At Zilker Media, we are honored to know some of the most accomplished and inspiring women in medicine. In celebration of Women in Medicine Day, we’re honoring twelve women in medicine, several of whom shared their perspectives on how we, as a society, can continue to advance women in healthcare.
Dr. Poorti Riley
Owner, Florida Women’s Health
“Making a difference means providing state-of-the-art medical and surgical care with compassion, empathy and personalized care, so patients can live their lives to the fullest.” As the owner of a multi-provider OB-GYN and robotic surgery practice, Dr. Riley is proof that advancing women in healthcare also means women building and owning the practices where that care happens.
Dr. Stacey (Vitiello) Masino
Breast Imaging Radiologist
A leading breast imaging radiologist, Dr. Masino spent 15 years lobbying for the federal law requiring women be notified of dense breast tissue. “Making a difference in medicine looks to me like a woman celebrating with her family and friends after learning that she doesn’t need chemotherapy because her early, small breast cancer was found on a screening MRI, ordered because of the dense breast notification law I spent 15 years fighting for.”
Dr. Ari Brown
Board-certified pediatrician (30+ years, Austin); author, Baby 411 book series
“Despite all of the challenges, people still trust their doctor. We are their trusted source for reliable information.” After three decades in pediatrics and a book series that’s helped a generation of new parents, Dr. Brown’s take is a reminder that advancing women in healthcare also means protecting the trust patients place in their physicians in an increasingly noisy information landscape.
Dr. Sara Tariq
Northern Virginia Family Practice
Dr. Tariq is redefining what bias-aware, compassionate care looks like through her writing in Doximity’s Op-Med and her conversation on the Brown Women Health Podcast.
Dr. Ashanda Saint Jean, MD, F.A.C.O.G.
OB-GYN, educator, maternal health advocate; Co-Chair, NYC Maternal Mortality Review Committee
“It is the privilege of caring for women during some of the most vulnerable and transformative moments of their lives, while also using my voice to advocate for those who have historically been unheard.” That advocacy work, reviewing maternal deaths to change outcomes for the next patient, is, to me, exactly what advancing women in healthcare looks like: not just being present in the room, but changing what happens in it.
Dr. Cecily Dvorak Havert, MD
Northern Virginia Family Practice
“Women remain underrepresented in medicine, and this is especially evident in senior management and leadership roles. There are many reasons for this, though unconscious bias frequently remains at the forefront. Getting past this involves first and foremost an awareness of the presence of this bias and a systemic approach to dismantling this through training, as well as more actively working to transition more women, especially women of color, into leadership roles. The trickle-down effect that this has not only on the company, but also the community as a whole, will help to seed the minds of young girls that opportunities like this are, in fact, within arm’s reach.” Today, that same clarity extends to menopause and midlife health, subjects Dr. Havert has discussed recently on The Aging Well Podcast and The Health Fix Podcast.
Dr. Natasha Beauvais, MD, MPH
CEO, Northern Virginia Family Practice
“You are the first doctor I have ever seen who is a lady,” I still hear a few times a year. I’m grateful to report that most of these patients report this to be a positive experience. Graduating from medical school when women represented 50% of the overall enrollment, my cohort of women physicians has come of age professionally in a world where the majority of our senior advisors and teachers have been men. I’m so excited to be coming into a position of leadership in medicine at a time when women have the training and experience to equalize the faces of leadership. And the data shows that women physicians provide excellent outcomes for their patients. Maybe that is why it’s also common for me to hear a new type of comment in the exam room: “I was looking for a woman physician, and that’s how I found you.” As NVFP’s CEO, Dr. Beauvais is now putting that same belief into practice at the leadership level, work recently featured in Medical Economics and on the Strong Women in Medicine podcast.
Dr. Elizabeth Cilenti
Northern Virginia Family Practice
Dr. Cilenti gives parents straight answers they can trust, most recently on the new MMRV vaccine guidance in Parents.com and tummy time tips in The Bump.
Chelsea Jecmenek, PA-C
Physician Assistant, Fast Aid Urgent Care
“To me, advancing women in healthcare means trusting the women already doing the work, physicians, PAs, and nurses alike, to think critically, ask their own questions, and become the familiar, trusted presence patients remember, rather than simply following whatever came before.”
Jennifer Kraker, MD, MS
Precision Medicine Psychiatrist
“As a psychiatrist, I want to help pioneer a new era where mental health is measurable, care is personalized, and trial and error gives way to precision. I’m equally passionate about brain longevity, using similar tools to identify risk earlier and help prevent cognitive decline before it begins.” For Dr. Kraker, advancing women in healthcare means bringing that same precision to mental health.
Dr. Kara Hartl, MD, FACS
Founder and CEO, Troy Medical
“We need to think about medicine differently to find the solutions we’re missing. Designing the future of medicine means letting go of past practices and building a system that puts the patient at the center.” Dr. Hartl’s perspective is a reminder that advancing women in healthcare means women designing the systems care runs on.
Dr. Nahal Delpassand, PsyD, PLLC
Psychologist, TEDx Speaker, and Author
“As a psychologist, I work in the space where medicine and humanity meet… I believe healing begins when people feel seen and understood… If my work helps someone feel less alone, more empowered, and more capable of meeting their life with courage and self-compassion, then I believe I have made a difference in medicine.”
Advancing women in healthcare requires making sure their expertise is heard, cited, and trusted by patients, by peers, and increasingly by the platforms shaping how people find care at all.
These twelve women are already doing that work, in exam rooms and operating rooms, in podcast interviews and public talks, in books written for the next generation, and in the policy fights that outlast any single appointment. Their voices, and the voices of women in medicine everywhere, are what will keep moving this profession forward.
Happy Women in Medicine Day.