wordsmithing is her idea of fun!
*
Stacy Chase DO, FACOFP, FAOGME, is the associate medical director at Peaks of Health Metabolic Center, an integrative medicine practice in Largo, Florida. She practices family medicine with osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT), bioidentical hormone replacement, outpatient procedures, women’s health and various aesthetic procedures. She is also the current medical director of Tampa Bay Laser and a part-time physician at Skinspirations, both in Clearwater, Florida.
Dr. Chase earned her ACOFP Fellowship Award in 2016. She was voted Physician of the Month by ACOFP in 2017 and received the Presidential Achievement Award in 2020 in addition to her Physician of the Year award in 2024 by the Pinellas County Osteopathic Medical Society (PCOMS), where she is the current past president. She also received the Director’s Challenge Coin in 2025 at the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System. Dr. Chase enjoys spending time with her family, twins Logan and Jacob and husband Nick Chase. She spends her free time hiking, spoiling their pitbulls, vacationing to see friends and scuba diving.
*
Col. Brandon Isaacs, DO, FAAFP, FAOGME, MBA, served for in the United States Air Force for over 30 years, spanning careers in the active duty, Reserve and Air National Guard components. He participated in four humanitarian missions (Paraguay, Niger, Senegal and Cambodia) and was deployed overseas twice. Dr. Isaacs spent 18 years in medical education at both undergraduate and post-graduate medical education levels, serving as associate dean for GME and as a family medicine program director. He currently serves on the ACGME Family Medicine Residency Review Committee and the occupational medicine medical director for Saint Alphonsus Medical Group in Boise, Idaho.
Dr. Isaacs currently lives on a 12-acre horse farm. He has been married for 46 years and has five children. His oldest son, also a DO, currently works in family medicine. One son is still in school, and his daughter works in accounting, while one son works as a welder and another works in security. Dr. Isaacs’s hobbies include flying his plan, skiing and playing with his four dogs.
*
Steven Ma, DO, was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended Temple University on a full scholarship, graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Biophysics. Afterward, he attended medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM). Completing his residency and fellowship training in Miami, Florida, Dr. Ma is double board-certified in family medicine, and osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) and neuromusculoskeletal medicine. After working in private practice, his passion for academic medicine and teaching led him to hold various academic positions that include associate program director of family medicine, associate professor of osteopathic principles and practices, director of osteopathic neuromusculoskeletal medicine, and assistant dean of clinical education. Dr. Ma has also served on the board of the Florida Osteopathic Medical Association (FOMA) and is currently on the board for the AOBFP.
*
Jennifer Saenz, DO, is a first-generation college graduate. She has continuously expanded her expertise, earning a Master of Public Health and a Graduate Diploma in International Medicine and Public Health from the Institute of International Medicine (INMED). Dr. Saenz completed her medical training at A.T. Still University Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM), followed by residency at UPMC Memorial in York Pennsylvania. This education set the foundation for a dynamic career spanning from attending to faculty roles.
Today, Dr. Saenz serves as a primary care physician at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, where she remains deeply committed to patient care and medical education.
Current mentees
Muhammad Alghanem, DO, is a graduate of Midwestern University/Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine (MWU/CCOM). He completed his family medicine residency at the Hamilton Community Health Network in Flint, Michigan, and a geriatric medicine fellowship at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM). He is AOBFP board-certified in family medicine with certificates of added qualification (CAQs) in osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) and geriatric medicine.
After training, Dr. Alghanem practiced outpatient primary care in Indiana and Massachusetts. He is currently a clinical informatics fellow at MetroHealth Medical Center of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. In this role, he also serves as a supervising attending physician for internal medicine residents in the primary care/continuity clinic at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center.
*
Tyler Elam, DO, FAAFP, was the founding program director for the Lewis County Primary Care Center Family Medicine Program in Maysville, Kentucky. He earned his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine at the University of Pikeville-Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine (UP-KYCOM) and completed his family medicine residency at East Tennessee State University at the Bristol, Tennessee, site, where he served as co-chief resident.
Dr. Elam is board-certified by AOBFP, with additional certifications in osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) and medical acupuncture. He has been an assistant professor of family and community medicine for the University of Kentucky College of Medicine since 2018 and is currently a site director for their Transitions to Residency course at their Rural Physician Leadership Program (RPLP). Past leadership positions with the RPLP include site director for entrustment in clinical medicine, director of student affairs and advising, and advanced development director.
Dr. Elam completed the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors (AFMRD) National Institute for Program Director Development fellowship in the spring of 2025. He is currently serving as a board trustee for the Kentucky Osteopathic Medical Association (KOMA) and practices outpatient family medicine with OMT in a hospital-based clinic with special interests in OMT and medical acupuncture.
*
Paula Gregory, DO, has deep interest in rural health and is working towards an equable healthcare transformation to serve all rural, inner city and urban areas. She strives to educate the next generation of healthcare leaders for service and community. She served as inaugural dean of both Kansas City University College Osteopathic Medicine-Joplin (KCU-COM Joplin) and Meritus School of Osteopathic Medicine (MSOM). Dr. Gregory has also served as Chair of clinical education in the California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine (CHSU-COM) underserved population of Clovis, California, among other rural areas in Georgia.
There is deep commitment to service through volunteer service and work for the placement of students, faculty and residents, building relevant curriculum that supports the future physician to excel at diagnosis and treatment in any population was the goal of these medical schools.
Dr. Gregory will carry on her work for the healthcare transition and workforce development in rural Naranja, Florida. Starting a medical school in south Miami-Dade County will add physicians to the area and increase education, health and economy of the region. The future physicians of the Jacqueline Nicole Michel College of Osteopathic Medicine will be educated by a dedicated team of accomplished faculty and staff to return to the areas of most need in the state of Florida.
