Mentors

  • Mentorship, sponsorship, and coaching each fulfill distinct roles in supporting women’s advancement in orthopaedic surgery; combining them provids the greatest benefit across career stages.
  • Women in orthopaedics experience persistent systemic barriers—including inequitable access to mentorship, higher rates of mistreatment, and limited leadership opportunities—necessating structured, evidence-based interventions.
  • Multimodal mentorship models used in national programs demonstrate that structured and organic mentoring relationships can evolve into transformational, enduring professional support.
  • Sponsorship provides essential career-advancing opportunities, especially for women who may be less likely to be identified as proteges without intentional systems.
  • Coaching improves performance, leadership, self-awareness, and well-being, and is an evidence based tool to reduce burnout among women in surgical fields. 
  • The above conclusions are taken from:  Glavin RE, Caird, MS, Tileston K, McIntosh AL, Silver JK, Advancing Women in Orthopaedic Surgery:  New Insights and Strategies for Mentorship, Sponsorship, and Coaching.  Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jposna.2025.100316.

THIS PAGE IS DEDICATED TO THE COACHES, MENTORS, AND SPONSORS OF WOMEN IN ORTHOPAEDICS, PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE,

Ruth Jackson, MD with her mentor, Dr. Arthur Steindler of the University of Iowa.  Date unknown.

(Published with the permission of Joseph A. Buckwalter, MD and the University of Iowa.  Copyright protected.)

Ellen Raney, MD (left) with her mentor, Dr. Laura Tosi.  “Laura Tosi has been the epitome of a mentor, both giving me support and telling me what I should do differently.  The first time I met Laura, she reached out to me directly at a meeting to find out who I was and how she could help.  I have endeavored to emulate her proactive approach.”

Laura Tosi, MD (third from left) and her mentees:  Drs. Ellen Raney, Colleen Sabatini and Monica Payeres Lisano.

Dr. Bettina Gyr and her mentor, James Roach, MD.

Dr. Bettina Gyr and another mentor, Jacques D’Astous, MD.

Megan Lightning, MD (right) and her mentor, Dr. Lisa Cannada.

Ann Van Heest, MD and her mentor, James House, MD.  Circa 2020

Nancy Cummings, MD and her mentor, Greg Brick, MBCHB, 2011

Marlene DeMaio, MD with mentors Colonel Eugene Galvin, MD (left) and Gary Friedlaender, MD (right).

Debra Zillmer, MD with Mentor/Sponsor John P. Albright, MD.  “He taught his fellows the necessary skills to become outstanding team physicians.”  Top photo showing Dr. A. wearing the cheese, demonstrates that he was also a good sport, circa 1992.   Bottom photo, 2025.

Dr. Jo Hannafin with her mentor/sponsor Dr. Russell Warren  as they celebrate her appointment to the AOSSM Presidential Line

Colonel Kathleen McHale, MD and her mentee, Colonel Richard Schaefer, MD; both on duty.    Dr Schaefer says, “She encouraged and supported my interest in medical education which led to several gratifying teaching opportunities.”

Lori A. Karol, MD with her mentees:  Christine Ho, MD and Amy McIntosh, MD.  “Dr Karol taught us to lead with integrity, measure what matters, take care of the child and the family and when it is your turn to open a door, open it wide—and leave it open.”

Lisa Cannada, MD (right) with her mentor, Mary O’Connor, MD. “Mary O’Connor is not only an icon in orthopaedic surgery, but a mentor whose influence reaches far beyond the operating room.  Over more than the twenty years I have known her, she has exemplified what it means to lift others as you climb—entrusting me with the opportunity to produce the inaugural RJOS Guide for Women in Orthopaedic Surgery, championing my path to the Presidency of RJOS, and perhaps most meaningful of all, reaching out with kindness and steadiness during the moments in my career when I needed it most.  Her generosity of spirit, her belief in those she mentors, and her unwavering commitment to opening doors for women in our field have shaped not just my career, but the landscape of orthopaedic surgery itself.  I am profoundly grateful to call her my mentor, and even more so, my friend.”

Editor’s Note:  See earlier on the page above where Dr. Cannada is honored by one of her own mentees.  The invaluable cycle continues.

Erin Mariano, MD with her mentor, Raymond Bellamy, MD (left) over time.

Antonia Chen, MD, MBA, Professor and Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at University of Texas Southwestern, with Audrey Tsao, MD, who was the first Chair of the Women in Arthroplasty AAHKS Committee.  Dr .Chen says: “I am lucky to call Dr. Tsao a friend, mentor and sponsor.  She has played these roles for me and countless other women, especially in the field of Arthroplasty.  Throughout my career, she has been a huge supporter, has provided sage advice, and has always steered me in the right direction.”

Jo Hannafin, MD with her first orthopaedic mentor, I. Martin Levy, MD from the Montefiore/Einstein Orthopaedic Residency Program, 1980’s.

Dr. Judy Baumhauer and her mentor, Dr. Saul Trevino after returning from a humanitarian trip to Vietnam.  Her words of tribute:  “Saul, if I am lucky enough to menter and inspire even one medical student as much as you have inspired and sponsored me, my life will be fulfilled.”

 

Drs. Lori Karol  and Peter Newton, colleagues, friends, and mentors.

Amy McIntosh, MD (left) with her mentor, Lori A. Karol, MD. 

“What I’ll remember most about Dr. Karol is that she expanded what felt possible.  She held roles that were “firsts,” not for the sake of being first, but because she believed the table should be bigger—and then she pulled up chairs for others.”

Monica Payares-Linzaro, MD and her mentor, Neil Cobelli, MD