2008 - 2009 Board of Directors

Members at the 37th Annual Conference, held July 24-29, 2008 in Worley, Idaho, elected its new 2008-2009 board of directors to lead the organization through its next year of operations.

2008-2009 President
Gerald Hill, MD - Klamath/Paiute

Dr. Gerald Hill is a member of the Klamath Tribes of Oregon. He attended medical school at the University of Washington and completed his residency training at the University of California, San Francisco. Following residency, Dr. Hill completed the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at the UCSF/Stanford program in 1986. After his fellowship Dr. Hill joined the faculty at USCF.

In 1990, Dr. Hill left UCSF to go to the University of Minnesota to direct the Center of American Indian and Minority Health at the Duluth medical school campus. There, he developed the nation’s first Indian Health Pathway for Native American students, combining clinical experiences in Native communities all four years of medical school with courses and seminars in Indian health as well as education and experiences in Traditional Indian Medicine and mentoring from Native physicians. As a result of the program the University of Minnesota became one of the highest producers of Native physicians in the nation.

In addition to his academic achievements, Dr. Hill has decades of experience in Native American health care. He has served on a variety of boards and committees on the local and national levels and as a consultant to Indian tribes and organizations. These activities include the chairmanship of the San Francisco Native American Health Board, the presidency of the Association of American Indian Physicians, Health Systems Consultant to and member of the Klamath Tribes Health Committee among many others. 

His awards include the Chancellors Award for Public Service at the University of California, San Francisco, Certificate of Outstanding Merit from the Regents of the University of Minnesota, and Indian Physician of the Year from the Association of American Indian Physicians.

Dr. Hill currently practices Emergency Medicine in St. Paul Minnesota, serves on the University of Minnesota Medical School admissions committee and is the current President of the Association of American Indian Physicians.

2008-2009 President-Elect
Melvina McCabe, MD- Navajo

Dr. Melvina McCabe completed her undergraduate studies and medical degree at the University of New Mexico. She is a geriatrician and board certified family physician at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine – Department of Family and Community Medicine. Dr. McCabe also serves as a member of the University of New Mexico Mosaic Committee to advise on the recruitment and retention of under- represented students. Her research includes issues regarding Hantavirus, alcohol abuse, diabetes, and geriatric education.

Dr. McCabe is active in several key committees, including the Minority Affairs Consortium of the American Medical Association and the National Institutes of Health National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities. She served as a Presidential appointee to the bipartisan advisory committee to the White House Conference on Aging 2006. She also served New Mexico’s Governor Bill Richardson as a member of the Health Policy Committee. Dr. McCabe served as President of AAIP in 2000.

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2008-2009 Immediate Past President
Gerald L. Ignace, MD- Coeur d'Alene

Dr. Gerald L. Ignace was raised on the Coer d'Alene reservation in northern Idaho. He graduated from Gonzaga University with a bachelor of Science in Basic Medicine Science in 1961. Dr. Ignace earned his medical degree from Marquette University School of Medicine in 1965. He completed his internship at St. Joseph Hospital in Denver, Colorado. From 1966-69, Dr. Ignace served in the Indian Health Service as a commissioned officer of the U.S. Public Health Service in Shiprock, New Mexico on the Navajo Indian Reservation. He completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at the Milwaukee County General hospital in 1972. He then spent a decade as clinical Instructor at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Dr. Ignace has made a life-long commitment to improve the health of all Indian people and to increase the number of American Indian and Alaska Natives in the health professions. He is a charter member and co-founder of the original Milwaukee Indian Health Board, Inc. (MIHB). He served as chairman of the MIHB from 1974-1984. Under his leadership, the organization received recognition as a model Urban Indian Health Clinic by the Indian Health Service.

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2008 - 2009 Treasurer
Shanda Lohse, MD – Standing Rock Lakota

Dr. Shanda Lohse excelled in science in high school, but didn’t consider medical school until an adviser encouraged her to explore it. She earned her undergraduate degree from Columbia University. She then entered the University of Minnesota Medical School in 1993. Dr. Lohse says she would not have completed her medical degree without the help of the Center for American Indian and Minority Health (CAIMH), a Center of Excellence (COE) at the school. Today, she serves as a physician at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, Alaska.

Dr. Lohse has been a member of AAIP since 2002. She has been active in the Association of Native American Medical Student organization serving as its national president. Dr. Lohse is dedicated to mentoring students by helping them transition from medical student member to physician member of AAIP. Before becoming a doctor, she had never met a Native physician. Her goal is to encourage more young people to pursue the profession.

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2008 - 2009 Secretary
Phil Smith, MD - Navajo

Dr. Phil Smith earned his undergraduate and Doctor of Medicine degrees from the University of Utah. He was awarded a fellowship to study at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences where he earned his Master's of Public Health degree. Dr. Smith began his career with the National Health Services corp working with migrant clinics. In 1983, he joined the Indian Health Service. His colleagues honored him as the AAIP Physician of the Year for 2004-2005.

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2008-2009 Member At Large
LeeAnna Muzquiz, MD - Salish/Kootenai

Dr. Lee Anna Muzquiz grew up on the Flathead Indian Reservation in northwestern Montana. She is a graduate of the Regional Medical School Program of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho (WWAMI). A member of the Salish Kootenai tribes, Dr. Muzquiz is a primary care physician in Montana.

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2008 - 2009 Member At Large
James R. Kennedye, MD - Kiowa

Dr. James R. Kennedye was raised in Oklahoma City, Ok. He received his undergraduate degree from Oklahoma City University. While attending the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, he worked at the Oklahoma City Indian Clinic. He entered his residency in emergency medicine at Washington University in St.Louis, MO. Dr. Kennedye is an emergency physician at INTEGRIS Baptist Medical Center. He is also a Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Naval Reserves.