Become a member and receive career-enhancing benefits
Our top priority is providing value to members. Your Member Services team is here to ensure you maximize your ACS member benefits, participate in College activities, and engage with your ACS colleagues. It's all here.
Become a member and receive career-enhancing benefits
Our top priority is providing value to members. Your Member Services team is here to ensure you maximize your ACS member benefits, participate in College activities, and engage with your ACS colleagues. It's all here.
The following surgeons are the elected officers of the new Excelsior Surgical Society:
President
Matthew J. (Matt) Bradley, MD, FACS
CAPT Bradley received his undergraduate degree from the Pennsylvania State University, his Master's in Physiology and Doctor of Medicine from the Temple University School of Medicine, and completed his general surgery residency at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC). Following residency, he was assigned as the ship’s surgeon on board the George HW Bush, CVN 77 during its maiden deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He completed trauma and surgical critical care fellowship training at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, MD. He was then transferred to the Naval Medical Research Center in Silver Spring, MD serving as the department head for the regenerative medicine department focusing on the systemic inflammatory response following traumatic injury. During this tour he was selected as associate program director for the Walter Reed general surgery residency, and completed a deployment as chief of trauma at the NATO Role III Multinational Medical Unit in Kandahar, Afghanistan and multiple missions aboard USNS Comfort. Dr. Bradley served as the program director of the general surgery residency at WRNMMC for four years and he holds the academic rank of professor in the department of surgery at the Uniformed Services University (USU). He is currently the Norman M. Rich Professor and Chair of Surgery at USU/WRNMMC.
CAPT Bradley is dual board-certified in general surgery and surgical critical care. He is the principal or associate investigator on several grants with multimillion-dollar annual budgets, and published over 110 peer-reviewed manuscripts, invited articles, and book chapters. He is a reviewer for several prominent journals and sits on the editorial board for the Journal of Surgical Research and Current Trauma Reports. Bradley is an instructor for Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), Fundamentals of Critical Care Support (FCCS), Advanced Trauma Operative Management (ATOM), and Advanced Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma (ASSET) and ASSET+ courses. In addition to his numerous academic awards, CAPT Bradley’s military awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal (three awards), Joint Service Achievement Medal (two awards), Navy Achievement Medal, and the NATO Meritorious Service Medal. He is also a qualified surface warfare medical department officer.
Vice President (President Elect)
LTC Brian Gamble, MD, FACS, USA
LTC Gamble completed his undergraduate degree at the Pennsylvania State University. He received his medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. He then completed his general surgery residency at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD, which included a research fellowship at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. After residency, Dr. Gamble completed a trauma and surgical critical care fellowship at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, TX. He is currently stationed at BAMC, where he also serves as trauma medical director for the US Northern Command combatant command trauma system. He has deployed to Somalia and Syria. Dr. Gamble additionally chairs the ACS Army Committee on Trauma. He served as the Army councilperson at large on the ESS Executive Council from 2023-2025. He is an instructor for Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS), Advanced Surgical Skills for Exposure in Trauma (ASSET), and ASSET+. His military awards include the Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal (two awards), Joint Service Achievement Medal, and Army Achievement Medal.
Past-President
Captain Matthew Tadlock, MD, FACS, USN
Captain Tadlock is a Trauma/Critical Care Surgeon currently assigned to 1st Medical Battalion-Detachment San Diego,1st Marine Logistics Group, where he is an attending surgeon at NMRTC-San Diego. He is an associate professor of surgery through the Uniformed Services University and associate clinical professor of surgery (non-salaried) at University of California San Diego. He has 5 deployments providing Health Service Support to USN, USMC, and NATO units in the Indo-Pacific, Central and Western Asia, on both land and sea; including two CVN's, one DDG, and as the Chief of Trauma at the Kandahar NATO Role 3. He has also deployed in support of military Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief missions. He has held numerous leadership roles, most recently as the Navy Trauma Specialty Leader. He currently serves as the chair of the BUMED Trauma Advisory Board. Captain Tadlock has been a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons since 2015 and a member of the Excelsior Society since 2016.
