Boone Family Medicine Residency

Molly Benedum, MD, is a board-certified family physician and directs the MAHEC Rural Family Medicine Residency Program in Boone. She provides comprehensive primary care from cradle to grave including newborn and pediatric care and inpatient hospital care. Her clinical interests include women's health, adolescent medicine, integrative medicine, and care for vulnerable and underserved people including the LGBTQ population. Her research and teaching interests include evidence-based medicine and wellness and burnout in the clinical learning environment.

Molly is passionate about teaching the next generation of excellent primary care physicians to serve the Carolinas and has won several teaching awards during her career including an Outstanding Service Award from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine-Greenville.

She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology magna cum laude from Furman University and went on to earn her medical degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Benedum completed her family medicine residency at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. She is a graduate of the UNC Faculty Development Fellowship and the National Institute for Program Director Development Fellowship.

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she moved to Winston-Salem in grade school. In her spare time, Molly and her husband Joe enjoy playing with their rescue pup Agnes, cooking, and traveling.

David Brendle, DO, earned his undergraduate degree in business administration from the UNC Charlotte where he also ran cross country and track. It was in college that he became more interested in health and wellness. This led David to Appalachian State University where he earned a masters in exercise science. Eventually, he made his way to Baltimore, where he worked for the Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center at the University of Maryland. Much of the research he was involved in pertained to managing comorbidities with diet, exercise, and other lifestyle modifications. David's work there solidified his interest in pursuing a career in medicine. He decided to attend the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine because he identified with the tenets of osteopathic medicine that include treating the person, not the disease, and the understanding the body is a unit of mind, body, and spirit.

After medical school, Dr. Brendle returned to Charlotte to be closer to friends and family and to attend Carolinas Medical Center for his family medicine residency, which is where he met his wife Torre Hinnant, MD. After completing their residency, David and Torre moved to Lenoir and practiced both inpatient and outpatient medicine before moving to Boone in 2016.

Dr. Brendle's medical interests include sports medicine, osteopathic manipulation, and in-office procedures as well as managing chronic conditions. He loves working with premed and medical students and looks forward to working with MAHEC family medicine residents. Outside of the office, David enjoys outdoor activities including road biking, mountain biking, cyclocross, climbing, running, hiking, and skiing. He's also trying to improve his yoga practice—stay tuned!

Charles Baker, MD, has been a full-scope family physician for more than 40 years, delivering more than 2,000 babies in the High Country of Avery County.

He earned his undergraduate degree at Davidson College and then attended medical school at UNC Chapel Hill. Dr. Baker interrupted his residency training for three years, spending two on the Sioux Indian reservation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota and another year in an inner-city clinic in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Those three years earned him the distinction of being the last of the “grandfathers” - fully certified family physicians who had not finished their residency. Dr. Baker completed his residency in pediatrics at Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital in 1979 and then opened a solo practice in the High Hountry where he was double-boarded in pediatrics and family practice. He and his wife Ann raised their three children here and helped them launch careers all over the world in veterinary medicine, international development, and counseling.

Dr. Baker loves mentoring medical students, and teaching has been a meaningful part of his career. His Linville practice has been a full-time teaching site for UNC medical students for more than 30 years and is one of only five sites in North Carolina designated as a gold teaching practice. He has trained students during all four years of their medical school experience and has precepted MAHEC residents for many years. Dr. Baker is thrilled to support the new MAHEC Rural Family Medicine Residency in Boone as he moves into retirement from private practice. He looks forward to teaching residents the importance of delivering “hands on” care and remembering to stop and smell the roses.

Hello! My name is Connor Brunson. I have spent my life in a slow loop starting in Bluff City, Tennessee, stretching down to Columbia, South Carolina, back up through Greenville, and now, thankfully, landing in Boone.

I started my career studying Public Health and Anthropology at the University of South Carolina. Upon graduation, I worked as a bagel baker, a nude art model, a middle school teacher, an EMT, and as an advocate for the creative sphere and an organizer of inclusive community spaces. Living and learning in South Carolina helped me reach a more complete understanding of racial and economic inequality, particularly in medicine, and I eventually realized that small communities, like my hometown, have a large part to play in righting the wrongs of our society.

My creative work (songwriting, short fiction, poetry) as well as my philosophic wanderings (Taoism, Stoicism, Narrative Medicine) led me to understand the tangible power of emotional healing and mindfulness. I believe that modern rural America is in great need of gentle, compassionate, full-person care, and I think that family physicians are in a unique position to provide that care. I am proud to be part of the process.

Dr. Chris Bullers grew up in Hickory, North Carolina. He attended Catawba College as an undergraduate, and after working for several years in the pharmaceutical industry, completed medical school at The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. After finishing his family medicine residency at Wake Forest University, he capped his medical training with a sports medicine fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

He then returned to Wake Forest University to become part of the family medicine clinical faculty and Winston Salem State team physician. During this time, he was also the principal investigator of the Winston Salem State arm of the NCAA-Department of Defense Concussion, Assessment, Research, and Education (CARE) Consortium nationwide project to further define the clinical and neurobiological natural history of concussive injury and recovery. He has been included in several publications stemming from this ongoing research.

