Chair
The American Board of Surgery (ABS), the national certifying body for general surgeons and related specialists, is pleased to welcome Dr. Rebecca M. Minter as chair for 2025-2026.
Nominated to the ABS by the American Surgical Association in 2018, Dr. Minter served on the previous ABS Board of Directors (now the ABS Council) until 2019 when she was elected to serve as a director on the new governing board of the ABS. She has also served as vice chair of the ABS Board of Directors and chair of the Audit Committee.
The A.R. Curreri Professor of Surgery and chair of the department of surgery at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, Wisc., Dr. Minter is recognized as a clinical leader in her field. Her research is focused on both the early detection of pancreatic cancer and the development of novel training paradigms for surgery, specifically, the development of training frameworks which explicitly define and support progressive entrustment and autonomy during surgical training.
“I am deeply honored by the opportunity to serve the American Board of Surgery, the profession of surgery at large, and our patients as chair of the ABS Board of Directors,” said Dr. Minter. “It is a true privilege to serve an organization that is so grounded in purpose and supported by such outstanding talent. I am very excited to be able to support the innovative and impactful work of the ABS.”
Dr. Minter received her undergraduate degree from the University of Denver, her medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, and completed her general surgery residency and a T32 fellowship in molecular biology at the University of Florida College of Medicine. Dr. Minter has also earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management.
Dr. Minter has held distinguished leadership roles at the University of Texas Southwestern and the University of Michigan, including chief of the hepatopancreatobiliary section/division at both institutions, associate chair of education at the University of Michigan, and vice chair of finance and clinical operations at UT Southwestern.
She has previously served as president of the Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association, the Fellowship Council, and the Society of University Surgeons (SUS). She currently serves on the International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association Executive Council and was heavily involved in the ABS Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA) Project, serving as a member of both the General Surgery EPA Advisory Council and Writing Group prior to the implementation of general surgery EPAs in 2023.
Vice Chair
Mark R. Chassin, M.D., F.A.C.P., M.P.P., M.P.H.
Dr. Mark R. Chassin has been elected to serve as vice chair of the ABS for the 2025-2026 term, succeeding Dr. Rebecca M. Minter. Dr. Chassin has served on the ABS Board of Directors for the last six years, having been elected to the new governing board of the ABS following the organization’s governance redesign in 2019.
Dr. Chassin is considered one of the world’s leading experts in healthcare quality, patient safety, and process improvement. Having served as the president and CEO of The Joint Commission for 14 years, he drove the organization to unprecedented growth worldwide through an increased number of accredited healthcare organizations, improved documentation of accreditation’s positive impacts on healthcare quality, and noteworthy financial performance. During his tenure, he introduced the concepts of high reliability and zero harm to the health care industry. He also directed the creation of programs that disseminated strategies, tools, and training programs for healthcare organizations to speed their progress toward high reliability. In 2022, he was recognized for his work with the John M. Eisenberg Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award.
“I am honored and delighted to serve the ABS as vice chair of the Board of Directors in the coming year,” said Dr. Chassin. “The ABS performs vital functions for the US healthcare system in driving excellence in the training of surgeons and assuring that surgeons in practice are committed to lifelong learning. I look forward to helping the organization continue its effective pursuit of this mission.”
Prior to his role at The Joint Commission, Dr. Chassin was the Edmond A. Guggenheim Professor of Health Policy and founding chairman of the Department of Health Policy at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Executive Vice President for Excellence in Patient Care at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. There, he established a nationally recognized quality improvement program at the medical center and an NIH-funded research center to study and ameliorate racial and ethnic healthcare disparities.
Dr. Chassin received his undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University and holds master’s degrees in public policy and public health from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and the University of California at Los Angeles, respectively. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and was selected in the first group of honorees as a lifetime member of the National Associates of the National Academies. He has authored or co-authored more than one hundred peer-reviewed publications and has been invited to speak to audiences around the world on various topics related to healthcare quality and patient safety. As a member of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, Dr. Chassin co-authored the landmark “To Err Is Human” report in 2000.
About the ABS
The American Board of Surgery is an independent, nonprofit organization founded in 1937 for the purpose of certifying individuals who have met a defined standard of education, training and knowledge in the field of surgery. Surgeons certified by the ABS have completed at least five years of surgical training following medical school and successfully completed a written and oral examination process administered by the ABS. They must then maintain their board certification through ongoing learning and practice improvement activities.
The ABS offers board certification in general surgery, vascular surgery, pediatric surgery, surgical critical care, and complex general surgical oncology. It is one of the 24 member boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties.
JUN. 27, 2025 |