About the Alaska GME Council
Founded in September 2025, the Alaska Graduate Medical Education (AKGME) Council brings together statewide expertise to strengthen and expand physician training in Alaska. The Council educates the public and decision-makers on the importance of graduate medical education, supports efforts to secure sustainable funding, and evaluates Alaska's current and future physician workforce needs by specialty and community. Through tracking in-state training opportunities, benchmarking against other states, and assessing potential new or expanded training sites, the Council helps guide the strategic growth of GME in Alaska. The Alaska GME Council also supports prospective training sites in program development and ensures findings and data on training capacity, recruitment, and retention are publicly shared to inform long-term workforce planning.
Alaska GME Council Members
Executive Committee
Kristen Solana Walkinshaw, MD
Chair
Elizabeth King, MPH
Vice Chair
S Gayle Hornberger, DO
Secretary
Nancy Merriman, MPH
Treasurer
Gina Senko, BA
Executive Assistant
Voting Members - Seated
Gloria Burnett, MS
Leigh Cooper, DO
Barbara Doty, MD
Paul Forman, MD
Lillian Ho, MD
Ursula McVeigh, MD
Kristin Mitchell, MD
Gail Pokorney, MD
Amy Schumacher, MD
Kim Thomas, MD
Elizabeth Turgeon, MD
Voting Members - At-Large
Harold Johnston, MD
Tanya Leinicke, MD
Rachel Samuelson, MD
Suzanne Tryck
Advisory Members
Daniel Allen, MD
Suzanne Allen, MD
Toni Biskup, MD
Jay Butler, MD
Margaret Carlson Cosen, MD
Michael Cooper, MD
Dave Fredenberg, MD
Kathy Gallardo, MD, PhD
Celia Haering, MD
Cindy Hamra, JD
Ai-Ling Lin, MD
Victoria Murdock, MD
Jay Patel, MD
Nicholas Phelps, PhD
Norman Reeves
Jennifer Ribar, DO
Megan Roosen-Runge, MD, MPH
Molly B Southworth, MD, MPH
Ciera Stafford, BS
Jacqueline Summers, MAEd
Jeremy Wood, MD
