Non-Clinical Careers for Physicians

JP Ahluwalia, MD, MPH is a Captain with the US Public Health Service. Previously Dr. Ahluwalia served as a Medical Officer with the FDA where he was responsible for monitoring the safety of approved biologic products including vaccines. Dr. Ahluwalia spent 8 years in the Army, including a tour with the 82nd Airborne Division in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He is a Fellow of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, a Fellow of the American College of Preventative Medicine, and Board Certified in Public Health and General Preventative Medicine. He received his BA and MD from Ohio State and his MPH from Johns Hopkins.

Steven Babitsky, Esq. is a former trial lawyer who has trained thousands of physicians over the past 30 years. He has over 35 years of experience as a professional negotiator, has himself successfully made the switch from practicing law to a non-clinical career, and is an expert in networking, running a small business, medical-legal opportunities for physicians, responding to tough questions, persuasion skills, consulting, publishing, and turning ideas into money. He is the co-author of the book Non-Clinical Careers for Physicians. (www.nonclinicalcareers.com) 

Ryan Bayley, MD is an executive coach and physician advocate who has worked with thousands of clinicians to optimize their careers and happiness. He is the founder of Bayley Coaching Solutions (www.ryanbayleyMD.com), a physician-focused executive coaching and consulting firm. Dr Bayley is also a nationally recognized speaker and author, as well as a consultant to large healthcare organizations. Dr. Bayley completed his undergraduate at Harvard, and subsequently attended Vanderbilt Medical School. He also currently holds an associate adjunct position at Duke University Medical Center, where he leads courses on physician well-being and career design. Dr. Bayley is a SEAK alumnus.

David J. Berube, MD, MPH serves as Chief Medical Officer, VP at Lincoln Financial Group. He is also an assistant clinical professor at both Yale and UConn. He has vast experience in the field of disability insurance including Chief Medical Officer, VP, Liberty Mutual Benefits and National Medical Director, Group Insurance at Aetna. Dr. Berube completed his Occupational and Environmental Medicine Fellowship at Yale and earned his MD at the University of Vermont and his BA at Wesleyan.

Dr. Stephanie Brown, MD, PCC, is not just a life coach but a dynamic keynote speaker and facilitator, consistently inspiring and empowering her audience. As a recognized Top 1% Life Coach by Yahoo Finance, she brings a wealth of experience to her speaking engagements. Dr. Brown has facilitated group coaching sessions for various audiences and conducted training workshops on “Conflict Resolution and Boundaries” during the World Bank’s Wellness week. Dr. Brown extends her impact through exclusive workshops and retreats. These include her most recent endeavors such as Illuminate U!, Re-enVision, Refresh Retreat, and Realign Retreat. Each of these events reflects her commitment to guiding individuals through the process of challenging beliefs for positive change, fostering personal and professional transformation. Dr. Brown is a family practice physician who earned her BS at Duke and her MD at Howard.

Dana C. Carpenter, MD is currently a Medical Strategy Development Director at IPG Health. She previously served as Senior Vice President, Medical Director and a key member of the leadership team for the Medical and Scientific Affairs division of CDM New York, a leading healthcare advertising and medical communications agency where she developed medical and scientific content and provided important strategic direction to numerous Pharma brands. As an OBGYN, Dr. Carpenter lends her clinical experience and expertise to many women’s health brands, however, her marketing experience spans a number of therapeutic areas. Prior to her transition from medicine to marketing in 2009, Dr. Carpenter was the lead physician in a thriving OB/GYN practice for nearly 10 years. Dr. Carpenter, a native Chicagoan, earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her Medical Doctorate from Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.

Robert J. Cooper, MD, FACE, FACP is very active in non-clinical pursuits including knowledge company consulting, file review consulting, and expert witnessing. He is Boarded in both endocrinology and internal medicine, is clinically active and is a graduate of SUNY StonyBrook and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Cooper is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Tufts University. He is a SEAK alumnus.

Juan (Juancho) Daccach, MD has over 10 years’ experience in the medical device industry, including Medical Safety Officer, Global Orthopedics, Joint Reconstruction for Johnson & Johnson and currently as VP Global Product Safety for Merz Aesthetics. Dr. Daccach is an Orthopedic Surgeon with fellowships on both total knee and hip replacements and prosthetic joint infection management. He received his MD at Pontificia Universidad Javieriana in Colombia and completed his fellowships at the Universidad de Barcelona in Spain. Dr. Daccach is also a certified personal, executive, and health coach.

