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“Patients have always looked to their physicians for guidance,” says Texas Medical Association (TMA) President C. Bruce Malone, MD. That’s why TMA developed the TMA Leadership College (TMALC).  

“The nine-month intensive leadership program provides a solid foundation for today’s young physicians to become tomorrow’s medical leaders,” adds Dr. Malone. “And with more and more physicians becoming community and civic leaders at both county and state levels, these young physicians will have many opportunities to use the leadership skills they are learning.”  

The first part of their training, a four-day leadership “boot camp,” was held in conjunction with the 2011 TMA Fall Conference in Austin. The program will culminate with a graduation ceremony in May at the association’s annual meeting, TexMed 2012 in Dallas.  

The following physicians make up the TMALC class of 2012.  

John Cole, DO, Abilene, general surgeon

Rouzbeh Khosrovi Kordestani, MD, Amarillo, cosmetic surgeon  

Kimberly C. Avila Edwards, MD, Austin, pediatrics 

Katharina Hathaway, MD, Austin, family medicine                                  

John F. Villacis, MD, Austin, allergy and immunology 

Mark A. Casanova, MD, Dallas, internal medicine 

Benjamin C. Lee, MD, Dallas, pediatrician 

Riva Louise Rahl, MD, Dallas, internal medicine   

Paul Samuel Hackett, MD, Duncanville, general surgery 

John L. Birbari, Jr. MD, Fort Worth, general surgery 

Rebecca Butler Webb, MD, Frisco, pediatrician 

Crystal C. Wright, MD, Houston, anesthesiology 

Kelvin S. Shaw, MD, Kingwood, allergy and immunology 

Neha Gupta Mittal, MD, Lubbock, internal medicine 

Charles E. Cowles, Jr., MD, Pasadena, anesthesiology 

George Marcus Galvan, MD, San Antonio, neurological surgery 

Gabriel Rodriguez, MD, San Antonio, emergency medicine 

David Macnaughtan Bonnet, MD, Temple, internal medicine 

Manish Rungta, MD, Webster, gastroenterology 

For more information on TMALC, click here. www.texmed.org/leadership.  

TMA Leadership College is supported by an educational grant from The Physicians Foundation. The Physicians Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) national organization that seeks to advance the work of practicing physicians and to improve the quality of health care for all Americans.

TMA is the largest state medical society in the nation, representing more than 45,000 physician and medical student members. It is located in Austin and has 120 component county medical societies around the state. TMA's key objective since 1853 is to improve the health of all Texans.

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