In 2017, Dr. Bullers climbed the mountain to join the AppOrtho team of the Appalachian Regional Medical System (ARHS) in Boone, NC. At that time, he was part of the vision to build a new academic center to educate future primary care and sports medicine physicians. After helping to start the family medicine residency at ARHS, he continues regular didactics with the residents as well as directing their orthopedic clinical experience. He currently serves as medical director and team physician for Appalachian State University athletics and helps to provide for the sports medicine needs of Watauga and Avery counties. This includes varied youth activities ranging from all sanctioned school sports to skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing, dance and the many other unique opportunities that the mountains provide. Several mass events are overseen yearly including 2 large (80+ team) weekend soccer tournaments hosted by High Country Soccer, and Heart of a Pioneer, a mass preparticipation physical event including EKG and concussion screening for the county middle and high school athletes.

Professionally, Dr. Bullers’ interests include nonsurgical musculoskeletal care, injury prevention, concussion management, nonsurgical procedures including biologics and tenotomy, diagnostic and interventional ultrasound, and overuse injuries.

Dr. Bullers enjoys all outdoor activities especially when they involve his wife and two boys. They are constantly exploring all the high country has to offer and finding new fun every weekend they can. He tries to “practice what he preaches” when it comes to exercise and leading a healthy lifestyle.

Daniel Goble, MD, grew up in the Western North Carolina mountains and attended medical school at The Brody School of Medicine at Eastern Carolina University. After moving to Wichita, Kansas for a residency at Via Christi Family Medicine, Daniel found himself longing to return to the mountains. Growing up in WNC, Dr. Goble knew first-hand all that Boone had to offer. After researching Appalachian Regional Healthcare System and finding it made up of dynamic, healthy, and effective teams, his decision to join ARHS was a no-brainer.

Dr. Goble is an ARHS hospitalist, associate professor for the Wake Forest School of Medicine Physician Assistant Program, obstetrics instructor for Equip Ministries’ Missionary Medicine Intensive course, and medical director of Boone’s Community Care Clinic, which is the only free clinic serving uninsured patients in the High Country. Daniel is looking forward to teaching inpatient medicine as faculty for the Boone family medicine residency program.

Daniel's hobbies include writing, triathlons, kayaking, and playing the bongos—a list that is always evolving. He and his wife, an ob/gyn nurse, also enjoy gardening, backpacking, traveling, and taking care of their animals. They are currently exploring fostering with the local Department of Social Services. Dr. Goble enjoys discussing philosophy with anyone who will listen and is known to enjoy a good sour ale (preferably at the same time).

Karen Isaacs MD, MPH, grew up in Winston-Salem, NC, and earned her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Shortly after, she joined the Peace Corps as a volunteer teacher in Tanzania. She credits that experience with introducing her first-hand to the broad concepts of public health and social determinants of health. She then pursued a master's degree in public health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where the concept of community-oriented primary care also captured her attention. Four years later with a medical degree from Wake Forest School of Medicine, she embarked on residency training at New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, NC.

Family Medicine was a natural fit for her. Residency training grounded with skills in evidence-based medicine exposed her to underserved populations facing various barriers to care and prepared her for full-spectrum practice. Upon completing residency, she spent six years balancing faculty work in the same residency program and also in the community as a medical director for a community nonprofit clinic called Wilmington Health Access for Teens which later merged with a similar entity called Coastal Horizons. She ultimately transitioned to full-time employment with the residency program in 2018 and completed a Health Equity Fellowship through the American Academy of Family Physicians in 2019. She has since been exploring her clinical interests in practicing and teaching harm reduction; care for marginalized populations; and addressing structural factors that may impact individual, population, and community health outcomes.

After 14 years in southeast NC, she traded salt water, sand, and flip-flops on the coast for hiking shoes and hills in the Blue Ridge Mountains, where she joined the faculty of MAHEC Boone Family Medicine Residency Program. She and her husband Max enjoy traveling, hiking, and hanging out with their tortoise-shell cat.

While attending undergraduate and medical school at Duke University, Lisa Kaufmann loved vacationing in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Family obligations led her to pursue her internal medicine residency at the University of Pennsylvania. After completing her residency, she moved to Tucson, Arizona where she started in private practice but moved to the University of Arizona because she loved teaching. While there, Dr. Kaufmann was medical director for the resident/faculty practice site and director of the ambulatory internal medicine curriculum. Lisa subsequently moved to the State University of New York in Syracuse "Upstate," where she was medical director for the resident/faculty practice site for over 10 years before moving into full-time hospital medicine.