Board of Governors Representative
Colonel Jennifer Gurney, MD, FACS, MC, USA
Colonel Jennifer Gurney is the Chief of the Joint Trauma System and has worked with JTS since 2012. Since joining active-duty Army, COL Gurney has served at William Beaumont Army Medical Center, as the Chief of General Surgery at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, and has deployed seven times, serving as the Theater Trauma Director in her last deployment to Iraq. Gurney has led efforts to better surgical practices and procedures across the globe and has supported a number of projects such as the development of a military-civilian partnership guide, Combat Readiness metrics for deploying surgeons, and detailed expectations for expeditionary surgery.
Secretary
Major James Wiseman, MD, MBA, FACS, USAF
Major James Wiseman is a Critical Care Air Transport (CCAT) Physician and CCAT Director with the 459 Aeromedical Staging Squadron at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, where he has served since 2021. He originally joined the Air Force reserves as a general surgeon in 2016, and now holds three billets: general surgeon, flight surgeon, and CCAT Physician. In his civilian life, he is a faculty member in the department of surgery at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, division of Trauma, Acute Care Surgery, and Surgical Critical Care, as well as an assistant professor of surgery at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland. He received his undergraduate degree in theology from Azusa Pacific University in Southern California, subsequently attending medical school at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. He completed general surgery residency at Houston Methodist Hospital in 2013, and a surgical critical care fellowship at The R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore in 2023. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona.
Treasurer
Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer Sabino, MD, FACS
LTC Sabino is a plastic surgeon and surgical services lead for the National Capital Region. She is also the Deputy Consultant for Plastic Surgery to the Surgeon General of the Army. LTC Sabino graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics. She attended medical school at Yale School of Medicine. She went on to complete general surgery training at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center followed by plastic surgery training at Johns Hopkins. LTC Sabino practices general plastic surgery at WRNNMC with a focus on breast reconstruction.
Councilperson at Large - Army
Major Kayleigh Herrick-Reynolds, MD, DABS
Dr. Herrick-Reynolds is a surgical oncology fellow at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and an assistant professor of surgery at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. She completed her general surgery training at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and earned her medical degree from the Yale University School of Medicine.
She holds a commitment to leadership in military surgery, with a focus on surgical education, mentorship, and the development of high-performing, mission-ready surgical teams. Her academic interests include robotic hepatobiliary surgery and the strategic centralization of complex surgical care across the Military Health System. Major Herrick-Reynolds is dedicated to strengthening the future of military surgery through innovation in education, system-level improvement, and the cultivation of surgical excellence across the force.
Councilperson at Large, US Navy
Jay A. Yelon, DO, FACS, FCCM, Commander, Medical Corps, US Navy
CDR Yelon grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and attended the New York Institute of Technology in a combined BS/DO program with the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine (BS, 1986; DO, 1990). He completed a rotating internship at Coney Island Hospital, followed by a surgical residency at Nassau County Medical Center, a burn surgery fellowship at Nassau County Medical Center, and a surgical critical care fellowship at the University of Rochester Medical Center. As an academic surgeon, he has devoted his career to managing critically ill and injured patients. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant Commander in the Naval Reserves in 2016.
After a brief assignment with the Operational Health Support Unit Portsmouth, CDR Yelon was assigned to the 4th Marine Division. He initially served as the Assistant Battalion Surgeon for the 2nd Battalion, 25th Marines, and then as the Battalion Surgeon for the 1st Battalion, 24th Marines. While with 1/24, he continued to provide medical oversight for 2/25.
In 2018, CDR Yelon was entrusted with a significant responsibility as the Officer-in-Charge of the Unit Deployment Program 19.1 medical processing. This complex task required the coordination of ten medical officers and supporting enlisted personnel to mobilize an entire Marine Corps Battalion to the INDOPACOM Area of Operation from Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms. His leadership and organizational skills were instrumental in successfully executing this mission.
