2024 Above and Beyond Awards
Dr. Denneny recognizes extraordinary individual efforts that reach “above and beyond” the expected performance on critical needs of the specialty and organization.
(From left to right) Daniel C. Chelius, Jr., MD, R. Peter Manes, MD, Sonya Malekzadeh, MD, Jeffrey S. Weingarten, MD.
On occasion within this group of volunteers, extraordinary individual efforts reach a level “above and beyond” the expected performance on critical needs of the specialty and organization and result in seminal changes that benefit all involved for the foreseeable future. The contribution of last year’s awardees have already resulted in measurable value to our organization and specialty.
Eugene G. Brown III, MD, RPh, was a driving factor in the creation of the Private Practice Study Group (PPSG), which evolved into the Otolaryngology Private Practice Section (OPPS) that has reinvigorated private practitioners’ involvement in Academy activities. He also pioneered the model that was used to create our new OTO FORUM, which just had a successful debut in April. Marc G. Dubin, MD, provided exceptional leadership in taking the PPSG to section status last fall and was integral in facilitating the programming for the OTO FORUM this year. The Academy began a thorough, longitudinal process to look at the otolaryngology workforce under the leadership of Andrew J. Tompkins, MD, MBA, in 2022 and followed that up with another survey in 2023. The information received has already proven valuable in many situations and will only become more critical over time.
This year’s recipients have also gone “above and beyond” in championing critical services provided by our organization through hard work and innovative concepts. I will be presenting this year’s CEO Above and Beyond awards at this year’s Opening Ceremony of the AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting & OTO EXPOSM in Miami Beach, Florida.
2024 Above and Beyond Awardees
Daniel C. Chelius, Jr., MD
Daniel C. Chelius, Jr., MD, started his role as Coordinator-elect, Annual Meeting Program Committee (AMPC), fully expecting to plan an eagerly awaited, in-person Annual Meeting that would mark the 10th anniversary of the Women in Otolaryngology (WIO). Little did he, Coordinator Mark K. Wax, MD, or anyone else know when we left the 2019 meeting in New Orleans that the dark cloud of COVID-19 would rear its ugly head and force a sudden change from an in-person meeting to a virtual meeting over a several-month period. Drs. Wax and Chelius were able to work with the AMPC to maintain an exceptional program in a virtual venue we had never experienced while helping us select a platform to run the innovative meeting.
The following year, there were big plans for our 125th Anniversary Annual Meeting & OTO Experience in Los Angeles, California. At the time, it was unclear whether we were going to be able to hold an in-person meeting or if we would need to continue in a virtual mode. Dr. Chelius oversaw a memorable in-person meeting with a hybrid component, which turned out to be the first city-wide meeting in California, post-COVID, and one of only a handful held nationwide in 2021.
As we gradually returned to normalcy over the next three years, we witnessed a flurry of innovative programming put forward in Philadelphia (2022), Nashville (2023), and now Miami (2024) under the leadership of Dr. Chelius. These included additional content tracts, such as the CMEnthusiast, the Great Debates, Crucial Conversations, International Day, Coffee Talk with the OPPS, expanded Simulation Courses, and a record number of program submissions. Dr. Chelius has championed broad diversity in all aspects of the scientific program throughout his term as Coordinator. He has maintained an incredible collaborative spirit and work ethic that has advanced our meeting in every area under his watch in the face of challenges few would have believed.
R. Peter Manes, MD
Together, the combination of responsibilities that Dr. Manes has accepted has him overseeing all of our private payer and clinical regulatory activities, and his expertise is directly responsible for many successful interactions related to CMS and private payer payment issues. As you might imagine, the time commitment that Dr. Manes cheerfully donates is significant each month. His ability to work successfully with the subspecialty societies in otolaryngology and the understanding he has developed of the payment system has allowed him to be one of the most effective and respected coordinators that I have known.
Dr. Manes will be ending a seven-year term as the Coordinator for Advocacy. He agreed to add several years to his term during a critical period of heavy activity in these areas while the Academy was in the process of training potential successors. During his time as the Coordinator, his leadership has been responsible for many favorable payment policies for our members.
Sonya Malekzadeh, MD
Working as a leader of Otolaryngology Program Directors Organization (OPDO), she continued her efforts to fully to complete and operationalize the existing core curriculum outline and reach a consensus among her fellow residency program directors. These efforts led to an agreement between the academic community and the AAO-HNSF to work collaboratively to create the Otolaryngology Core Curriculum (OCC). She will act as the liaison between OPDO and the Foundation along with Jeffrey P. Simons, MD, MMM, Immediate Past Coordinator for Education. Our current Coordinator, Meredith Merz Lind, MD, will oversee the production of the 100 module, two-year cycle for the complete curriculum that will debut with the first 50 modules on July 1, 2024.
Dr. Malekzadeh was the first woman Coordinator for Education in the organization’s history, and she also has played a great role in the advancement of the COCLIA education program offered by the Foundation. I am convinced that without Dr. Malekzadeh’s tenacity and persistence we would not be producing this cutting-edge program today. I believe the legacy of her leadership and the OCC will be of value not just to residency training programs, but also to otolaryngology practices around the world.
Jeffrey S. Weingarten, MD
Dr. Weingarten was one of the original Course Directors of the AAO-HNSF Certificate Program for Otolaryngology Personnel (CPOP) in 2002 and has continued as the only Course Director for the program since 2006. This program initially was conceived through the Coalition for Hearing and Balance to teach basic audiology and vestibular principles, including testing, to office-based personnel sponsored by a member of the Academy. From 2002 to 2007, both the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and private payers reimbursed physician practices for testing done by CPOP graduates under supervision in an otolaryngologist’s office. That was rescinded by CMS in 2007. Dr. Weingarten has single-handedly kept the program alive for the past 17 years, giving two courses annually. The CPOP program has now become a key part of planning expanded access to hearing healthcare in collaboration with organizations by increasing the initial point-of-contact opportunities for patients in underserved areas.
Dr. Weingarten has also developed a highly effective model for dispensing hearing aids in his practice and lectures on this topic broadly both within otolaryngology and related fields. He has developed a network of contacts in the hearing aid industry that has helped benefit many otolaryngology practices that dispense hearing aids.