Member Awards

Recognizing Leadership Through Service: The Best of the Best

The SDPA Annual Awards Program honors members who exemplify leadership through service, whether in clinical excellence, patient care, volunteerism, education, or advocacy. These individuals represent the very best of what it means to be a DermPA™.

Nominations are open to all SDPA members, and recipients are selected by the SDPA Membership Committee. Winners are proudly recognized each year at the SDPA Fall Dermatology Conference.

Celebrate those who lead with purpose, serve with heart, and strengthen our profession.

Congratulations to the 2024 SDPA Award Winners

DermPA™ of the Year: Hannah Rodriguez, MPAS, PA-C

Hannah has demonstrated outstanding leadership and dedication to the advancement of DermPAs™ in Pennsylvania through her role as the President of the Pennsylvania Dermatology Physician Assistants (PDPA). Hannah's leadership in Pennsylvania has fostered a sense of community and support among DermPAs™ in the state during her tenure.

New DermPA™ of the Year: Zachary DelConte, MSPAS, PA-C

Since graduating from the Medical University of South Carolina PA program in August 2021, Zachary’s journey as a DermPA™ has been marked by transformative contributions that elevated patient care and expanded access to dermatologic services. This past year alone, he has dedicated countless hours to refining the precision and impact of cosmetic injectables and expanded his surgical repertoire to include deroofings and advanced nail procedures, solidifying his practice role as a versatile DermPA™.

Service Award: Maj. Erin Ranaweera, PA-C

As a DermPA™ and Active Duty Commander of the Air Force’s largest outpatient care clinic, Erin has had the rare opportunity to serve her patients and colleagues while also pursing her passion for service to this country. As the Primary Dermatology Consultant, she leads a diverse team at a clinic that sees over 1,300 patients weekly.

Educator of the Year: Bethany Grubb, PhD, MPH, PA-C

Bethany Grubb exemplifies the qualities of an outstanding PA educator through her unwavering dedication and extensive contributions to the field. As the assistant program director at UT Southwestern PA school and a recent PhD graduate in Global Leadership and Change from Pepperdine University, Bethany is at the forefront of educational innovation and global health.

Joe Monroe Lifetime Achievement Award: Jane Mast, PA-C, MPAS, DMSc, PhD

Jane Mast has enjoyed a remarkable career marked by her dedication to the DermPA™ profession and the communities she has served, demonstrating her commitment to expanding healthcare access, improving patient outcomes, and advancing the role of PAs in the medical field. She has served patients as a DermPA™ for almost 20 years and has been a trailblazer for the many PAs who have followed her.

Congratulations to the 2023 SDPA Award Winners

SDPA Board President Laura Bush, DMSc, PA-C, DFAAPA, enthusiastically recognized SDPA's annual award winners during the SDPA 21st Annual Fall Dermatology Conference in Nashville Saturday, Oct. 28. A round of applause filled the venue as each honoree graced the stage to receive a plaque, honoring their exceptional accomplishments in clinical practice, contributions to patient outcomes, volunteer efforts, educational contributions, and more. These notable individuals were nominated by SDPA members, with the final selections thoughtfully deliberated upon by the SDPA Membership Committee. The 2023 winners are:

DermPA™ of the Year: Kim Sanders, MPAS, PA-C

Kim serves as a dermatology PA and a PA educator at the Oregon Health & Science University, where she has forged new paths and broken-down barriers for PAs. After advocating successfully for the inclusion of PAs in the university's dermatology program, she achieved the prestigious role of Medical Director for the Department of Dermatology and is now in her second year.

New DermPA™ of the Year: Giavanna DiLoreto, MPAS, PA-C

Since joining Apex Dermatology and Skin Center in Cleveland, Ohio, DiLoreto has already made a huge impact on her practice and her patients through her efforts to expand access to care in the area. She has been invited to speak about the importance of wellness on iHeartRadio, Audacy radio, Live Cleveland, and at a local Women in Business Summit.

Service Award: to Pamela Korzeniowski, DMSc, PA-C

Pamela has been a practicing PA for 20 years, including 10 years with the Veterans Affairs of North Texas, where she has specialized in dermatology since 2015. At the VA's Dallas community living center, she went above and beyond by proposing and executing a women's health grant project to honor women veterans.

Educator of the Year: Danielle Johnston, MPAS, PA-C

Danielle has served as a DermPA™ for nearly 10 years, including serving as a preceptor for multiple dermatology clerkships before formally entering PA education. She has been a PA educator for six years at Daemen University as a Clinical Education Specialist and Assistant Professor. She is a highly respected educator, impacting hundreds of graduates.

Joe Monroe Lifetime Achievement Award: Travis Hayden, MPAS, PA-C

Travis Hayden completed his undergraduate studies in 1996 at LeMoyne College in Syracuse, New York, where today he serves as a PA educator. After receiving his formal PA education through the U.S. Navy, he served as an active-duty Medical Service Corps Officer until 2003.