In 2019, CDR Yelon was deployed as the officer-in-charge of the Expeditionary Resuscitative Surgical System, team 22. The team was part of a Joint Task Force in the Central Command Area of Operation. The team conducted operations in six different countries and on two afloat platforms. Missions included joint forces operations with the Navy, Marine Corps, and Special Operations, including a mission supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.
CDR Yelon transitioned from the Reserve Component to Active Duty in 2021 and was assigned as the Trauma Surgeon at the Navy Trauma Training Center at the University of Pennsylvania. He is co-chair of the Navy’s trauma advisory board, a Committee on Surgical Combat Casualty Care voting member, ASSET+/EWSC national faculty, the Navy State Chair for the ACS COT, and a General/Trauma surgeon for the DoD Advisor Phone. He serves as the Navy’s SME on the Advance Medical Monitoring IPT.
Since completing his post-graduate training, CDR Yelon has demonstrated his intellectual prowess and commitment to academic excellence. His career is notable for significant achievements in clinical care, medical student and resident education, research, and administrative positions. Notably, he served as the chair of surgery at a large academic, municipal hospital for four years. His appointment has recognized his contributions to the field as a site surveyor for the American College of Surgeons Verification Review Committee and his previous service on the National Committee on Trauma.
CDR Yelon is board-certified in surgery and is certified with added qualifications in surgical critical care. He has edited two surgical textbooks and has over 50 peer-reviewed publications, among other scholarly contributions. He has and currently holds positions in numerous national and regional professional organizations. He maintains an academic appointment as a professor of surgery at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and an adjunct professor of surgery at the University of Pennsylvania. His military decorations include two Meritorious Service Medal, two Navy Marine Corps Commendation Medals, the Inherent Resolve Campaign Medal, and he is a Qualified Fleet Marine Force Warfare Officer.
Councilperson at Large, US Air Force
Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Mary Stuever, DO, FACS
Councilperson at Large Air Force Lt Col Mary Stuever is a 2010 graduate of the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. She completed a mil-civ general surgery residency at Wright State University Wright Patterson Air Force Base in 2016, and a surgical critical care fellowship at the Ohio State University in 2018.
As an active-duty Air Force surgeon, she brings a diverse range of experiences to represent the Air Force community and to advocate for Air Force surgeons at various stages of their careers and across different practice environments, particularly in leadership and operational development. She is committed to addressing the critical issues of retention and recruitment of surgeons within the Air Force, as well as the greater DoD.
Councilperson at Large, Reserve/National Guard
Omar Rokayak, DO, FACS, USAFR, MC
Dr. Rokayak received his DO degree from VCOM-Virginia and completed general surgery residency at Stony Brook-Southampton Hospital in New York. As the first civilian to complete the Air Force Special Operations Command’s (AFSOC) Assessment and Selection, he matriculated directly into AFSOC’s Special Operations Surgical Teams (SOST). He graduated Officer Training School in 2018 and joined the division of trauma and acute care surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) as a clinical assistant professor where he served for five years completing his surgical critical care fellowship at UAB before joining Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) as an assistant professor in 2023. Dr. Rokayak is board certified in general surgery and surgical critical care and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Previously, he served as Co-Chair then Chair of the Excelsior Surgical Society’s Membership Committee.
With a focus on improving trauma care delivery, disaster management, and emergency preparedness in both civilian and military environments, Dr. Rokayak has been Co-Investigator on seven major grant-funded projects and currently is the principal investigator for VCU’s Military-Civilian Partnership’s (MCP) MISSION ZERO Grant. His published research includes works covering first responder training models, whole blood resuscitation strategies, hemorrhage control and management of shock, UAV delivery of blood products to remote areas, mass casualty management, ECMO use in trauma patients, outcomes of emergency trauma laparotomies, techniques for management of the open abdomen, modern management of combat trauma, MCP development and sustainment, and the use of telemedicine in trauma.
