Women's Leadership Initiative
The AOFAS Women's Leadership Initiative supports and encourages women in foot and ankle orthopaedic surgery. Current programs include the Women's Leadership Awards, the Women's Leadership Scholarship Program, and the Leadership Development Coaching Program.
Women's Leadership Awards
The Women's Leadership Awards honor outstanding female leaders in foot and ankle orthopaedics through two awards:
The Career Impact Award recognizes women who have made exceptional contributions to the field of orthopaedic foot and ankle surgery. The nominee for this award does not need to be an AOFAS member; however, membership is preferred.
The Career Development Award recognizes the professional aspirations and commitment of early- and mid-career women in orthopaedic foot and ankle surgery. The nominee for this award must be an AOFAS Active, Candidate, International, or Associate Member in the first 10 years of practice.
Each award winner is invited to serve as a podium speaker at AOFAS Annual Meeting and receives complimentary meeting registration and a travel stipend. The winners also speak at the Women's Leadership Reception held during the meeting.
Read about the past recipients of the Women's Leadership Awards.
Congratulations to the 2025 Women's Leadership Award recipients!
Career Impact Award
Rebecca A. Cerrato, MD
Rebecca A. Cerrato, MD, is a highly respected leader in foot and ankle orthopaedic surgery. Currently, she serves as fellowship director and attending orthopaedic surgeon at the Institute for Foot and Ankle Reconstruction at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Cerrato is also a leader in the AOFAS, having served as a member-at-large on the AOFAS Board of Directors, the Pre-Meeting chair of AOFAS Annual Meeting 2023, and chair of the Membership Committee. She is the current vice chair of the Fellowship Match & Accreditation Committee. Through her exceptional leadership, clinical expertise, and commitment to education, Dr. Cerrato is shaping the future of foot and ankle orthopaedics and elevating the next generation of surgeons.
Career Development Award
Pamela C. Luk, MD
Pamela C. Luk, MD, is a foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeon at Select Orthopedic Specialists in Los Angeles, California. She is a graduate of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. Following her orthopaedic residency at the University of Southern California and Los Angeles County Hospital, Dr. Luk completed a fellowship in foot and ankle surgery at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. In the AOFAS, Dr. Luk has served as member-at-large on the AOFAS Board of Directors, chair of the Young Physicians Committee, and chair of the Women's Leadership Task Force. Currently, she is a member of the AOFAS Orthopod-cast Committee.
Women's Leadership Development Opportunities
To promote professional growth and female leadership within AOFAS, the Society offers opportunities for women AOFAS members to participate in professional development activities.
Scholarship Program
Up to 3 women AOFAS members will be selected to participate in the American Orthopaedic Association (AOA)/University of Southern California (USC) APEX Leadership Conference. Over 5 months, APEX participants will build skills to understand their leadership style and strengths, lead high-performance teams, drive organizational change, and navigate difficult conversations. Events include:
Monday, May 5, 2025: Orientation Webinar
Saturday, June 7, 2025: In-Person Module 1 at the AOA Leadership Meeting (Minneapolis, MN)
Monday, July 14 & Monday, August 11, 2025: Virtual Leadership Workshops
Friday, September 26-Saturday, September 27, 2025: In-Person Module 2 at USC (Los Angeles, CA)
The Women's Leadership Scholarship covers program registration, lodging, meals, and a stipend for travel-related expenses.
The scholarship is open to AOFAS Active or Candidate Members with a current practice located in the United States or Canada. If selected, you must commit to attending all in-person and virtual events.
Congratulations to the 2025 Women's Leadership Scholarship Recipients!
Leadership Development Coaching Program
Up to 6 women AOFAS members will be selected for one-on-one virtual career coaching sessions with an expert advisor from J3P Health, a premier human and organizational development coaching firm specializing in healthcare. Each participant will receive:
3 hours of one-on-one virtual coaching sessions with a dedicated J3P advisor. Each participant will work with their advisor to create a custom Individual Development Plan (IDP) to help them work toward their professional goals.
One grand rounds webinar led by J3P Health Founder and CEO Alan Friedman with the 6 coaching program participants
4 additional webinars on core leadership topics (also open to all AOFAS members)
Congratulations to the 2025 Leadership Coaching Program Cohort!
About J3P Health
As the premier human and organizational development firm in healthcare, J3P Health develops leaders by strengthening and amplifying individual and team potential
for maximum outcomes to deliver superior patient care and operational success. Emphasis is on effective communication, designing and articulating clear goals,
organizational alignment for effectiveness, and leadership capacity.
"Leadership in any organization or team is fundamental. Knowing how to lead well is a constant endeavor. Our work with J3P Health helped us become aware of our strengths and challenges."
— Casey J. Humbyrd, MD, MBE
"As with other skill sets, leadership skills need to be developed and honed. J3P gets this and provides both emerging and current leaders with the training and coaching that will help them develop to their fullest potential."
— Christopher P. Chiodo, MD
If You Can See It, You Can Be It
Women in orthopaedics share how their mentors, family, and role models inspired and supported their careers.
Thank you to Treace Medical Concepts, Inc. for their support of this video.