Board of Directors

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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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.

Bobbi is the Department Administrator for the Department of Pediatrics at University of New Mexico.  She began her healthcare administration career with UNM Pediatrics in 2009 as the Accounting Manager and moved to the Department Administrator role in 2015.  In this role, she provides oversite and direction to her amazing teams on finance, human resources, and mission-driven operational and administrative activities of the Department.  She collaborates closely with the Department Chair and other Department leadership on all mission areas of the department, serving 140 faculty, 380 staff and over 200 learners.  She also serves as part of the leadership team with UNM Children’s Hospital to advance the clinical operations that serve the children and families of New Mexico.

Bobbi obtained a Bachelor’s in Accounting from New Mexico State University and an MBA from Washington State University.  She is a native New Mexican, but has had the good fortune and fun of living in Washington, Massachusetts and Ireland with previous careers.  Her favorite place will always be New Mexico – the culture, the weather, the scenery and the Chile!   Bobbi lives in Rio Rancho, New Mexico with her husband, their 15-year-old twins, and their pug. 

Surabhi Agrawal is the Director of Finance in the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford University. Surabhi has an MBA from the University of Texas, Dallas. She has been in Academic Health Care for 11 years and at Stanford for 7 years. She enjoys Academic health care finance, especially the clinical practice. She lives in Mountain View, California and enjoys travelling, reading and music in her free time. Surahbi has been an active member of AAAP since 2018.

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Gil Pak has over 26 years of experience in the healthcare industry working in both managerial and project leadership roles. As the Operations Director for the Department of Pediatrics at Penn State Health Children’s Hospital he works closely with the department chair and senior leadership to advance all aspects of the clinical, research, and academic missions in line with Penn State Health’s strategic roadmap. He has a broad understanding of healthcare from multiple perspectives and is experienced in building relationships, consulting with internal and external customers to understand their needs and implementing strategies that improve and streamline processes. Gil has been an active member of AAAP since 2008.

Ashwin Pamudurthy, FACHE, is currently the Vice-Chair & Director, Finance & Administration for the department of Pediatrics at the Yale School of Medicine. Previously, Ashwin was at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons as the Department Administrator/ Chief Financial Officer for Pediatrics. Other experiences included serving as the inaugural Executive Director of Finance for Stamford Health Medical Group (SHMG), Chief Executive Officer of Seaport Orthopaedic Associates, Senior Business Manager at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine and in multiple progressive roles within the corporate office of Northwell Health Physician Partners, the physician group practice of Northwell Health in Long Island, NY. Ashwin is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and received his Master of Health Services as well as his Master of Science from the University of Kansas and graduated from Osmania University (Hyderabad, India) with a bachelor of commerce degree in accounting and finance. Ashwin has been an active member of AAAP since 2016.

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Mike Propst is the Director of Finance and Administration of the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford University. Mike has a BA in Film from UC Santa Cruz and an MBA from the Haas School of business at UC Berkeley. He has been in the Department of Pediatrics since 2004, mostly in clinical finance roles. Mike lives in San Francisco and enjoys traveling and bike riding in his free time. Michael has been an active member of AAAP since 2013.

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Liz McCarty is currently the Executive Director and Vice Chair for Administration for Pediatrics at Emory University, where she has been for 13 years. She partners closely with leadership at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta in conducting the new joint venture of the Emory + Children’s Pediatric Institute. She served on the AAAP Board as Secretary from 2015-2017, and hosted the AAAP 2017 Annual Meeting in Atlanta. Prior to Emory University, Liz worked at both Georgia Tech and Caltech in departmental administration and research administration. She received her MS and BS from Yale University. Liz has been an active member of AAAP since 2008.

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