Board of Directors 2021-2023

President

Qusai Hammouri, MD

Dr. Hammouri is a Deformity spine surgeon for adults and pediatrics at NYU Langone. They are a native of Jordan where they received their combined undergraduate and medical degree from the University of Jordan. Following that, they worked in international health founding the Jordanian chapter of Operation smile. In 2004, Dr. Hammouri immigrated to the US. They received their orthopaedic training at Yale, then completed a fellowship in spine surgery at New York University, followed by fellowship in pediatric orthopaedics at Columbia University. In 2013, they joined Northwell health to found the Pediatric Orthopaedic Department at Staten Island University Hospital. Dr. Hammouri developed a comprehensive, multidisciplinary pediatric spinal surgery program. They performed the first pediatric spinal surgeries on Staten Island, which is a relatively resource and access poor borough in New York. Dr. Hammouri is the founding president of Pride Ortho Inc, they sit on the Diversity task forces of Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America and Scoliosis Research Society. In 2021, they were chosen as an Atlantic Health fellow for Health Equity for their work on LGBTQ access and advocacy. They are an Emerging Leader and fellow in the American Orthopedic Association (AOA) and American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery. 

Dr. Hammouri is proud to be non-normative. They feel that most labels are too prescriptive. They are an artist, surgeon, immigrant, proud American, Buddhist, Muslim, Arab, non-binary. In their nighttime art practice, they create safe spaces for those who have been othered, those who do not belong. Their work has been critically reviewed.

Email: Q@prideorthopaedics.org

Vice President

Jaime Bellamy, DO (she/her/they)

Dr. Bellamy earned a BS in Chemistry and MS in Biology at Missouri State University and DO at Kansas City University. After a transitional internship, she served in the United States Army as a Flight Surgeon for an Apache helicopter unit and deployed to Iraq. She completed orthopaedic residency at Brooke Army Medical Center and fellowship in adult reconstruction at Emory University. She deployed twice as an orthopaedic surgeon while stationed at Womack Army Medical Center in Ft. Bragg, NC. After 15 years of service, she currently serves as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserves. She serves on the Diversity Advisory Board for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Member-At-Large for the American Association of Hip & Knee Surgeons, Associate Editor for social media for the Journal of Arthroplasty, and is a founding member of Pride Ortho. She is currently a Trauma Fellow at the University of Missouri for 2023-2024. She got married in 2014 after the repeal of DADT & DOMA and lives with her partner on a hobby farm.

Email: jaime.bellamy@gmail.com

Treasurer

Mark Schultzel, MD MBA

Dr. Schultzel is a shoulder and elbow surgeon at United Medical Doctors in San Diego, California, and Chair of the Sharp Community Medical Group Orthopedic Advisory Board. He received his orthopedic surgery training at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and completed a fellowship in shoulder and elbow surgery at the prestigious Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic. He completed a Bachelors of Science in Biology and Bachelors of Arts in Psychology from UC San Diego, and later returned as a practicing surgeon to earn an MBA from the UCSD Rady School of Management, with specializations in marketing and international supply chain.  Dr. Schultzel is the Chief Medical Officer of Ethos Mask, which sourced PPE during the start of the COVID pandemic, Chief Medical Officer of Modiv Health, and has participated in multiple health-tech related start-ups. He is a member of the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES), sitting on their International Fellowship Committee, a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery (AAOS), sitting on their Shoulder and Elbow, and Emerging Professionals Committees, and is a fellow of the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA), serving on their Social Media/Communications Committee in the Emerging Leaders Program. He believes strongly in student and trainee mentorship, and is a volunteer faculty member at the UCSD Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Touro College of Medicine, and Rocky Mountain University. As a founding member of Pride Ortho, Dr. Schultzel is an ally who cares about making orthopedic surgery a welcoming specialty, where we gain perspective in diversity, and where we celebrate anyone who wants to pick up a hammer or an arthroscope and be a part of our team. 

