Staff
Carole Bede
As Senior Research Analyst for the International Medical Education Directory (IMED), Ms. Bede coordinates all updates to IMED for existing schools, and conducts the necessary research and correspondence to add new medical schools to the Directory. She also participates in research projects for FAIMER.
Ms. Bede is also Senior Research Analyst for Registration and Credentials Services of ECFMG, and has been employed by ECFMG for eighteen years. Prior to joining the Credentials Department, she worked with the Exchange Visitor Sponsorship Program.
Ms. Bede holds a B.A. in Journalism from Temple University.
John R. Boulet, Ph.D.
As FAIMER’s Associate Vice President for Research and Data Resources, Dr. Boulet implements the Foundation’s research agenda and guides its efforts to develop meaningful resources on medical education worldwide. Dr. Boulet also serves as ECFMG’s Assistant Vice President for Research and Evaluation, a position he has held since 2001, and as Chair of the ECFMG Internal Research and Data Review Committee.
Dr. Boulet joined ECFMG in 1996 as a Psychometrician for the ECFMG Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA) program. Later, he served as ECFMG’s Director of Test Development and Research. As Assistant Vice President for Research and Evaluation, ECFMG, he conducts and supervises research projects related to the employment and migration of international medical graduates, and serves as a consultant in the administration, scoring, and validation of various performance-based assessments.
Dr. Boulet holds a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Western Ontario. He is also a graduate of the University of Ottawa with an M.A. in Education and a Ph.D. in Education - Measurement and Evaluation.
William P. Burdick, M.D., M.S.Ed.
Co-Director, FAIMER Institute
As FAIMER’s Associate Vice President for Education, Dr. Burdick oversees the Foundation’s efforts to create educational opportunities for international health professions educators. He has been a Co-Director of the FAIMER Institute since its inception in 2001.
Dr. Burdick is Clinical Professor of Emergency Medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine, where he helped develop the Program for Integrated Learning (a problem-based curriculum). He has been recognized for teaching excellence with the Lindback Award and the Trustees’ Award.
A graduate of Oberlin College, the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, and Cornell University Weill School of Medicine, Dr. Burdick completed training in Internal Medicine at Boston City Hospital and is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Emergency Medicine.
W. Dale Dauphinee, M.D.
As FAIMER Senior Scholar, W. Dale Dauphinee, M.D., provides input and advice on areas relevant to the FAIMER research agenda and the FAIMER education program, advice on strategic directions for FAIMER’s growth and development, and mentoring to FAIMER Fellows by working directly with them on their education innovation projects.
In addition to his work with FAIMER, Dr. Dauphinee is Interim Director of the Toronto Network for Excellence in Simulation Learning and Teaching and a member of the Clinical Health Informatics Research Group in the Division of Clinical Epidemiology, Department of Medicine at McGill University. His current research activities include research on physician support systems for better prescribing and monitoring against actual practice outcomes and conducting practice outcomes studies of physicians in relation to their performance during pre-licensure assessment. He is also active in analyzing medical workforce policies and migration patterns.
From 1993 to 2006, Dr. Dauphinee was the Executive Director of the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) in Ottawa. During this time he also held a number of other senior leadership roles, including Trustee of the American Board of Internal Medicine, member of the Executive Board of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), Co-chair of the Canadian Task Force of the Licensure of International Medical Graduates, President of the Medical Identification Number of Canada Corporation, and President of the Physician Credential Registry of Canada.
Prior to joining MCC, Dr. Dauphinee held a number of positions at McGill University including professor in the Departments of Medicine and Epidemiology and Biostatistics.
Dr. Dauphinee received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Dalhousie University. He completed residency in Internal Medicine at Dalhousie and McGill Universities, and was a Visiting Fellow of the Johns Hopkins Clinical Scholars Program. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Canada in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology.
Julie Drendall, M.S.S., M.L.S.P.
As Administrative Manager, FAIMER Communications, Ms. Drendall is responsible for creating and maintaining content about FAIMER and its programs for publication via print and web. To this end, she works closely with FAIMER executives and staff, and serves as an editorial resource for Fellows and faculty of FAIMER’s educational programs and various partner organizations.