Paul DeChant, MD, MBA has vast non-clinical experience including Physician Leadership Coach, Consultant, Subject Matter Expert on Clinician Burnout, Adjunct Professor at the University of Colorado Denver Business School and Professional Keynote Speaker. After 25 years of practicing family medicine in a variety of settings around the country, he became CEO of the Sutter Gould Medical Foundation. Here he led a transformation that achieved recognition for the group as the highest performing among 170 medical groups across California two years in a row, while improving physician satisfaction from the 45th to 87th percentile on American Medical Group Association’s Provider Satisfaction Survey. He received his MD from Oregon Health Sciences University and his MBA from the University of Colorado—Denver. He is the co-author of the book, Preventing Physician Burnout: Curing the Chaos and Returning Joy to the Practice of Medicine, speaks internationally and publishes a blog. His company, Organizational Wellbeing Solutions, provides trusted advisors to senior leaders of hospitals and health systems who are committed to changing the culture of their organizations. 

Vince Faridani, MD, MBA, FACP, SFHM is a practicing inpatient hospice physician and locums hospitalist. He also maintains a part time real estate side business involving buying and renting out homes, investing in real estate syndicates, and being a real estate broker who makes and saves money by putting in offers on property. Dr. Faridani also serves as an expert witness. He obtained his BS from the University of South Florida and his MD from Saba University later training at Virginia Tech. Dr. Faridani is a SEAK alumnus.

Carrie Holland is a board-certified family physician with additional certifications in personal training, health coaching, and life coaching. As the CEO of her full-time life coach practice, Carrie specializes in helping smart women build strong habits: Eating, Moving, and Thinking. She addresses the impact of women’s responsibilities at work and at home on their wellness. Using habit psychology, mindset management tools, and expertise in nutrition and exercise, Carrie helps overstretched, high-level working women prioritize their own well-being. She is also the host of the weekly podcast, Strong is a Mindset. 

Mandy Huggins Armitage, MD is a successful medical writer who has extensive experience with medical writing and content development in both freelance and employed positions. She most recently served as medical director for health tech start-ups HealthLoop and Doximity where she was also responsible for recruiting and hiring. Dr. Armitage currently serves as a professional resume writer and as a consultant for aspiring physician freelance writers (www.armitagemedicalwriting.com) and has been a faculty member for SEAK’s “How to Earn Money as Physician Writer” seminar for several years. Prior to transitioning to medical writing, Dr. Armitage practiced nonsurgical sports medicine. She received her MD from Indiana University School of Medicine and her BS in Biology from Purdue University.

Nabhan Islam, MD is an accomplished Medical Science Liaison (MSL) based in Vancouver, Canada. He first broke into industry in 2019, and has since worked for GSK, Syneos Health, and currently Sanofi across multiple therapeutic areas including Respirology, Vaccines & Infectious Disease, and Type 1 Diabetes. Dr. Islam is a member of MSL Society and the Medical Affairs Professional Society (MAPS) and has a long-standing history of coaching and training Aspiring MSLs. Prior engagements include workshops at the MSL Society Annual Conference, editorials for the MSL Society Journal, and guest appearances on the MSL Talk podcast. In 2024, he began offering professional coaching and consulting services (www.aspiringmsl.com) on a 1:1 basis, with a focus on Canadians, IMGs/FMGs, and visible minorities. Dr. Islam received his BMSc from Western University in 2002 and MD from St. George’s University in 2007, served as a medic with the Canadian Forces Army Reserve from 1999-2005, and is a SEAK alumnus.

Lisa Jenks, MD graduated from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Medicine in 1986. After residency training at Ohio State University, she began a career in emergency medicine. In 2007, Dr. Jenks opened Genesis MedSpa in Colorado Springs. Since its opening, Genesis has grown tremendously, moving from a 4-treatment room facility into a 7-room facility in 2012. In 2017, three additional treatment rooms as well as a waiting area for male clients were added.  Under her direction, Genesis has won the BBB’s coveted ‘Excellence in Customer Service’ award each of the five times they have applied and has won numerous ‘Best Of’ awards. In 2015, Genesis was named “Best MedSpa” by Medical Aesthetics, Inc. In addition, Genesis is in the “Top 250” tier nation-wide with Allergan. In June 2023, Princeton MedSpa Partners acquired Genesis and retained Dr. Jenks as the medical director.

Dr. Jenks has been a speaker for Syneron/Candela and has written numerous articles and lectured on how to start successful medical spas. She has been a member of Skin Inc.’s advisory board and has been a mentor with Nonclinical Careers for Physicians since 2017.  

