BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Jenni Buckley, PhD

CO-FOUNDER

Dr. Buckley is an Associate of Mechanical Engineering at University of Delaware. She received her Bachelor’s of Engineering (2001) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Delaware, and her MS (2004) and PhD (2006) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. She has over 10 years of engineering experience in medical device design and biomechanical evaluation and has research interests in human factors design, medical device development, and equity and inclusion issues in engineering education. She teaches a range of courses across the mechanical engineering curriculum, including CAD, mechanics, and capstone design; and she is the Co-Director of the UD Mechanical Engineering MakerSpace, The Design Studio. Dr. Buckley has received numerous awards for her teaching and service, including the 2016 University Excellence in Teaching Award, the 2016 Arthur A. Trabant Award for Women’s Equity, and the 2018 American Society for Engineering Education “20 under 40” Engineering Educator Award.

Lisa Lattanza, MD

CO-FOUNDER

Dr. Lisa Lattanza is Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation at Yale School of Medicine. She is Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery at Yale New Haven Hospital. Dr. Lattanza is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon. She has a certificate of added qualification and subspecialty training in Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery. Prior to working at Yale she spent 20 years at the University of California San Francisco where she was Chief of Hand, Elbow and Upper Extremity Surgery, Fellowship Director and Vice Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. She received her medical degree from the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo, and she continued her medical training with a residency in orthopedic surgery at University of Missouri, Kansas City followed by a Fellowship in Hand and Upper Extremity Surgery at Roosevelt Hospital/Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. She completed additional fellowship training in pediatric and congenital hand problems at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas. In her clinical practice, Dr. Lattanza focuses on care of the entire upper extremity in both adults and pediatric patients. She also has a special interest and expertise in hand and elbow birth defects in children as well as elbow and forearm reconstruction in adults. Her clinical and research focus are in 3-dimensional patient specific surgical correction of deformity and surgical innovation. She lectures nationally and internationally on these topics as well as adult and pediatric elbow conditions and diversity in healthcare.

Kathy Coyner, MD

TREASURER

Katherine Coyner, MD is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at UConn Health. She holds a subspecialty certification in orthopedic sports medicine. She graduated from University of Massachusetts in 2001 with a bachelor of science.  She was a two-time team captain of the women’s basketball team, and was only the second player in UMass history to have 1000 points and 500 assists in a career.  She was named to the Atlantic-10 Legends class of 2017.  Dr. Coyner earned her MD from Northeastern Ohio University College of Medicine. She completed her residency in orthopedic surgery at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan and performed a fellowship in sports medicine at Duke University Medical Center. As part of the UConn Musculoskeletal Institute and Sports Medicine Program, Dr. Coyner provides advanced treatment and surgical options for patients with a wide range of sports-related injuries and conditions of the shoulder, hip, and knee. She proudly serves as a team physician for the UConn Huskies and as head team doctor for the WNBA Connecticut Sun.

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Haydée C. Brown, MD

LIASION FROM BLACK WOMEN ORTHOPAEDIC SURGEONS

Haydée C. Brown, MD is a nationally recognized orthopaedic surgeon and social justice advocate delivering world-class musculoskeletal care to the greater New York Metropolitan Area.  In the summer of 2021, Dr. Brown was appointed the Chief of the Orthopaedic Surgery Service at NYC H+H Harlem Hospital.

Dr. Brown’s approach places strong emphasis on minimally invasive treatments that help patients quickly get back to doing what they love. Fluent in Spanish and English, Dr. Brown has cared for members of the NY Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, NY Giants, American Ballet Theater (ABT), New York City Ballet (NYCB) and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT), among many others from all walks of life and professions.

One of few Afro-Latina professionals in her field, Dr. Brown lives by the motto: Live.  Love. Serve. Through her work, volunteerism, speaking engagements, collaborations, and mentoring, she promotes equality, diversity, education and inclusion in healthcare. In 2020, Dr. Brown served as a New York Medical Reserve Corps volunteer in a South Bronx Emergency Room, assisting with Covid-19 patients. That same year, Dr. Brown founded Black Women Orthopaedic Surgeons to help address glaring healthcare inequities within underserved communities. Today, the organization empowers Black women in the field through networking mentoring, activism and education.

Judith D’Amico, MA

MEMBER AT LARGE

Judith D’Amico, retired as Vice President of Partnerships, developed multi-faceted partnerships with business and industry for Project Lead The Way. She began her career as a High School teacher in St. Louis, and as a result, was inspired to build a problem-based learning program for graduating seniors in partnership with the St. Louis corporate community. After relocating to Northern California, she began a career in the private sector, and in her capacity as a Public Relations executive, she served on multiple boards and commissions in the Greater Sacramento region as well as Statewide. Judith is now focused on advocating for equity, inclusion, and diversity, and on contributing to workforce development and education policy issues to serve the national, state and regional business and education community. Judith is Board President for the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity, and also serves on the Cal Poly Women in Engineering Advisory Board. Judith holds a B.S Degree in Education/English from the University of Missouri, and an M.A. Degree in Communications from Webster University.