Email: Mark@prideorthopaedics.org

Secretary

David Fralinger, MD

Dr. David Fralinger is a Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery fellow at A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE. He earned an undergraduate degree in Biological Chemistry from Tulane University, in New Orleans LA, and continued at Tulane University for his Doctor of Medicine Degree. He completed his residency training at the University of Illinois, Chicago. He has authored nearly a dozen peer reviewed publications and many more abstracts and presentations. His main clinical interests include pediatric spinal deformity and the care of children with cerebral palsy and neuromuscular disorders. He is a founding member of Pride Ortho and currently serves as the group secretary. In 2017 he married his husband. They enjoy traveling together, cooking and watching Marvel movies.

Email: David@prideorthopaedics.org

Chair of Mentorship Committee

Julie Samora, MD PhD

Dr. Samora is a pediatric hand surgeon at Nationwide Children's Hospital, where she is Medical Director for Safety for the hospital, and director of quality improvement within the department of orthopaedics. She received her orthopaedic training at Ohio State University and completed a fellowship in hand and upper extremity surgery at Harvard.  She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Carnegie Mellon University, a masters of music at Yale University, and an MD/PhD at West Virginia University, where she concomitantly earned masters degrees in public health as well as public administration.  Dr. Samora is on the board of directors of the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, is president of the Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society, and is one of the founding members of Pride Ortho. She has published more than 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts and dozens of textbook chapters.  Dr. Samora has dedicated herself to, and is passionate about, crafting a diverse, inclusive, equitable, and culturally sensitive field of orthopaedic surgery.

Email: Julie@prideorthopaedics.org

Chair of Communication Committee

Carla Bridges, MD

Dr. Carla M. Bridges is a Sports Medicine fellow at Detroit Medical Center in Michigan. She previously completed a Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery fellowship at Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Arizona and Shriners Hospital for Children in Portland. After graduating from Olympia High School in Orlando, she went on to attend The University of South Florida in Tampa where she double majored in Bio-medical Sciences and Biology. She then moved to Atlanta, Georgia where she received her Doctor of Medicine degree from Morehouse School of Medicine. She attended Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee where she completed her residency. She was an Nth Dimensions summer internship scholar and remains actively involved with the organization. She is also a member of several orthopaedic societies. She is currently the Communications Committee Chair for Pride Ortho Inc. She is interested in pediatric sports medicine and trauma. She loves to travel, has been to 22 countries, and has lived in 7 states. She also enjoys skiing and hopes that the next big trip is Japan. She is joining the pediatric orthopaedic surgery team at Dayton Children's Hospital in Ohio as a pediatric sports medicine surgeon. 

Email: Carla@prideorthopaedics.org

Chair of Research Committee

Susan Odum, PhD

Susan Odum, PhD, serves as the Director of Statistics and Methods Core at the Atrium Health Musculoskeletal Institute, Professor in the Atrium Health Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and is the Senior Research Scientist at the OrthoCarolina Research Institute. Dr. Odum loves to teach and mentor learners at all levels. She earned her PhD in Health Services Research at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She has authored over 145 peer-reviewed publications in all orthopaedic subspecialties including health policy. With her colleagues, she has won the Rand Award, the Ranawat award, the North American Spine Society Value Award and the Cervical Spine Research Society Clinical Award. She has served in national leadership roles with several professional societies including the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, North American Spine Society and the Lumbar Spine Research Society. Dr. Odum is passionate about research that advances cost-effective healthcare and supports physicians delivering the right care to the right patient at the right time.