Awarding Excellence in 2023

Congratulations to the winners of the 2023 SDPA Annual Membership Awards. Pictured from the left: Travis Hayden, MPAS, PA-C, the Joe Monroe Lifetime Achievement; Giavanna DiLoreto, MPAS, PA-C, New DermPA of the Year; Danielle Johnston, MPAS, PA-C, Educator/Preceptor of the Year; SDPA Board President Laura Bush, DMSc, PA-C, DFAAPA; Kim Sanders, MPAS, PA-C, DermPA of the Year; and Pamela Korzeniowski, DMSc, PA-C, Service Award.

Congratulations to the 2022 SDPA Award Winners

SDPA Board President Lauren Miller, MPAS, PA-C, recognized SDPA's annual award winners in a ceremony at the 20th Annual Fall Dermatology Conference in Miami Saturday, Nov. 19. Attendees stood as each winner walked onstage to accept a plaque in recognition of their extraordinary achievements in clinical practice and patient outcomes, volunteer work, education and more. Nominations were open to SDPA members with final selections made by the SDPA Membership Committee. The 2022 winners are:

DermPA™ of the Year: Peter Young, MPAS, PA-C

In less than four years as a dermatology PA, Peter Young’s passion for learning and medical writing has advanced the profession and broken-down barriers within the dermatologic research community. In 2022, Peter became the first PA published without a physician co-author in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, the first PA published as a lead author in JAMA Dermatology (and several other dermatology journals), and the first PA featured on the covers of The Dermatologist and The Journal of the German Society of Dermatology.

New DermPA™ of the Year: Colleen Fairhurst, PA-C

After graduating from PA school in 2016 in Ohio, Colleen began working in emergency medicine with an eye toward following her passion in dermatology. During her time at the Cleveland Clinic’s Emergency Department, she spent her free time training at Summit Dermatology until she was offered a full-time position as the practice’s first PA in 2019.

Service Award: Cynthia Trickett, MPAS, PA-C

Cynthia began her military career more than 30 years ago as an air-evac med tech in the United States Air Force Reserves. She earned the rank of staff sergeant before joining the Texas Air National Guard as a first lieutenant physician assistant in 1997. Her service has included responding to Hurricane Katrina and most recently the COVID-19 mission, working for seven months during the testing mission to process more than 2,000 military members!

Educator/Preceptor of the Year: Douglas DiRuggiero, DMSc, PA-C

Douglas DiRuggiero, DMSc, PA-C, has worked as a dermatology PA for over two decades banking nearly 190,000 dermatology patient encounters! He has shared his considerable knowledge and expertise with countless professional peers during that time, having delivered more than 400 medical lectures. Douglas is a nationally recognized medical educator who has received numerous awards for published research, his work as a preceptor, and for his volunteer work.

Joe Monroe Lifetime Achievement: Esther Cohen, PA-C

Esther has dedicated her life to the advancement dermatology PAs. She graduated from PA school in 1974 and by 1980 was the one of the first dermatology PAs in the country at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland. She has practiced clinical dermatology for 42 years.

High Achieving Award Winners

2022 SDPA Annual Award Winners (from the left): Peter Young, MPAS, PA-C, DermPA™ of the Year; Cynthia Trickett, MPAS, PA-C, Service Award; SDPA Board President Lauren Miller, MPAS, PA-C; Esther Cohen, PA-C, Joe Monroe Lifetime Achievement Award; Douglas DiRuggiero, DMSc, MHS, PA-C, Education/Preceptor of the Year. Not pictured: Colleen Fairhurst, PA-C, New DermPA™ of the Year.

Congratulations to the Inaugural Annual SDPA Award Winners!

SDPA Board President Renata Block, MMS, PA-C, recognized the Inaugural Award Winners in November 2021 at the 19th Annual Fall Dermatology Conference in Los Angeles.

DermPA™ of the Year – Jamie Dunn, PA-C

Jaime Dunn, a DermPA in Birmingham, Alabama, was a founding member and President of the Alabama Society of Dermatology Professionals in 2017. Jaime was set on creating a place of collaboration for dermatology practice colleagues in the state, where DermPAs and NPs could go for assistance, advice, education, networking, and growth. The society started as just a few members meeting in Jaime’s living room, and quickly gained momentum under her leadership to exceed 70 members statewide by the second year.

Service Award – Erik Sorenson, MPAS, PA

Over the last two decades, Erik Sorenson has taken time out of his busy schedule as a DermPA in Lakewood, California to volunteer for the SDPA behind the scenes in important ways that most might not be aware of. During the 2000s, he was the moderator of SDPA’s first online forum, and in 2007, he produced an educational module for the Society on the cutaneous manifestations of systemic disease.

Educator of the Year – Mallory Aycock, MPA, PA-C

After spending four years as a practicing PA, including three years in dermatology, Professor Mallory Aycock joined the Mercer Physician Assistant Program Faculty in Atlanta, Georgia in November 2015 and began teaching in the Spring of 2016. For the past six years, she has proven to be an outstanding educator, researcher, and advisor.

The Joe Monroe Lifetime Achievement – Joe Monroe, MPAS, PA

When developing a lifetime achievement award for SDPA’s new annual awards program, the Membership Committee saw a clear choice not only for the inaugural awardee, but also for the namesake of the award itself: SDPA founder and first president Joe Monroe.

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