Sommer Hammoud, MD

MEMBER AT LARGE

Dr. Sommer Hammoud is an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.  She is a sports medicine surgeon who has expertise in the treatment of complex injuries of the knee, shoulder and elbow.  Dr. Hammoud completed her residency at the Hospital for Special Surgery and sports medicine and shoulder fellowship in the Harvard program at Massachusetts General Hospital.  She currently serves as the Associate Residency Director and is also on the board of directors for the Orthopaedic Learning Center.  She is the head team physician for Division I Saint Joseph's University Athletics as well as the professional Ultimate team, the Philadelphia Phoenix.

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Amy Ladd, MD

MEMBER AT LARGE

Dr. Ladd is a Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Plastic Surgery at Stanford University and has a clinical practice that includes surgery of the hand and upper limb, with an emphasis in reconstructive surgery, pediatric surgery, and wrist fractures. Her current research focuses on novel imaging techniques to investigate and treat the very common arthritis of the base of the thumb. Dr. Ladd serves as Chief of the Robert A. Chase Hand & Upper Limb Center; Hand Clinic Chief, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford; Fellowship Director, Stanford Hand & Upper Extremity Fellowship; and as Consultant to the Rheumatology Clinic, Stanford University Medical Center.

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Dawn LaPorte, MD

LIASION FROM RUTH JACKSON ORTHOPAEDIC SOCIETY

Dr. Dawn LaPorte is a Professor and Vice Chair for Education in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her clinical interests are surgery of the hand and wrist.  She has served as orthopaedic Residency Program Director at Johns Hopkins for over 10 years and has served on the governing committee of the Council of Orthopedic Residency Directors (CORD) and as Vice Chair for the ACGME Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Review Committee. She is a member of the American Society of Surgery for the Hand (ASSH) Council and has also served as co-chair of the Resident Educator Workshop at the ASSH Annual Meeting since 2007 and as chair of the ASSH Resident Education Committee and the ASSH Resident Review Course.  She is the Review Section editor for the Journal of Hand Surgery American.  She is also the Immediate Past President of the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society and is a founder of Women in Orthopaedics Worldwide (WOW).

Ann Van Heest, MD

MEMBER AT LARGE

Dr. VanHeest, Professor and Vice Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery Education, University of Minnesota, Department of  Orthopaedic Surgery, specializes in hand and upper extremity surgery.  Her academic interests include neuromuscular disorders – arthrogryposis, cerebral palsy, and spinal cord injury – congenital and pediatric upper extremity and hand disorders.  She has been treating upper extremity involvement in children with mucopolysaccharide disorders since 1993 through the UMN. She is also affiliated with the Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare and Shriners Hospital for Children.

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Kristy Weber, MD

MEMBER AT LARGE

Kristy Weber, MD is the Abramson Family Professor in Sarcoma Care Excellence in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. She is from St. Louis, Missouri and attended medical school at Johns Hopkins. Kristy completed her orthopaedic residency training at the University of Iowa and completed a 2-year research/clinical fellowship in orthopaedic oncology at the Mayo Clinic. She joined the faculty at University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in 1998 and was later recruited to Johns Hopkins in 2003 as chief of the Division of Orthopaedic Oncology and Director of the Sarcoma Program. She received the Kappa Delta national orthopaedic research award in 2006 and was promoted to Professor in 2009.  Kristy has served on the Boards of Directors of many national orthopaedic and cancer organizations including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), American Orthopaedic Association (AOA), Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS), and the Connective Tissue Oncology Society. As Chair of the AAOS Council on Research and Quality, she oversaw initiatives related to clinical practice guidelines, evidence-based medicine, appropriate use criteria, patient safety, biomedical engineering, biological implants and the development of orthopaedic clinician-scientists. She has been President of the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society and the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society (RJOS), Secretary of the Orthopaedic Research Society and Critical Issues Chair on the AOA Executive Committee. Kristy recently served as the first woman president of the AAOS (2019) and currently serves as President of the International Orthopaedic Diversity Alliance (IODA).

Emeritus Members

Thomas Buchanan, PhD
A. Sue Carlisle, MD, PhD
Dawn Elliot, PhD
Michelle James, MD
Anette Karlsson, PhD
Virginia Klausmeier, MS
Meredith May, MS RAC
Mary O'Connor, MD
Aenor Sawyer, MD