Ms. Drendall joined the FAIMER staff in September 2012, after more than nine years in the Communications Department of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG). Prior to joining ECFMG, she worked for several years in medical publishing.
Ms. Drendall holds a B.A. in English from Lafayette College and both a Master of Social Service and Master of Law and Social Policy from the Bryn Mawr College Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research.
Patricia Eldridge
Ms. Eldridge began working for ECFMG in February 1990 as a File Processor in the Records Department. Her duties included maintaining and retrieving applicant files and mailing the Standard ECFMG Certificate to applicants who had completed ECFMG’s certification requirements. Ms. Eldridge notes that at that time most of ECFMG’s processes were paper-based.
After seven years, Ms. Eldridge was promoted to Junior Staff Assistant in ECFMG’s new Clinical Skills Assessment program. Shortly thereafter, Ms. Eldridge advanced to the position of Research Assistant in ECFMG’s Research and Development. In 2004, Ms. Eldridge transitioned to FAIMER’s Research and Data Resources section.
Ms. Eldridge has loved every minute of her employment at ECFMG and FAIMER but finds her current position most rewarding. "I have an opportunity to research different aspects of medical education throughout the world and have become more knowledgeable about different peoples and international medical education."
Stacey Friedman, Ph.D.
As Associate Director for Evaluation and Planning, Dr. Friedman oversees design and implementation of evaluation for FAIMER education initiatives as well as evaluation capacity building for health professions educators.
Dr. Friedman joined the FAIMER staff as Program Evaluation Analyst in 2008. Prior to joining FAIMER, Dr. Friedman was Senior Analyst in Continuous Quality Improvement with the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health, where her work included leading evaluations of pilot programs. Prior to that, she was a Program Evaluation Consultant at The Consultation Center and Assistant Clinical Professor, Division of Prevention and Community Research, Yale University School of Medicine.
Dr. Friedman received her Sc.B. degree in Psychology from Brown University, her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from American University, and completed her post-doctoral fellowship in Program and Service System Evaluation in the Division of Prevention and Community Research, Yale University School of Medicine.
Ralf Rundgren Graves, M.S.
As Associate Director for Regional Institutes, Ms. Graves oversees FAIMER’s initiatives to provide advanced professional skills development opportunities for health professions educators in targeted regions of the developing world.
Before joining FAIMER in February 2007, Ms. Graves was Founder and Principal of Astrion, a consultancy group primarily engaged in creating and implementing professional development training and exchange programs by working with organizations such as USAID, Open Society Institute, World Learning, AMIDEAST, Carelift International, Wharton School of Business (University of Pennsylvania), Center for European Studies (Temple University), and others. Prior to that, she served as Executive Director of the International Professional Exchange in Philadelphia. Her more than twenty years experience in international education/training also includes a variety of work abroad, such as Lecturer in Communication Studies at the University of Malta, Executive Director of Young Enterprise Malta, and training consultant to clients such as Transmanche Link (the Channel Tunnel consortium), the British Council, Central European University, and Air Malta.
Ms. Graves received her B.A. in Journalism/Broadcasting from Penn State University, where she subsequently served as Community Liaison Coordinator in the College of Human Development while pursuing a Masters degree in Education – Curriculum & Supervision.
Katherine Mason
As FAIMER Education Program Coordinator, Ms. Mason serves as the point person for all aspects of the International Fellowship in Medical Education (IFME) Masters program, and the FAIMER and Regional Institutes. She also maintains communication with FAIMER faculty, fellows, alumni, and applicants.
Prior to joining FAIMER in February 2006, she started at ECFMG in January 2003 as the Administrative Assistant to the Vice President of the Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA) Program. Over the course of time, she interacted with numerous internal and external people in a manner that projected a very positive image of ECFMG. Specializing in coordinating various projects and establishing excellent working relationships with key support staff, she has provided smooth operations for both routine and special activities.
Danette W. McKinley, Ph.D.
As Director for Research and Data Resources, Dr. McKinley determines research priorities, defines scope, and proposes methodology for studies focused on understanding and promoting international medical education. She supports research activities related to the certification of graduates of international medical programs. She is Co-Chair of the Internal Research and Data Review Committee of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG), and plays a key role in the development of the ECFMG research agenda. Her interests include educational research methodology and assessment.