Morgan Leafe, MD, MHA is a successful medical writer who has experience in many forms of medical writing including CME/CE needs assessments & content creation, board-style multiple choice questions & explanations, patient-facing educational materials & blogs, advisory board & conference coverage, slide decks, news stories and medical copywriting. She is also a professional resume writer for physicians as well as serving as a career counselor for aspiring physician medical writers. Doctor Leafe is board certified in both pediatrics and clinical informatics and has 14 years of clinical experience. She received her BS from Rutgers and her MD from Thomas Jefferson. Dr. Leafe is a SEAK alumna.

Robert Levin, MD, CFP, CEPA is a Senior Vice-President – Wealth Management and Senior Portfolio Manager at UBS, Inc. in Beverly Hills, California. He and his partners direct a multibillion dollar wealth management practice. Dr. Levin’s clients are mostly physicians, health care executives and their companies. His team provides comprehensive wealth management including investments, retirement and complex estate/tax planning, insurance advice and lending. They also advise their clients about exit strategies and liquidity events for their companies and shareholders. Dr. Levin practiced pediatrics for 12 years prior to his transition in 2001. His prior financial services experience includes serving as a

healthcare financial analyst at JPMorgan Chase on Wall Street and a brief stint as a medical consultant to a venture capital fund. Dr. Levin earned both his BS and MD from the University of Michigan and later trained in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles.

Jonathan Lovins, MD, SFHM, MMCi is the Assistant Chief Medical Officer at Duke Regional Hospital (part of Duke University Health System). Dr. Lovins is also a practicing Hospitalist. His IT experience includes implementing a $1B EHR for a 1,500 bed, 2,000 physician health system and being the lead physician for EHR adoption, training, content creation, and optimization. Dr. Lovins earned his BA at Clark University in MA and his MD at the University of Connecticut and completed a Masters of Management in Clinical Informatics at Duke University School of Medicine. He is board certified in Clinical Informatics and a Senior Fellow in Hospital Medicine.

James J. Mangraviti, Jr., Esq. is the co-founder and co-seminar leader of SEAK’s annual Non-Clinical Careers for Physicians Conference. He is the co-author of the book Non-Clinical Careers for Physicians (www.nonclinicalcareers.com) and the article The Biggest Mistakes Physicians Make When Transitioning to a Non-Clinical Career. Jim is a highly experienced presenter who has trained thousands of physicians on topics including expert witnessing, non-clinical careers, negotiating, writing, and how to supplement clinical income. He currently serves as a Principal of SEAK, Inc. an ACCME accredited continuing education, training, consulting, and publishing firm. In addition to his teaching and writing, Jim has mentored numerous physicians. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Boston College and a cum laude graduate of Boston College Law School.

Mehul Mankad, MD serves as the full time Chief Medical Officer for NovumHealth, an innovative company focusing on value based behavioral health care. Formerly Dr. Mankad served as CMO for a health insurance plan. Dr. Mankad is a Duke and Rush trained forensic psychiatrist who earned both this BA and MD from Northwestern. In addition to his CMO work, Dr. Mehul serves as an expert witness in cases of impaired professionals and stays clinically active practicing at the VA one day per month.

Jillian McAdams, MD is a board-certified physician specializing in Pediatric Emergency Medicine and Urgent Care. Driven by a passion for healthcare innovation and efficiency, Dr. McAdams founded two pioneering ventures: Records Explained and Accent Medical Consulting. Records Explained provides meticulous medical record reviews, veteran disability examinations, and independent medical evaluations. Accent Medical Consulting connects physicians with non-clinical opportunities and multi streams of income, leveraging Dr. McAdams' expertise in clinical and administrative medicine. Dr. McAdams earned her BS from Franklin & Marshall College and her MD from Virginia Commonwealth.

Michael J. McLaughlin, MD is co-founder of Peloton Advantage, a medical communications company. He received degrees from Harvard College and Columbia University. After four years as a plastic surgeon and hand specialist, he networked through a career change into medical communications. Along the way, he also founded Physician Renaissance Network (PRNresource.com), a free resource for doctors with non-clinical careers and interests, and wrote the book Do You Feel Like You Wasted All That Training? He wrote the medical thriller, Extinction, and collaborated with Dr. N. Michael Caputo on the innovative and controversial story, The Satin Strangler Blogs. 

Rebecca Lynne Moles, MD, CPC is a Child Abuse Pediatrician who transitioned from academic medicine to health insurance utilization management as a Medical Director for Elevance. She is a certified professional coach with a special interest in physician burnout in early and midcareer physicians. Dr. Moles is a SEAK alumna. She has held faculty appointments at UConn, Yale, and UMass. She earned her BA and MD at the University of Rochester, completed an Internal Medicine/Pediatrics residency at UMass and Child Abuse Pediatrics fellowship at Brown, and earned her professional coach certification from iPEC.