Email: Susan@prideorthopaedics.org

Chair of Membership Committee

Joseph Letzelter, MD

Dr. Letzelter is an orthopaedic surgeon in Washington, DC specializing in adult and pediatric hand and upper extremity surgery. He practices at Children’s National Medical Center, INOVA Fairfax Hospital, and Pediatric Specialists of Virginia. He received his orthopaedic residency training at Georgetown University and completed fellowships in hand and upper extremity surgery at NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases and The Hand Institute of New Zealand. He also received fellowship training in pediatric hand and upper extremity surgery at Shriner’s Hospital of Northern California. He earned his Bachelors of Arts Degree from Georgetown University and his Medical Degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine. Dr. Letzelter is a clinical assistant professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine and University of Virginia School of Medicine.  He serves on the Committee on Admissions for Georgetown SOM. He teaches orthopaedic residents from Georgetown University, George Washington University, Howard University, and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He is a member of POSNA and a candidate member of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand where he serves on the International Relations and Young Member Steering Committees. He lives in Washington, DC with his husband and their dog, Klaus. He cares about making orthopaedics an inclusive community for all.

Email: Joseph@prideorthopaedics.org

Chair of Education Committee

Ashley Rogerson, MD

Ashley Rogerson is an adult spine surgeon at University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, NY. She completed undergraduate studies in neuroscience and psychology at Allegheny College in Meadville, PA followed by medical school at the Penn State University College of Medicine. Despite absolutely hating the first two weeks of her spine rotation as a PGY2, she eventually saw the light and completed an adult spine surgery fellowship in Boston at Newton Wellesley and Massachusetts General Hospital. Ashley is passionate about teaching and mentorship and helped found the Resident Wellness Initiative in 2020. Ashley met her wife while playing lacrosse together in college and they have been married since 2013. They live in New York with their two children.

Member-At-Large

Shasta Henderson, MD

Dr. Shasta E. Henderson was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. She attended Barnard College of Columbia University where she was a four year member of their Division 1 basketball team. It was her athletic pursuit and zeal for science that initially introduced her to the field of Orthopedics. After graduation she moved to Winston-Salem, NC where she attended Wake Forest School of Medicine. While a medical student, Dr. Henderson participated in research at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine and founded The Pipeline a student run mentorship program in support of minority medical student retention.

Member-At-Large

Ayesha Rahman, MD

Ayesha Rahman is a hand and upper extremity surgeon at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in Queens, NY. She serves as co-director of the hand surgery service where she covers Level I trauma. She holds multiple academic appointments including Assistant Professor at Weill Cornell Medical College, Assistant Clinical Professor at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Adjunct Faculty and Team Physician for St. John’s University, and teaching attending for the HSS Orthopedic Residency Program. She completed her orthopedic residency at NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases and a fellowship in hand and upper extremity at the University of California San Francisco. She obtained her medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine, where she was a founding member of their first LGBTQ medical student group Hoya MedAlliance. She additionally holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Michigan. True to her roots she has remained active in industry implant design and engineering. She is passionate about mentoring the next generation of youth to pursue STEM careers. She is originally from Ann Arbor Michigan and a die-hard Wolverines fan. She met her wife in New York City ten years ago, and they are happily married with two rescue kitties. They spend their time between their East Village Manhattan apartment and a beach house near Fire Island.

Co-Chair of Development

David P. Roye Jr., MD

David Roye is a native of Oklahoma who after graduation from the University of Oklahoma attended medical school and residency at Columbia University. After his training Dr. Roye developed Pediatric Orthopedics at Columbia University as his team gained national and international recognition for research and clinical excellence. Dr. Roye has dedicated his career to improving the lives of children in the US and China with special emphasis on spine and neuromuscular disease.  In 2009, he received the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons’ Humanitarian Award and the Gold Foundation’s Taub Humanism in Medicine Award. The American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine honored him in 2014 with the Mentorship Award.  Dr. Roye has been living in working in Guangzhou, China since 2020 developing multidisciplinary centers for children with disabilities.  Since coming out in 2017, Dr. Roye has become active in promoting inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in orthopedic surgery.  He has funded a scholarship for LGBTQ+ medical students to participate in orthopedic rotations at Columbia and is a proud member of Pride Ortho.