Prior to joining FAIMER, Dr. McKinley was the Associate Psychometrician for ECFMG’s Clinical Skills Assessment. With more than 20 years of experience in licensure and certification testing, she now concentrates her efforts on the development of research programs on international medical education and the migration of health care workers. Dr. McKinley holds a B.A. in Psychology from Williams College, an M.A. in Research Methodology from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Temple University.
Page S. Morahan, Ph.D.
Page S. Morahan, Ph.D., is Co-Director of the FAIMER Institute. At the Drexel University College of Medicine, she is Co-Director of the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) Program for Women and tenured professor in microbiology and immunology, serving as a part-time faculty member. She has a consulting practice and conducts research in design, implementation, and evaluation of leadership development programs; strategic career planning; faculty affairs; and advancement of women.
Dr. Morahan is the Founding Director of the National Center of Leadership in Academic Medicine, former Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs at Allegheny University of the Health Sciences, and served as Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology for ten years at the Medical College of Pennsylvania. She was the first woman President of the Association of Medical School Microbiology and Immunology Chairs in 1990. Her current research interests include expanding the definition of faculty scholarship, faculty career development, and leadership development. Dr. Morahan was an American Council on Education (ACE) Fellow in 1992-93, and has participated in Harvard University Graduate School of Education’s Management Development Program, as well as receiving certification in several organizational and personnel developmental processes.
She has served on various committees and taskforces of the National Board of Medical Examiners, Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), National Institutes of Health, and American Society for Microbiology. Her honors include an NIH Research Career Development Award, Lindback Award for teaching excellence, AAMC Women in Medicine Leadership Development Award, The Network Annual Leadership Award from the ACE Office of Women in Higher Education; and membership in the American Academy of Microbiology and in the Forum of Executive Women. Dr. Morahan received her B.S., magna cum laude, from Agnes Scott College; M.A., from Hunter College; and Ph.D. in Microbiology from Marquette University.
John J. Norcini, Ph.D.
Dr. Norcini became FAIMER’s first President and Chief Executive Officer in May 2002. Before joining FAIMER, Dr. Norcini spent 25 years with the American Board of Internal Medicine serving in various capacities, including Director of Psychometrics, Executive Vice President for Evaluation and Research, and finally, Executive Vice President of the Institute for Clinical Evaluation. He earned his B.A. degree from LaSalle University and his Ph.D. degree from Bryn Mawr College.
Dr. Norcini’s principal academic interest is the assessment of physician performance. Current major research interests include methods for setting standards, assessing practice performance, and testing professional competence. His research also focuses on physician migration and workforce issues, as well as the impact of international medical graduates on the U.S. health care system. Dr. Norcini serves on the editorial boards of five peer-reviewed journals in measurement and medical education, has lectured and taught in dozens of countries, and has published extensively.
Amy Opalek, M.S.
Amy Opalek joined FAIMER in March 2007. In her role as Information Scientist, Ms. Opalek applies her extensive experience with ECFMG and FAIMER data structures to identify important internal information sources and, where existing information is incomplete or inadequate, to plan and implement future data collection activities. Through her experience with database design and analysis, she not only provides much needed technical support for FAIMER research studies, but also manages the integration and standardization of all FAIMER data resources.
Ms. Opalek holds a B.A. in Psychology from Drew University and an M.S. in Library and Information Science from Drexel University.
Frank A. Simon, M.D.
As FAIMER Senior Scholar, Dr. Simon works with staff individually and in joint projects to advance all three of FAIMER’s main program areas. Dr. Simon came to FAIMER with extensive experience as an author, educator, administrator, and physician. He has held several positions at the American Medical Association (AMA) including Director of the Division of Undergraduate Medical Education Policy and Standards, Director of the Division of Graduate Medical Education, and Secretary to the Council on Medical Education. He also served as Co-Secretary of the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), sponsored by the AMA and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).
Prior to joining the AMA, Dr. Simon served as Vice Dean and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, where he was responsible for all academic operations. He has also served in positions with the AAMC Northeast Group on Educational Affairs and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), and is Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
Dr. Simon received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his medical degree from New York University School of Medicine. Following his residency in Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital, he served two years as Chief of Pediatrics at Craig Air Force Base.