Richard A. Parker, MD currently sees patients as a per diem hospice physician. Dr. Parker practiced internal medicine for 20+ years before transitioning to administrative medicine. His last position in administration was as Chief Medical Officer of the Beth Israel Deaconess Care Organization which had over 2,000 physicians. He was on the Harvard Faculty for many years. Dr. Parker also served as the CMO of the big data startup Arcadia. He is a highly experienced expert witness who has reviewed over 800 cases.   Dr. Parker earned his BA at Harvard, his MD from the artmouth/Brown program, and is Harvard Trained in internal medicine.  

Nora Philbin, DO is the Global Clinical Development Medical Director at AstraZeneca in Cambridge, England. She supports clinical trials of monoclonal antibodies for prevention of infectious diseases. She is a board-certified pediatrician and precited outpatient pediatrics for over 9 years in the Chicago area before transitioning to a medical director role in Clinical Development. She received her DO from Touro University California and MSc from Birkbeck, University of London.  Dr. Philbin is a SEAK alumna.

Kirk A. Roberts, MD is the Lead Medical Review Officer at Cynergy MRO where he heads a team of 4 other physicians. Dr. Roberts earned his MD directly from high school in the 6 year program offered by the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Before leaving clinical medicine, Dr. Roberts practiced emergency medicine and wound care. His clinical experience includes sports medicine and he has served as a sideline physician for the Kansas City Chiefs. Dr. Roberts also has significant experience as an expert witness.

J. Bruce Robertson, MD, FACS, CPE, AME is a board-certified urologist with diverse non-clinical experience including utilization review, disability review, being the founder, CEO, and chairman of a 2,000 member health insurance trust, life care planning, and aviation medical examinations. Dr. Robertson still practices urology but no longer performs major surgery. Dr. Robertson earned his BA at the University of Houston and his MD from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. He is the former vice-chairman of the American Urological Association’s National Legislative Committee. Dr. Robertson is a SEAK Alumnus.

Dr. Tahlia Spector is a Board-Certified Internist and Emergency Physician and a Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM) at UCLA. She is a physician-educator and an author whose expertise includes curricular design, teaching and remediation of clinical skills, and coaching. Dr. Spector has designed and implemented in-person and on-line curricula for DGSOM, the National Cancer Institute, National Human Genome Research Institute, and the National Violence Prevention Center, and has written examination content for the National Board of Medical Examiners. She has written a book chapter on “Remediation of Physical Examination Skills” and is in the process of publishing a two-book series for medical students entitled, Strategies for Success in Medical School and Beyond. 

Karyn L. Tapley, MD is an OB/GYN who performed locums assignments for almost 3 years while she was transitioning to her current non-clinical endeavors of running a successful and growing medical spa (Sound Women’s Health & Aestheics), real estate, financial planning, and coaching physicians. Dr. Tapley earned her BS at the University of West Florida, her MD at the University ofFlorida, and completed a fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine under Dr. Andrew Weil. She is a SEAK alumnus.

Lisa Varghese-Kroll, MD is a Physician Advisor and Appeals Specialist with Med-Metrix. She has over 13 years of experience as a physician advisor, is board-certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, and is an active writer and public speaker. Dr. Varghese-Kroll has unique background in journalism, with a separate degree as well as experiences in both print and broadcast media. She is also the co-host of the health and parenting podcast Health and Home with the Hippocratic Hosts, which is listened to on six continents. She received her MD from the University of Virginia School of Medicine and her BS in broadcast journalism from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is a SEAK alumna.

Michael H. Wetzel, MD, DBIM, CLU® is the Chief Medical Director for Equitable Financial. Prior to Equitable, Dr. Wetzel was a VP, Medical Director with Prudential and an AVP, Associate Medical Director with the Hartford. He is board certified in Family Medicine and Insurance Medicine. Dr. Wetzel earned his BS at Penn State and his MD from Thomas Jefferson Medical College.

Tom Whalen, MD, MMM, FACHE spent 10 years as the chief medical officer of Lehigh Valley Health Network, retiring in 2021. Prior to transitioning to administration Dr. Whalen practiced as a pediatric surgeon with extensive experience in national leadership roles and in academic medicine. He earned his BA/MD from Boston University and his Masters of Medical Management from Carnegie Mellon University. Dr. Whalen currently serves as a physician executive coach as well as on multiple Boards.