As the medical director of MCPs at VCU Health, Dr. Rokayak leads various efforts geared towards the goal of achieving zero preventable deaths both stateside and on the battlefield. Since 2018, he has aided with the enhancement of numerous techniques, tactics, and procedures geared towards trauma readiness for differing military units and providers. He received AFSOC’s 720th Special Tactics Group Physician of the Year Award in 2020 and was appointed chief medical officer of AFSOC’s SOST enterprise later that year. Since 2023, Rokayak has developed, instructed, and directed multiple new courses and curricula including VCU’s Fundamentals of Assessment and Management of Military Trauma (FAM2T), Trauma and Austere Surgical Skills Sustainment Training (TAS3T), Military Trauma Readiness and Currency (MTRC), and Advanced Tactical Paramedic Training (ATPT) programs.
On several combat deployments, including the Afghanistan withdrawal of 2021, he led three separate tactically trained teams responsible for highly mobile austere trauma surgery, critical care evacuation, and coverage of remote military installations in support of US Special Operations Forces (SOF), NATO SOF, and partner forces. Recognizing the unique privilege to have served with and learned from many invaluable colleagues and mentors throughout his time on Active-Duty as the greatest honor of his life, Rokayak is proud to remain active as a Reservist SOST surgeon and the Excelsior Surgical Society’s Executive Councilmember at Large for Reserves and National Guard.
Councilperson at Large, Civilian
Jeffrey A. Bailey, MD, FACS
Jeffrey Allen Bailey is a professor in the section of acute and critical care surgery at Washington University in St. Louis and an attending surgeon at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He is board-certified in general surgery with additional certification in surgical critical are. He joined Washington University in September 2019 after retiring from the United States Air Force as a Colonel with over 43 years of service.
Bailey is also a professor in the department of surgery at Uniformed Services University. He serves on the Central Committee of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Committee on Trauma and the Executive Council of the Excelsior Surgical Society as the Civilian Councilperson at Large. He is the organizer of JABKAD VENTURES, LLC, and a consultant for military and civilian trauma care and trauma systems.
His military roles included Chief of the Defense Health Agency (DHA) Joint Trauma System (JTS) and Special Assistant to the Assistant Director of DHA for Combat Support. He led the organizational assessment of the DoD trauma system, which was published in 2018, providing a blueprint for the operationalization of all elements of the JTS and Joint Trauma Education and Training Directorate in accordance with Public Law 114-328, Sections 707 and 708.
Bailey previously served as director for surgery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD, director of the Joint Trauma System Defense Center of Excellence at Fort Sam Houston, TX, and director of the USAF Center for Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills in St. Louis, MO. He has served as Chief of the Military Region of the ACS Regional Committees on Trauma and was a Specialty Governor of the ACS and president of the St. Louis Surgical Society.
His deployments included serving twice as Chief of Trauma at the central casualty receiving facility and air hub for OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM at Balad Air Base, Iraq. He also served twice as Joint Theater Trauma System Director for the US Central Command, covering operational theaters in Iraq and Afghanistan. His decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal (with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster), Air Force Achievement Medal, Good Conduct Medal (with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster), National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Air Force Expeditionary Service Ribbon with Gold Border, and NATO Medal. He was named the 2016 Hero of Military Medicine Honoree for the USAF.
Bailey earned his Bachelor of Science from the University of Oklahoma, his Master’s in Public Administration from Golden Gate University, and his Medical Degree from Saint Louis University. He is a graduate of the USAF Air War College (DLC) and Aerospace Medicine Primary Course.
He is the bereaved husband of Kimberly Anne Doran of Hillsborough, CA, father of their daughters Jennifer and Shannon, and grandfather of their seven grandchildren.
Councilperson at Large, Resident/Fellow
Captain Emily Baird, MD, MA, USA
CPT Baird is a general surgery resident at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she is part of their military-civilian partnership. CPT Baird graduated from Bowdoin College and earned a master’s degree from John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies before serving as a counter-terrorism analyst for the Department of Defense. While deployed overseas as a civilian with the DoD, she experienced military medicine and combat casualty care firsthand, which inspired her to attend the Uniformed Services University and pursue a career as a military trauma surgeon.
