TMA Foundation Elects Officers

May 25, 2021

Three Houston physicians, a Tyler volunteer, and a university professor from Austin were elected to serve as officers on the Board of Trustees of the Texas Medical Association Foundation (TMAF), the philanthropic arm of the Texas Medical Association. The officers began their terms earlier in May during TexMed, TMA’s annual conference.  

TMAF supports statewide and local initiatives that focus on disease prevention, healthier lifestyles, and access to health care. Long-standing TMA programs the foundation funds include the Hard Hats for Little Heads bicycle helmet giveaway program to encourage Texas youth to exercise safely, and Walk With a Doc Texas, part of an international grassroots movement devoted to fostering healthy physical activity and strengthening patient-physician relationships. TMAF also funds Vaccines Defend What Matters, TMA’s integrated, multimedia public health, education, and advocacy effort to overcome vaccine hesitancy and increase vaccination rates in Texas. 

Austin

• Steven H. Kelder, MPH, PhD, was elected for a one-year term as Executive Committee member at large. He is Beth Toby Grossman Distinguished Professor in Spirituality and Health and professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences at The University of Texas School of Public Health, Austin Regional Campus. Dr. Kelder is one of the lead investigators for CATCH, a research-based program that guides schools, families, and children in the process of being healthy. He also is a former research fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, working in development of the School Health Index.

Houston

• Clifford K. Moy, MD, a Houston board-certified psychiatrist and medical management physician in practice for 32 years, will serve a two-year term as treasurer of TMA Foundation. Currently, he is behavioral health medical director at TMF Health Quality Institute. He served five years on the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award Board of Examiners, four with the designation of senior examiner. Dr. Moy is a former speaker of the TMA House of Delegates, the association’s policymaking body. He has served on the TMA Council on Medical Education, Committee on Physician Distribution and Health Care Access, and Committee on Health Careers. Dr. Moy also is a past chair of the American Medical Association Council on Long Range Planning and Development.

• Carla F. Ortique, MD, a board-certified Houston obstetrician-gynecologist in practice for 26 years, was elected to a two-year term as vice president of TMAF. She cares for patients at The Women’s Specialists of Houston at Texas Children’s Hospital. Dr. Ortique represents the Harris County Medical Society in the TMA House of Delegates and is a member of TMA’s Council on Science and Public Health. She also is a consultant to and former chair of TMA’s Committee on Reproductive, Women’s, and Perinatal Health. Locally, Dr. Ortique serves on the Harris County Medical Society Council on Legislation. She also has served as a member of TMA’s Committee on Child and Adolescent Health and TMA’s Patient-Physician Advocacy Committee.

• Michael E. Speer, MD, a Houston board-certified neonatologist in practice for 43 years and a TMA past president, will serve a two-year term as president of the TMA Foundation. He also is a former chair of the TMA Board of Trustees. Dr. Speer is a member of the Harris County Medical Society and has served on its executive board and as president. Throughout his career, Dr. Speer has been active in the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Texas Pediatric Society, which honored him with the Charles W. Daeschner Jr., MD, Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center. Dr. Speer is a professor of pediatrics and medical ethics at Baylor College of Medicine. 

Tyler

• Debbie Pitts, a Tyler volunteer, was elected to a two-year term as TMAF secretary. She has been a member of the TMA Alliance (TMAA), the community service and advocacy arm of TMA, and her local Smith County Medical Society Alliance for 34 years. Ms. Pitts is a past president of TMAA and the Smith County alliance. She also has served as a TMAA district director, and as vice president for community health and for communications. She has served on the boards of local nonprofit organizations, including Tyler Day Nursery, Parents Anonymous, and Historic Tyler. Ms. Pitts also is an elder at First Presbyterian Church. She is married to Paul Pitts, MD, a Tyler pediatrician. 

TMA is the largest state medical society in the nation, representing more than 55,000 physician and medical student members. It is located in Austin and has 110 component county medical societies around the state. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to improve the health of all Texans. The TMA Foundation raises funds to support the population health, science, medical education and quality-of-care priority initiatives of TMA and the Family of Medicine.

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Contact:  Brent Annear (512) 370-1381; cell: (512) 656-7320

Marcus Cooper (512) 370-1382; cell: (512) 650-5336 

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