*
Eric R. Lesh, DO, FAAFP, is director of osteopathic education and core faculty at the CoxHealth Family Medicine Residency in Springfield, Missouri. He earned his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from A.T. Still University Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM) and completed his family medicine residency at the Still OPTI/Northeast Regional Medical Center Program. Dr. Lesh is board-certified in family medicine by both AOBFP and the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), with additional certification in osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT).
He previously served in several leadership roles at ATSU-KCOM and the Still OPTI/Northeast Regional Medical Center Program, including program director, director of osteopathic education, assistant professor and medical director of the Drabing Human Patient Simulation Center. A graduate of the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors (AFMRD) National Institute for Program Director Development fellowship, Dr. Lesh serves on the boards of the Missouri Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP) and the Missouri Society of the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (MSACOFP). He also holds leadership roles within the Missouri Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons (MAOPS). He practices outpatient family medicine with OMT in a community-based residency clinic with special interests in OMT and Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS).
*
Michelle C. Powell, DO, MPH, is a board-certified family medicine physician who has been in practice for nearly 30 years. Dr. Powell is Councilwoman for Seat 3 in Miami Gardens. Along with her parents and two adult sons, she has been a resident of Miami Gardens, Florida, from its inception. Born in Kingston, Jamaica, she was raised with a sense of service to community. It is with this guiding principle that in 2004, she founded her own medical practice.
In 2017, Dr. Powell launched “Wellness Wednesdays,” a free health education program for seniors. Through the program, Dr. Powell creates a safe space for seniors to discuss everything from hypertension and diabetes to balancing self-care while raising grandkids. Due to its popularity, she recently expanded the program to Miami Gardens sister city, Opa-locka, Florida, in 2022. Dr. Powell holds a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Nova Southeastern University Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-KPCOM). In addition to a Master of Public Health from NSU and a Bachelor of Science degree in medical technology from the Florida International University. She is also a graduate of the beloved former Archbishop Curley-Notre Dame High School.
While well-trained in modern medicine, Dr. Powell also incorporates natural remedies in her treatment plans. With a unique sense of humor, laughter is one of her favorite prescriptions to many of life’s challenges. In her spare time, she enjoys dancing, comedy shows, dinner dates, exercise and traveling. In her professional life she promotes a holistic body, mind and soul approach to self-care. Through continued service she able to practice what she preaches as a long-time member of the Universal Truth Center, located in Miami Gardens.
*
Angelica P. Rodriguez, DO, FAAFP, is a master clinician at the Cleveland Clinic in Weston, Florida. She earned her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine at Nova Southeastern University Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-KPCOM). She completed her family medicine residency at Palmetto General Hospital in Hialeah, Florida.
Dr. Rodriguez is board-certified in family medicine by the AOBFP. She is a medical director for several CVS MinuteClinics in Florida. She is a clinical affiliate professor of family medicine at Florida Atlantic University Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine and an assistant professor in the department of family medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. Dr. Rodriguez practices outpatient family medicine in a multi-disciplinary clinic with a special interest in women’s health and obesity.
*
Jacqueline Storer, DO, is a graduate of the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine (ACOM). She currently serves as program director and director of osteopathic education for the Reading Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program, where she also completed her residency. She is board-certified in family medicine by both the AOBFP and American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM). She is also board-certified in obesity medicine. Her professional interests include residency education, osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT), point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) and medical ethics.
*
Taisei Suzuki, DO, was born and raised in Japan. He came to the U.S. at age 15 as an international high school student. He earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Portland and a master’s in international public health from the University of Sydney in Australia. He then spent nearly eight years working as a humanitarian aid professional with non-governmental organizations and the United Nations in Liberia, Sudan and Zimbabwe, focusing on water and sanitation initiatives in resource-limited, disaster-affected settings.
Inspired by a deep commitment to holistic, patient-centered care, he applied exclusively to osteopathic medical schools and earned his DO degree from A.T. Still University Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM) in 2015. He completed his family medicine residency at the Wright Center National Family Medicine Residency program, training in federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) in Washington, D.C., and Tucson, Arizona, where he served as chief resident. Dr. Suzuki later became a core faculty member and associate program director at the Unity Health Care training site in Washington, D.C., mentoring residents in full-spectrum primary care for underserved populations.
Dr. Suzuki now serves as medical director for multiple county jails in Maryland, overseeing correctional health services. In addition, he provides osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) and acupuncture treatments at a private practice in North Bethesda, Maryland, integrating his osteopathic philosophy across community, correctional and collaborative practice settings. He is deeply committed to advancing osteopathic medicine and physician leadership, having served as president of the Maryland Association of Osteopathic Physicians (MAOP) for two years and continues to serve on its Board as immediate past president.
*
Shawn Williams, DO, is an assistant professor at the University of the Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine (UIWSOM) in San Antonio, Texas. He is board-certified through AOBFM. He brings well-rounded medical expertise in the specialties of family practice and addiction medicine. He has 10 years of experience working with those suffering with substance use disorders.
During this period, as the director of medical education at Willingway Hospital in Statesboro, Georgia, he built the Willingway-Mercer American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM)-accredited fellowship. For his efforts, he was recognized by the Obama administration and was invited to the White House to consult on federal drug policies. As the medical director of Willingway Hospital, Dr. Williams served as a member of the Bulloch County Opiate Task Force, working with law enforcement, judges and healthcare professionals to help curtail the regional opioid epidemic. Dr. Williams has a passion for addiction education to assist medical professionals in the treatment and prevention of substance use disorders.