Meet the 2024 Board of Director Candidates!
A Candidate Forum will be held Monday, October 16, at 5:00 PM Central.
Register Now | Submit a Question
Polls will open November 1 and close December 15. Eligible ACOEM members will receive voting information via email.
The Vice President and Treasurer candidates are running unopposed. There are six Director candidates for three full terms (3 years), and one partial term (1 year).
Vice President Candidate (2024-2025)
Jill Rosenthal, MD, MPH, MA, FACOEM
We need to secure the future of ACOEM. Our journey requires sustainable, yet agile, solutions that demand a historical, institutional knowledge and an intimate understanding of our issues, both of which I have. We will need to be nimble while ensuring we are financially solvent. What we need to do to survive and prosper deserves a long term commitment that requires honest conversations about what the membership wants and what the College needs.
How we execute on our strategic plan and the opportunities it affords us is critical to the success of ACOEM. We need to fix foundational elements and optimize volunteer and staff resources. We need to evolve with an understanding of who we are, why we are where we are, who we want to be, where we want to go, how we will get there, the long term implications of change, our economic realities, and the potential unintended consequences of our decisions. In order to grow in a healthy manner, we need a consistent approach to identifying our priorities and how we execute on them.
As Vice President of ACOEM, I will approach this with a disciplined consideration of what is best for our membership and our college.
Respectfully submitted,
Jill Rosenthal, MD, MPH, MA, FACOEM
ACOEM member since 2001
Treasurer, BOD, 2022 - present
Director, BOD, 2016 - 2019
Treasurer Candidate (2024-2026)
Raul Mirza, DO, MPH, MS, CPS/A, FACOEM
I am a dedicated member of ACOEM, having served in various leadership roles within the organization, including the Committees on Public Affairs and Scientific Advisors, the Board, and the AOHC 2024 Conference Committee. My volunteer-leadership experiences extend to positions like former President of the Maryland ACOEM Component, Chair of the Council for Accreditation of Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC), and 2017 Conference Chair of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference in OEM. With a deep belief in the noble purpose of occupational and environmental medicine, I am running for ACOEM Treasurer to ensure its financial stability and responsible budget management.
I bring financial expertise from my background as a banker and experience overseeing CAOHC's operating budget. My commitment to integrity and responsibility will guide my handling of ACOEM's financial matters. I plan to support the organization by maintaining accurate records, preparing budgets, and overseeing financial transactions, all aimed at efficient fund management to achieve ACOEM's goals.
Furthermore, I will leverage my leadership philosophy to impact ACOEM's financial health positively, influencing budget decisions and contributing to crucial financial discussions. Ultimately, I aim to use my knowledge and experiences to benefit ACOEM, its specialty, and all its members, ensuring a stable and prosperous future for the organization.
Director Candidate (2024-2027)
Michael Berneking, MD, FACOEM, FAAFP, FAASM
I am excited to be a candidate for the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Board of Directors. I have been a member of ACOEM for nearly 20 years. I have served in both Section and Component leadership roles including President of the Michigan component. I am privileged to be approaching 20 years of service in uniform as an Army Flight Surgeon.
In keeping with ACOEM’s Strategic Plan, I am committed to fostering a more inclusive environment that welcomes all practitioners of Occupational Medicine (OM). A significant amount of OM is delivered by primary care and non-OM clinicians. By embracing these practitioners, I feel we can collectively improve the quality of OM, hopefully welcome many to our membership rolls, and with that, perhaps some fresh insights. I also recognize that technology and information management are another priority. As AI and other emerging/evolving platforms are deployed, we need to understand how these will impact our profession and ensure that we have a voice at making them work for us, not merely as passive recipients.
I am honored to have the opportunity to contribute to ACOEM's legacy of excellence, and I respectfully ask for your support in this endeavor.
Candidate Statement (Audio)
Director Candidate (2024-2027)
David Caretto, MD MPH, FACOEM
Dear ACOEM Members,
In my career, I have benefited from ACOEM’s fellowship and the expertise of its members. I seek to serve on the ACOEM Board of Directors to promote this talent throughout the house of medicine, to preserve the specialty of OEM, and to strengthen the pipeline for OEM’s future.
