Physician Leadership Development Guide

Dr. Debra Houry, MD, MPH is a nationally recognized emergency physician, public-health executive, and leadership coach with nearly three decades of experience guiding clinicians and organizations through high-stakes decisions and complex change. A board-certified emergency physician, she brings a frontline clinician’s perspective to leadership, governance, and strategy. Dr. Houry spent more than a decade in senior leadership at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), serving across four presidential administrations, including as Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director for Program and Science. In these roles, she oversaw multi-billion-dollar portfolios, led national responses to public-health crises, and worked extensively with Congress, governors, health systems, and global partners. Her career bridges hands-on trauma care in safety-net emergency departments with enterprise-level leadership at the highest levels of public service. Prior to CDC she was a tenured faculty member at Emory University and as vice chair for research in emergency medicine, led the department to #1 in NIH funding. She has also been recognized with a mentoring award from the Emergency Medicine Residents Association and the Dean's Teaching Award at Emory. As a physician coach, Dr. Houry works with doctors at all stages of their careers—from early-career clinicians to senior leaders—who are navigating burnout, career transitions, leadership challenges, or a desire for greater impact beyond the bedside. Drawing on lessons from emergency medicine and executive leadership, she helps physicians clarify purpose, build confidence in decision-making under uncertainty, lead teams effectively, and align their careers with their values. Her coaching is practical, values-driven, and grounded in real-world experience, focused on helping physicians not only succeed professionally, but also “sleep at night” knowing they are leading with integrity.

I've had a varied career. I practiced full-time medical oncology/hematology at Einstein in Philadelphia (a large inner-city community teaching institution) for > 15 years. I then transitioned to a leadership role, first as interim Chief of Internal Medicine for 2 years, then as our institution's first Chief Quality Officer. I held that position for 12 years and got to create our approach to improvement/patient safety. During that time a received a Masters in Healthcare Management from Harvard School of Public Health. In 2012 I left Einstein to lead a non-profit organization focusing on improving health of organizations and individuals through the application of principles/practices from complex adaptive systems (Plexus Institute). I then joined two design teams as the medical person on the team as we created "tools" for healthcare challenges I cared deeply about (conversations in the setting of advancing serious illness, the mental well-being of frontline healthcare providers during the pandemic). Since 2017 I have been working as a coach, supporting physicians at all stages of their careers, by helping them face challenges using a positive mindset.

Physician and strategist with expertise in clinical practice, public health, and executive leadership. Board-certified in occupational and environmental medicine, he mentors physicians to build sustainable careers, strengthen leadership skills, and align their work with personal values.

I’m a quadruple board certified cardiologist and CICU director in New York City, with a passion for helping physicians grow as leaders. Alongside my clinical work, I’ve earned an MBA from Wharton and serve in national roles advancing critical care cardiology and equity in medicine. I enjoy mentoring and coaching colleagues on leadership, career development, speaking, social media, branding, and building fulfilling paths in and beyond clinical practice. Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosy-thachil Instagram: @rosythachilmd Website: thachilmd.com

A board-certified occupational medicine physician. The physician co-founder of Mozibox, a physician-led AI platform advancing leadership and nonclinical careers for physicians.