Alberta Steans Parsons, M.S.
Alberta Steans Parsons began working with the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) in July 1999 as a Receptionist for the Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA). "As the receptionist I had the pleasure of being the first one to meet and greet the candidates with a warm, friendly smile each day," she said. She also cross-trained as a Control Room Operator, Proctor, and as a Staff Assistant, making her instrumental to the success of projects.
Ms. Steans Parsons joined FAIMER in 2001 as the Program Assistant for the International Fellowships in Medical Education (IFME) Program where she provided administrative support to IFME program Fellows for issues such as visas and related regulatory requirements, travel arrangements, insurance coverage, change of venue, and arrangements for attendance at special meetings. The most rewarding part about my job, she said, “is getting to know the Fellows from the application process to developing friendships, and sometimes meeting them face-to-face. Discovering the many things I have in common with peoples of different cultures was also rewarding.”
From 2005 to 2008, Ms. Steans Parsons worked in the Administration section of FAIMER. She says of her experience there, "The greatest lesson I have learned working in FAIMER is that working with a diversified population does not limit our ability to gain a long lasting rapport with people."
In June 2008, Ms. Steans Parsons was promoted to Coordinator, FAIMER Regional Institutes. She holds a master’s degree in food science with a concentration in nutrition from Drexel University.
Marta van Zanten, Ph.D., M.Ed.
As Research Scientist for FAIMER, Marta van Zanten is involved in various research projects related to international medical graduate issues, including accreditation processes of international medical schools, impact of accreditation on student outcomes, doctor-patient relationships, and cross-cultural communication skills. Additionally, Dr. van Zanten assists in the advancement of research activities related to the FAIMER goal of better understanding the educational experiences and migration patterns of international physicians and their impact on world heath. Prior to her appointment at FAIMER, Dr. van Zanten joined ECFMG in 1997 as a case development specialist for the Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA), and was involved in the development and implementation of the English language proficiency and interpersonal skills evaluation components of the exam. Dr. van Zanten has twice received the Research in Medical Education (RIME) Outstanding Paper Award for her papers: The Influence of Ethnicity on Patient Satisfaction in a Standardized Patient Assessment (2005) and Medical Education in the Caribbean: Variability in Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates Certification Rates and United States Medical Licensing Examination Attempts (2010).
Dr. van Zanten holds a B.A. from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. She also holds an M.Ed. and a Ph.D. in Health Studies from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Ray Wells, Ph.D.
Since the FAIMER Institute began in 2001, Dr. Ray Wells has served as an Institute manager, leadership educator, facilitator, coach, and designer of high engagement learning processes. He is also president of Wellbeing Systems, Inc. and a consultant for the Corporation for Positive Change, two consulting practices that use appreciative, positive, strengths-based approaches for designing leadership, team, and organization development programs.
In addition to his FAIMER work, Dr. Wells has consulted for Drexel University, The Pennsylvania State University, Princeton University, the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, the University of Connecticut, and two ministries within the Egyptian government while completing United States Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts. Prior to beginning his consulting practice, Dr. Wells was the Dean of Students at a Temple University branch campus.
Dr. Wells received his B.S. from Kansas State University, M.A. in student and adult development from Bowling Green State University, and Ph.D. in applied social-psychology from Temple University.
Shirley R. Williams
As FAIMER’s Manager, Ms. Williams provides administrative oversight of the Foundation’s day-to-day operations and coordination across FAIMER’s three areas of activity.
Prior to joining FAIMER, Ms. Williams held several positions at ECFMG, where she was employed for more than 20 years, including key roles in the administration of fellowship programs for health professions educators. As a Staff Assistant, she administered the former Foreign Faculty Fellowship Program in the Basic Medical Sciences (FFFP) and the former International Medical Scholars Program (IMSP). In 2001, she became Manager of the International Fellowship in Medical Education (IFME) and Short-Term Exchange Fellowships (STEF) programs. In 2002, she and the IFME and STEF programs transitioned to FAIMER.
Ms. Williams holds a B.B.A. in Accounting and Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.