Board of Directors

Elaine Gallagher has been a member of the leadership team at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia since 1991. Initially hired as the Budget Manager, she later worked as an Administrative Director before becoming Planning Officer for the Department of Pediatrics. In 2016, Ms. Gallagher became the Vice President for Administration in the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Practice Association (CHOPPA), overseeing the operations of CHOP’s six academic departments: Pediatrics, Surgery, Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Radiology, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Services. CHOPPA has over 1,000 faculty and physician members, and operating revenue in excess of $550 million. In July 2019, Ms. Gallagher was promoted to her current position as Senior Vice President of Physician Services and Practice Plan Administration. As SVP, she jointly reports to the System Chief Operating Officer and to the President of CHOPPA. In her current role, Ms. Gallagher is primarily responsible for ensuring a continued focus on strategic and operational alignment and the provision of high-performing shared services within CHOPPA, and in partnership with the enterprise. She serves as a collaborative leader in executing multidepartment, practice-wide, and/or enterprise-wide initiatives. Prior to her tenure at Children’s Hospital, she worked in the financial analysis department at the Geisinger Clinic in Danville, PA. Ms. Gallagher holds an MBA from the Erivan K. Haub School of Business at St. Joseph’s University. Elaine has been an active member of AAAP since 2016.

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Annamarie is the Vice President, Academic Affairs, Research, and Medical Education Administration at Connecticut Children’s. Annamarie has been with Connecticut Children’s since 2010.  Annamarie’s
public health career has focused primarily on women and children’s health. Annamarie oversees all operational and financial aspects of Connecticut Children’s academic mission and leads the strategic and business planning efforts for Connecticut Children’s Research Institute. Prior to joining Connecticut Children’s, Annamarie served as Campaign Director for the Connecticut Public Health Association, advocating for public policy in support of children’s health, and facilitating the growth and development of the non-profit’s infrastructure. Annamarie earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Pace University in New York, a Master’s Degree of Public Health from University of Connecticut, and is currently completing an Executive MBA program at UConn. Annamarie has been an active member of AAAP since 2017.

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Desiree Brown is the Administrator for the Department of Pediatrics at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. She has served in this role for approximately 8 years, and been with the Department of Pediatrics since 2010. Prior to joining Pediatrics, she held various other roles at the university where she began her administrative career in Human Resources. Desiree received her master’s degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Adelphi University, and her bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida. She enjoys travelling and exploring her hometown of Tampa with her husband and two young children. Desiree has been an active member of AAAP since 2017.

Melody Altman is the Vice President of Administration and Operations for Pediatrics and Research at Lurie Children’s Hospital, also serving as the Pediatrics Department Administrator at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. With more than 15 years of experience in academic medicine, Melody provides strategic direction and purposeful leadership in a department comprised of more than 550 faculty, 220 trainees, and 370 staff. Prior to Lurie Children’s, Melody spent 8 years at the University of Chicago, most recently as Executive Administrator for the Department of Pediatrics. She earned her MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and her BS from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She served as Site Host for the 2018 regional meeting and Program Director for the 2021 annual meeting, the organization’s first virtual meeting. AAAP Member since 2018.

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Tyler Sebahar is an active AAAP member and currently the Director of Finance and Budget at the University of Utah Department of Pediatrics, where he has spent the last 7 years working in various finance roles. In his role, he is responsible for managing the Department’s fiscal operations and annual budget, working with a team of 15 Division Administrators and 11 Accountants. Tyler has a specific interest in faculty and staff compensation, supporting oversight of all salary adjustments across the Department’s 1,200 faculty and staff, including fiscal year increases, promotions, off‐cycle adjustments and starting salaries. This oversight includes responsibilities such as annual analysis of faculty and trainee compensation compared to benchmarks by specialty/PGY, and approving all compensation and incentive pay plans across the Department. Tyler has a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Utah and loves spending time with his family, mountain biking and snowboarding.

Elizabeth Shifflett (Liz) is the Chief Operating Officer for the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Virginia, and has been in this role for the last seven years, in which she has enjoyed working with and meeting everyone in the AAAP.  Before coming to Pediatrics she was the Director of Finance for the Department of Radiology, also at the University of Virginia.  She started her career as a financial analyst for American Airlines supporting Latin America and the Caribbean until she made the shift to healthcare administration and came to UVA Health.  Liz is a big Florida Gators fan, having both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Florida.    She lives in Charlottesville with her son, Alex (13), and her little Jack Russell, Libby. 

Amelia Randall currently serves as the Senior Director of Finance for the Department of Pediatrics at Emory University and the Emory + Children’s Pediatric Institute. Prior to joining the department in 2008, Amelia attended Georgia Tech where she received her Bachelor of Science in Biology. Amelia has been a member of AAAP since 2014 and has served as Secretary, and co-site host for the Atlanta annual meeting and New Orleans Regional. In 2017, she completed her Master of Business Administration from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School Executive MBA program. As a scientist and former research administrator, Amelia has a passion for all things science and academia and is always looking for ways to better support her faculty and staff and particularly enjoys the comradery and network of the AAAP . A native of Georgia, Amelia currently resides with her new husband Justin in their first home together in Tucker, GA. She enjoys all things fiber arts, but particularly enjoys knitting, cross-stitch, needlepoint, crochet, and embroidery. When not working tirelessly with her long-time mentor and boss Liz McCarty to make Pediatrics everything it can and more, you can find her working out a Pure Barre, crafting with her cats, or reading the next Discworld book on her list.