Several leadership opportunities have prepared me to serve in this capacity. Currently, I am a regional medical director for Employee Health Services at Sutter Health in Northern California. In ACOEM, I have served as Chair of the Finance and Practice Management Section, Chair of the Component Relations Committee, and on the Presidential Taskforce for OEM Clinic Certification. I currently serve as Chair for AOHC 2024 – Orlando. As a WOEMA member, I serve on the Board of Directors and previously served as Education Committee Chair and Chair of WOHC 2023 – Anaheim.
“Occ Docs” are a resourceful group. My varied leadership roles have provided insight into the passion of ACOEM members for their important contributions to the college. If elected to the Board of Directors, I will champion support for our talented members and their creativity for strengthening ACOEM and securing OEM’s future.
I ask for your vote,
David
Director Candidate (2024-2027)
Eddie Runde, MD, MPH, FACOEM
I have been a member of ACOEM since 1998 and a past president of GPCOEM. I am also a member of the Transportation, Health Informatics, and MRO sections. My solo practice joined the University of Missouri-Columbia two years ago to launch their new occupational medicine program. Since then, I have been serving as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine while growing the service line.
As a member of the ACOEM board, I would like to continue the work that is being done to promote ACOEM as the voice in workplace health and safety. Although I have not had leadership responsibilities at a national level, I have had a diverse exposure to peoples and work environments including MRO at a nuclear energy facility, medical director for a filtration manufacturer, and previous work as US Navy flight surgeon.
Director Candidate (2024-2027)
Sajjad Savul, MD, MS, FACOEM
Candidate statement coming soonI have been a dedicated member of ACOEM for twenty years and a fellow of the College since 2013. I have served in many leadership roles in POEMS (Pennsylvania Occupational & Environmental Medicine Society) until it merged with MARCOEM in 2021. In POEMS, I served as the Treasurer, House of Delegates member (6 years), Board of Directors (2015-2018) and President-elect (2019-2020). I am a current board member of MARCOEM serving as the Secretary. I have been an active member of several ACOEM sections and more recently serving in Council leadership.
I believe that by staying involved in ACOEM at different levels, we can really help advance the field of occupational and environmental medicine (OEM). Up to 90% of the world’s workforce has no access to basic occupational health and safety. Through its international outreach, we can make ACOEM the global leader in occupational health. Being residency-trained and board certified in OEM, and directing the largest civilian OEM residency in the US, I have closely seen the barriers to our specialty expansion. Working with ACOEM, we can broaden our specialty and the resources it can offer.
By running for the position ACOEM Board, I will be continuing my service to the organization. I thank you for your time and attention.
Director Candidate (2024-2027)
Melanie Swift, MD, MPH, FACOE
I entered occupational medicine “sideways.” An internist by training, I was practicing primary care when I was recruited as medical director of our hospital’s occupational health clinic. I really didn’t know what I was getting into, but in no time I was hooked. I never looked back. Since then, ACOEM has been my professional home. 20 years later, I completed an occupational medicine residency and became board certified in OEM. I would never have had the confidence to make that leap without the support of my ACOEM colleagues.
I’m running for the Board because I simply want to give back and represent you, my colleagues. ACOEM has many challenges to face. We must navigate these changes with wisdom, transparency, integrity, and vigilant attention to the needs of our members - including future members who haven’t discovered our specialty yet!
Dr. Swift is Associate Professor of Medicine and Vice Chair of the Division of Public Health, Infectious Diseases and Occupational Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. She has served as president of TCOEM and chair of the Medical Center Occupational Health Section. She has coauthored several ACOEM guidance documents and directs the ACOEM Medical Center Occupational Health course.
Director Candidate (2024-2027)
Richard Wagoner, MD, FACOEM
I am honored to run for the ACOEM Board of Directors. My career includes primary care internal medicine in underserved rural communities, clinical occupational medicine in a hospital-based program and in a free-standing clinic, and a 24-year career as a medical director with the US Postal Service, covering an employee population of up to 100,000.
I have served my component, the Northwest Association of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, as a board member, vice-president, president, and conference co-chair, and expect to begin a third term as president this fall. I was a component representative to the House of Delegates, where I was chair of the Components and Sections work group and was ultimately elected to the HOD officer succession. As a HOD officer, I served a three-year term on the ACOEM board, including a year on the executive committee. I also served on the Candidate Selection, House-Board Liaison, Bylaws, Policies, and Procedures, and Component Relations committees.
Through my recent experience on the board, I am aware of the challenges facing ACOEM and plans to address these challenges. If elected, I will strive to contribute to ACOEM’s success. Regardless of the election outcome, I look forward to continued service to ACOEM.