Chicago, IL, August 19, 2020 – The American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) announced today that it has elected one new member to its Board of Directors and appointed a new Chair of the ABPM’s Sub-Board of Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine. After considering a number of well-qualified candidates, the Board elected the following individuals.

Mr. George Roberts will become the ABPM’s first Public Member Director.  Mr. Roberts is the CEO of the Northeast Texas Public Health District and brings an extensive background in hospital and public health administration to his new position on the Board. Mr. Roberts received his Master of Health Administration from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri.

Mr. Roberts is looking forward to incorporating his years of experience in public health in his new role on the Board of Directors: “I recognize that physician specialty certification is a complex and important responsibility to ensure the safety and welfare of the public. …I’m also hopeful that my background and experience will lend itself to providing the ABPM with a unique and important perspective to physician certification and continuing certification for preventive medicine specialists.”

With the departure of Brett Hart, MD, as the ABPM’s Sub-board Chair for Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine, the Board elected Laurie Gesell, MD, FACEP, FUHM. Dr. Gesell is currently the System Director of Hyperbaric Medicine and Wound Care for Aurora Health Care Medical Group in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She received her medical degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and completed a residency in Emergency Medicine as well as a fellowship in Hyperbaric Medicine at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Dr. Gesell has been a member of the ABPM’s Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine exam subcommittee since 2016 and has served on the Board of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society since 2003.

Dr. Gesell is passionate about the subspecialty of Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine and looks forward to the opportunity to “guide the future success and advancement [of this subspecialty]” as the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Sub-Board Chair.

The terms for Mr. Roberts and Dr. Gesell began at the conclusion of the ABPM’s Interim Board Meeting in August 2020.

The Directors of the ABPM are pleased to announce the election of these new members and welcome them as they join in ABPM’s mission to promote the health and safety of the American people through high standards in certification and maintenance of certification in the profession of preventive medicine.

The ABPM is a Member Board of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Founded in 1948, ABPM works with the ABMS in the development of standards for the ongoing assessment and certification of over 12,000 physicians certified by the ABPM in the specialties of Aerospace Medicine, Occupational Medicine, and Public Health and General Preventive Medicine; and in the subspecialties of Addiction Medicine, Clinical Informatics, Medical Toxicology, and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine.