Chair
The American Board of Surgery (ABS), the national certifying body for general surgeons and related specialists, is pleased to welcome Dr. Mary T. Hawn as chair for 2022-2023.
Nominated to the ABS by the American Surgical Association (ASA) in 2015, Dr. Hawn 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.
“I am incredibly honored to serve the ABS in capacity as chair,” said Dr. Hawn of her new role with the ABS. “I am truly inspired by the collective wisdom, dedication and innovation of the directors, councilors, specialty boards and talented staff at the ABS.”
Dr. Hawn is the Emile Holman Professor of Surgery and chair of the Department of Surgery at Stanford University. Originally from Michigan, she completed undergraduate, medical school and general surgery residency training at the University of Michigan, followed by a fellowship in minimally invasive surgery at Oregon Health and Sciences University. She later earned a Masters in Public Health from the University of Michigan and a Certificate in Healthcare Quality and Safety from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Hawn’s current practice focuses on minimally invasive foregut surgery, with research and clinical interests in health policy and surgical quality.
“We are changing the future of surgical training and assessment in ways that will improve surgical training, diplomate lifelong learning and ultimately ensure the public that ABS certification represents a highly qualified and professional surgeon,” she added. “It is one of the highest honors of my career and I am proud to be a part of this talented and committed group of professionals.”
In addition to her role as chair of the ABS, Dr. Hawn is president of the Halsted Society, secretary of the ASA, president-elect of the Association of VA Surgeons, treasurer of the James IV Association of Surgeons, trustee for the Surgical Society of the Alimentary Tract (SSAT) Foundation, and a member of the National Academy of Medicine. She is on the editorial board of the Annals of Surgery, an associate editor of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, and is co-editor of the surgical textbook Operative Techniques in Surgery. In her free time, Dr. Hawn enjoys sailing, skiing, and cycling.
Vice Chair
M. Ashraf Mansour, M.B.B.S.
Dr. M. Ashraf Mansour has been elected to serve as vice chair of the ABS for the 2022-2023 term and will succeed Dr. Mary T. Hawn as chair of the ABS for the 2023-2024 term. Nominated to the ABS by the American Association of Program Directors in Vascular Surgery in 2016, Dr. Mansour served on the previous ABS Board of Directors (now the ABS Council) until 2019 when he was elected to serve as a director on the new governing board of the ABS.
Dr. Mansour is the chief of vascular surgery at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, MI, and professor of surgery at Michigan State University. Born in Cairo, Egypt, he attended medical school at the Cairo University School of Medicine. After completing a general surgery residency at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, Dr. Mansour served in the United States Army Medical Corps. He then completed a vascular surgery fellowship at Southern Illinois University in Springfield. His current practice focuses on vascular and endovascular surgery, in addition to surgical critical care.
Dr. Mansour previously served as vice chair of the Vascular Surgery Board of the ABS (VSB-ABS) from 2018-2019. He has held leadership positions in many surgical organizations, and is a past president of both the Midwestern Vascular Surgical Society and the Western Surgical Association. He is currently the president-elect for both the Midwest Surgical Association and the Society for Clinical Vascular Surgery. Dr Mansour has been an author and co-author of many publications and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Vascular Surgery..
New Director
Marjorie J. Arca, M.D.
Dr. Marjorie J. Arca has been elected to the ABS Board of Directors to fill the seat vacated by former chair Dr. O. Joe Hines.
Elected to the former ABS Board of Directors (now the ABS Council) in 2015 after being nominated by the American Pediatric Surgical Association, Dr. Arca served on the Pediatric Surgery Board (PSB-ABS) and on the Education and Training Committee of the ABS Council, in addition to serving as the inaugural ABS Council Recorder from 2020-2021.
She joins the other 12 members of the Board of Directors in serving a six-year term.
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, complex general surgical oncology, and surgery of the hand. It is one of the 24 member boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties.
Jul. 01, 2022