Serious Illness Academic Mentoring and Leadership Retreat: 2023

Rachelle Bernacki is the Director of Quality Initiatives in the Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and is an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Bernacki is also the Director of Care Transformation and Post-Operative Services at the Brigham and Women’s Center for Geriatric Surgery and served as the Associate Director of the Serious Illness Care Program at Ariadne Labs. Her areas of expertise are focused on advance care planning (ACP), communication, implementation science, and the integration of palliative care and geriatrics into population health and surgery. Dr. Bernacki is a Fellow of both the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) and the American Geriatrics Society and is on the board of AAHPM.

Dr. Elise Carey is Associate Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and Chair of Education & Faculty Development for the enterprise-wide Center for Palliative Medicine. She has held multiple national leadership roles, including currently serving as a Strategic Partner and Distinguished Faculty of VitalTalk (vitaltalk.org) and as a Director-at-large of the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. She teaches communication and teaching skills to practicing clinicians across the country.

Dr. Jennifer Kapo, The Sherwin B. Nuland and Michael K. Vlock Associate Professor of Medicine, completed a residency and chief residency at the University of CO School of Medicine and fellowships in geriatrics and palliative care at the University of PA. She is board-certified in internal medicine, geriatric medicine, and palliative medicine.  Prior to coming to Yale in 2012, Dr. Kapo was the Medical Director of Palliative Care at the Philadelphia VA and the Palliative Medicine Fellowship Director of the Penn/ VA Palliative Medicine Fellowship.  Her clinical expertise focuses on the comprehensive and interdisciplinary supportive care of medically complex older adults who are faced with life-threatening illnesses.  As the Chief of the Palliative Care Program, she is responsible for developing and sustaining the clinical, research, and education palliative care programs at Yale- New Haven Hospital and Yale University.   Dr. Kapo leads an interdisciplinary team that consists of physicians, advanced practice nurses, chaplains, social workers, a psychologist, an art therapist, and bereavement coordinators.  She cares for patients as a consultant for inpatients at Yale- New Haven Hospital, as well as provides primary palliative care for outpatients in the Smilow Palliative Care Clinic. 

Over the past 20 years, Dr. Kapo has worked to develop expertise in the palliative medicine education of medical trainees of all levels including medical students, residents, fellows, and faculty.  In addition, she has a strong commitment to the education of interdisciplinary teams composed of allied health professional learners including nurses, social workers, nurses’ aides, and chaplains. It is Dr. Kapo’s goal to train providers of all levels and disciplines to develop the skills and knowledge needed to care for vulnerable older adults and their families who are faced with life-threatening illnesses, and who may be nearing the end of their lives

Laura J. Morrison, MD is an Associate Professor of Medicine (Geriatrics) and clinician-educator at Yale School of Medicine, serving as Director of Palliative Medicine Education and Director, Yale Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship. She’s clinically active on the Yale New Haven Hospital Palliative Care Consultation Service. Dr. Morrison continues to lead national work on competency and accreditation standards for hospice and palliative medicine fellowships and advance the approach to learner assessment in the field. Dr. Morrison is a Fellow of both the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) and the American College of Physicians and is a board member of AAHPM. 

Dr. Lynn O’Neill is Associate Professor and Vice Chair for Faculty Development, at the Department of Family & Preventive Medicine; Associate Director of the Palliative Care Center; and Program Director of the Hospice & Palliative Medicine Fellowship at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She works clinically as a staff physician in palliative care at the Atlanta VA Medical Center. She is the Vice President for Internal Education and provides oversight to annual courses including the ENRICH Faculty Development Course and the Winter Course for faculty members and faculty-in-training.  She developed the communication course, Geritalk, designed to provide fellows in geriatrics and palliative care with the essential skills necessary to discuss serious news and goals of care, and is a Distinguished Faculty of VitalTalk. 

VJ Periyakoil, MD, Professor of Medicine; Associate Dean of Research (Geriatrics and Palliative Care), Founding Director, of the Stanford Hospice & Palliative Medicine Fellowship Program and Founding Director, of the Longevity and Healthy Aging Research Consortium Dr. Periyakoil is the Senior Associate Editor of the Journal of Palliative Medicine, Associate Editor, of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, and Associate Director of the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. She is the Chair emerita of the Ethnogeriatrics Committee of the American Geriatrics Society. She served as a Board member and founding chair of the Diversity Committee of the CFAS, American Association of Medical Colleges. Her work is funded by grants from NIH, HRSA, foundations as well as the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Dr. Sanchez-Reilly is the Associate Chief of Staff for Geriatrics and Extended Care at the South Texas Veterans Health Care System. She has successfully led and expanded programs for the homebound and frailest Veterans of the System. A nationally recognized leader, Dr. Sanchez-Reilly is a professor, and board certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, and Hospice/Palliative Medicine. Dr. Sanchez-Reilly is the Division Chief of Geriatrics, Gerontology, and Palliative Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Dr. Sanchez-Reilly was instrumental during the COVID-19 pandemic as a core leader for palliative care services, home COVID programs, and post-COVID initiatives.

Dr. Jane deLima Thomas is the Associate Chair for Professional Development in the Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She is an Assistant Professor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Thomas’s primary area of focus is teaching clinicians self-awareness in communicating with patients, families, other clinicians, and learners. She has taught widely about mindfulness of emotion in the clinical encounter, the role of hope in palliative care, and clinician self-care. Her second area of focus is promoting learning, professional development, and career advancement for medical professionals of all disciplines and at all levels of training and experience. To that end, she has taught about pedagogy and mentoring, created professional development seminars and courses about leadership, and received training in leadership and performance coaching.