Emerging Leaders Program

2025 Emerging Leadership Cohort

Leadership Skills for the Future of GI

The Emerging Leadership Program within ACG provides the opportunity to College members in their 3rd or 4th year of GI fellowship training to develop, build, and maintain success as future leaders. Participants will learn about communication, negotiation, change and time management, and promoting equity, diversity, and inclusion. Participants are immersed in course work covering the skills needed as they look ahead to their career post-fellowship and begin to take on more leadership roles. The program includes a mix of lectures, Q&A, breakout and role-playing exercises, and networking.

The Emerging Leadership Program in-person course will take place on June 5 – 7, 2026 in Washington, DC, as part of Leadership YOU. Leadership YOU will convene the four distinct leadership programs offered by The ACG Institute and The Center for Leadership, Ethics, and Equity and will provide attendees with the opportunity to network with participants in all four cohorts, as well as provide cohort-specific professional development.

2026 program application portal will be open: September 15-November 24, 2025. *APPLICATION NOW CLOSED*

2026 In-Person Course Date: June 5 – 7, 2026 in Washington DC

Course Directors:

Josh Steinberg, MD & Xiao Jing (Iris) Wang, MD

Course Components:

Pre-course reading and videos
In-person course: June 5-7, 2026 in Washington, DC (Renaissance Capital View Hotel)
Online learning sessions

Course Topics:

Communication as a Physician and Gastroenterologist
Negotiating Your First Job Contract & Compensation Model
Time Management
Change Management
Start NOW: Building a Professional Community & Network
Building Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion on Your Team

Attendees:

To facilitate a positive, interactive learning environment and networking, the course would be limited to 20 participants. Attendees would have to be nominated by either their Program Director, Chief of GI, ACG Governor, Board of Trustee Member, or ACG Committee Chair. Applicants will submit an application, which will include a personal statement of interest in physician leadership. Applications would be accepted from the following ACG members:

ACG member physicians in their 3rd or 4th year of fellowship training
A demonstrated trajectory of leadership roles in their training.
Based in the United States

To Apply:

Applicants will need to submit their curriculum vitae, personal statement of interest in participating in the program and a letter of nomination from their Program Director, Chief of GI, Division Director, or equivalent position at your institution, ACG Board of Trustee Member, ACG Governor, or ACG Committee Chair. Please note that the requirement for the letter of nomination has been changed from a standard narrative to 3 focused questions to be completed by the nominator. The questions and form can be found here.

2026 program application portal will be open: September 15-November 24, 2025. *APPLICATION NOW CLOSED*

Applications will be reviewed by the ACG Institute and will be notified regarding their inclusion in the program (there are no registration fees for the program – it is by invitation only).

Eligibility & Evaluation Criteria:

To choose the recipients, the Institute will assess the degree to which the applicant meets the eligibility criteria of the ACG Emerging Leadership Program. Applicants who are ACG members, based in the United States, and in their 3rd or 4th year of fellowship will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Strong statements of background experience and skills development that demonstrate a strong interest in the Emerging Leaders Program
A strong letter of nomination from their Program Director, Chief of GI, Division Director, or equivalent position at your institution, ACG Board of Trustee Member, ACG Governor, or ACG Committee Chair, who has direct knowledge of the applicant’s qualifications and leadership potential.
Please note that the requirement for the letter of nomination has been changed from a standard narrative to 3 focused questions to be completed by the nominator. The questions and form can be found here.

The ACG Institute seeks a diverse applicant pool from which to select a diverse cohort of participants with respect to several factors that include practice type, race and ethnicity, gender identity, and geographic location.

2026 LE&E Emerging Leadership Program Cohort

Daniyal Abbas, MD

Hassam Ali, MD

Nermila Asha Ballmick, MD

Azizullah Beran, MD

Charles Phillip Cavalaris, MD

Sotirios Doukas, MD, PhD, MPH

Kathryn Driggers, MD

Anoushka Dua, MD

Aimen Farooq, MD

Umer Farooq, MD

Alvin George, MD

Rahul Karna, MD

Alexander J. Kaye, MD, MBA

Haley Rose Mertens, MD

Krystal Mills, MBBS

Shuji Mitsuhashi, MBBS

Ehiamen Okoruwa, MD

Zoe Post, MD, MSc

Hyder Said, MD

Emily S. Smith, MD

Ahmed Telbany, MD, MPH

Sanjeevani Tomar, MD

June Tome, MD

Sarah Elizabeth Uttal, MD

Himesh Zaver, MD