This award is named for Dr. Nora Burgess, former President of The Women in Thoracic Surgery.
Dr. Burgess attended The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and completed Cardiothoracic Surgical training at the Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York. She was the 31st female to certify with the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and was one of the founding members of the WTS. In addition to having a prolific and amazing clinical practice, Dr. Burgess served innumerable leadership positions locally and nationally. To name only a handful, Dr. Burgess was the Chief of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco, the Medical Chief Financial Officer and the Assistant Physician-in-Chief for the Permanente Medical Group in San Francisco, a Past President of the WTS, a Term Trustee of the Corporation of Brown University, and a member of the Board of Overseers for The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. With the establishment of this program, we are pleased to be able to recognize Dr. Burgess’ magnificent career in both clinical medicine and leadership.
We hope you will join us in donating to the WTS in support of the Nora Burgess Women in Leadership Scholarship. This scholarship will provide funding for a mid-career female Cardiothoracic surgeon to participate in further leadership training (e.g., American College of Surgeons From the Operating Room to Boardroom, American Association for Thoracic Surgery Leadership Academy, Brandeis Health Leadership Program, Society of Thoracic Surgeons Leadership Institute, etc). The overarching goal of the scholarship is to provide support and career development for women interested in leadership opportunities. It is our hope to propel more women into prominent local, regional, and national leadership positions.
We would be grateful for your support and hope all who have been impacted by Dr. Burgess will donate in her honor. This would be an exceptional way to recognize the legacy of this extraordinary surgeon, leader, and mentor. It is or goal to launch this program in the spring of 2025 with a minimum of $125K raised.