The AAIP board of directors currently consists of seven directors, as specified by the Bylaws. Board members serve a one-year term with the exception of the treasurer who serves a two-year term. The Nominations Committee nominates the board members who are then voted on by the AAIP General Members during the annual conference.

Members at the 36th Annual Conference, held July 26 – 31, 2007 in Nashville, Tennessee, elected its new 2007-2008 board of directors to lead the organization through its next year of operations.

New AAIP Board Members:
Dr. Gerald Hill, President-Elect
Dr. Lise Alexander, Secretary
Dr. Lyle Ignace, Member At Large

Re-Nominated Board Members:
Dr. Shanda Lohse, Treasurer
Dr. Melvina McCabe, Member At Large

2007-2008 Board of Directors:

President
Gerald L. Ignace, MD – Coeur d’Alene
Dr. Gerald L. Ignace was raised on the Coeur 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.

President-Elect
Gerald Hill, MD – Klamath/Paiute
Dr. Gerald Hill received his undergraduate degree from the University of Washington in 1971. He went on to earn his medical degree from UW in 1980. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of California at San Francisco. As a clinical faculty member and a Robert Wood Johnson fellow, Dr. Hill has specialized experience in health-related research in urban and reservation-based Indian populations. He has served on a variety of boards, advisory committees, and appointments based on his expertise in American Indian health issues. He was President of the AAIP in 1993-94.

Dr. Hill was the Director of the Center of American Indian and Minority Health at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine – Duluth. In 1993, the program successfully pioneered a model project called “Center of Excellence in Indian Health”.

Immediate Past President
Susan Sloan, MD – Eastern Cherokee
Dr. Susan Sloan is the first in her family to attend college. She began her career as a teacher. Twenty-two years after earning her undergraduate degree and pregnant with her fifth child, she enrolled at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine. She graduated in 1998 and completed a residency in internal medicine at Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Massachusetts in 2001. Dr. Sloan was then appointed assistant professor of medicine at the University of Massachusetts. She was also coordinator of resident ambulatory education at Berkshire Medical Center. The following year she returned to her home state of Tennessee to become the Associate Director of the Internal Medicine Program at East Tennessee State.

Dr. Sloan is devoted to improving medical care for underserved women. She founded Preterm Connection, a non-profit organization serving pregnant women at risk for giving birth prematurely. She has also served as medical director of Health, Education, Resource, Outreach and Advocacy (HEROA).

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.

Secretary
Lise Alexander, MD – Grand Ronde
Dr. Lise Alexander received her undergraduate degree from Mary-
hurst College. She earned her medical degree from the University of Washington and is currently working at the Tulalip Tribal Clinic in Tulalip, WA. In addition to her commitment to AAIP she is co-adviser to Medicine Wheel Society (University of Washington Medical School Student Organization). She also continues to mentor college and medical students as well as residents on their journey.

Her research experience includes a survey for a Northwest Tribal Clinic
to assess the patient base regarding their knowledge, usage and interest in Complementary/Alternative Medicine. The study was used as a tool for the tribe to evaluate future healthcare needs for the community. Dr. Alexander is now working with the University of Washington and Tulalip Tribe on a Cardiovascular Grant.

Member At Large
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.

Member At Large
Lyle Ignace, MD – Coeur d’Alene
Dr. Lyle Ignace received his undergraduate degree from Marquette University in 1992. He earned his medical degree from the University of Minnesota in 1996. Dr. Ignace was active in the Association of Native American Medical Students during medical school.

Dr. Ignace practices internal medicine at the Gallup Indian Medical Center in Gallup, New Mexico. He was recently appointed Chief of Internal Medicine. An active member of AAIP since 1996, he works to educate and encourage high school, college and medical school students to continue their studies.

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AAIP Speakers Bureau

Contacts:
The Association of American Indian Physicians (AAIP) Speaker's Bureau is available by contacting the AAIP Executive Office. The requesting organization must pay travel/per diem and honorarium for the speaker.

Purpose:
The AAIP membership has grown to include a wide area of expertise that AAIP can provide to others. The AAIP membership would like to share their experience with others interested in Indian Health Care issues. The AAIP through its Speaker's Bureau hopes to make a difference in improving health care for American Indian and Alaska Native people. Through the Speaker's Bureau AAIP will expand its service to the broader Indian community nationwide.

Speciality or Topics:
Academic Practice, Alcohol/Substance Abuse, Anatomic and Clinical Pathology, Cancer, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Cardiovascular Disease, Critical Care, Cross Cultural Medicine, Diabetes, Emergency Medicine, Family Practice, OB/GYN, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Geriatrics, HIV/AIDS, Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology/Hematology, Mental Health, Nephrology, Neurosurgery and Otorhinolarygology Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Recruitment and Retention, Rural/Reservation Health Issues, Urban Indian Health Issues, Urology.