In addition to teaching clinical internal medicine in both inpatient and outpatient settings for first-year medical students through fellows, Dr. Kaufmann has taught evidence-based medicine including critical review of medical literature, medical decision making, quality improvement, population health, cross-cultural medicine, and physical diagnosis. She ran the travel health program at Upstate for several years and developed a program for refugee health for the large number of refugees who come to the Syracuse area via the Refugee Resettlement Program. Lisa attended the Clinical Teaching Program at Stanford University School of Medicine under Dr. Kelly Skeff, where she was trained to teach faculty to be effective teachers. She also taught Stanford's program on how to teach medical decision making.

At Upstate, Lisa developed a semester course in mindfulness-based stress reduction for medical students. She also collaborated on a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for the general public and created a mindfulness-based eating disorders program.

Dr. Kaufmann moved to Boone several years ago as a hospitalist and is now the director of the adult hospital medicine group and medical director of the adult inpatient service line. Her hospitalist group is a practice site for the Wake Forest School of Medicine Physician Assistant Program, and its first graduating class awarded her group the Community Partnership Award for teaching and educational experience. Dr. Kaufmann and her colleagues focus not just on treating patients in the hospital but also on improving transitions of care through active collaboration with care management teams, social workers, outpatient nurse navigators, and community organizations such as food banks, churches, neighborhood health centers, social services, and hospices.

Kyle Wilson, MD, is originally from Bakersville, a small town near Roan Mountain, just an hour south of Boone, North Carolina. He attended Wake Forest University as an undergraduate and then The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University where he also obtained a Master of Public Health degree. Kyle completed his residency at Emory University School of Medicine. After residency, he joined the core faculty of Emory's Department of Family and Preventive Medicine where he served as an attending to residents, medical students, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Dr. Wilson also served as assistant director of undergraduate medical education, a resident advisor, and faculty advisor for the Emory Family Medicine Interest Group. He developed new residency rotations in HIV treatment in primary care, oncology, and inpatient cardiology and taught didactics for medical students and residents.

Dr. Wilson’s medical interests include inpatient and outpatient medicine, women’s health, general pediatrics, and procedural medicine.

Kyle and his family are excited to call Western North Carolina their home again. His wife, Anna Dean, works at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in global tobacco surveillance and also serves as adjunct faculty at Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC Chapel Hill. They love spending time together as a family with their children. They also enjoy following St. Louis Cardinals baseball and college sports.

Hudson McGinnis, DO is a board-certified family physician, who grew up in Mars Hill, NC. He attended Mars Hill College for undergraduate, where he was on the inaugural men’s swim team. He is a graduate of Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine-Blacksburg, and underwent family medicine residency training in the US Air Force at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha Nebraska. After graduation, he served as a flight surgeon at Offutt Air Force Base, NE. In 2022, he found himself longing to return to Western North Carolina and was fortunate to join MAHEC-Boone Family Medicine Residency in July, 2022. Hudson has a passion for rural medicine, training resident physicians to offer broad scope family medicine. He enjoys providing prenatal and non-surgical obstetric deliveries, inpatient, outpatient, newborns and contraceptive care, including vasectomies. As core faculty, Hudson enjoys teaching and resident education, developing and helping forge tomorrow’s rural physicians. Dr. McGinnis’ clinical interests include wilderness medicine, osteopathic manipulative treatment, outpatient procedures, vasectomies, and women’s health.

In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his three young kiddos, swimming, running and is eager to get into mountain biking soon.

Beverly is a board certified OBGYN that was fortunate to join MAHEC Boone as adjunct faculty in 2021, with the primary objective to establish low risk prenatal care and gynecologic services within MAHEC Boone. She moved to Boone in 2009 as the founding physician of Harmony Center for Women. With the inauguration of the MAHEC Boone FM residency, she found a deep connection and shared goals with the faculty of the Family Practice residency. She moved her gynecologic practice into AppFamily Medicine.

Beverly believes the bedrock of a healthy rural medical community is collaboration between physicians and advanced practice clinicians with an emphasis on shared decision making with patients. Her clinical interests include geriatric and adolescent gynecology, POCUS, contraception, full spectrum reproductive health education and menopausal medicine. Surgically she loves minimally invasive procedures via vaginal approach and laparoscopy. She is exploring group medical care and more collaboration with regional health departments as professional goals.

Beverly was raised in Georgia, the product of public education. She earned her BS in Microbiology from University of Georgia, followed by her MD from Medical College of Georgia (now Augusta University) with a rural health scholarship. She joined a private practice in Southwest Georgia where she learned the blessings of working with physician mentors and certified nurse midwives. The turbulence of working in rural healthcare became a tsunami in 2007 when a tornado instantly destroyed the community hospital in Americus. The disaster lead to a fortunate opportunity to move to the Appalachians, where she and her family had spent vacation for years. Boone has provided a wonderful life for her family to thrive, mostly outside: hiking, gardening and frolicking with dogs for herself; mountain biking, skiing and skateboarding for her husband and two teenage sons.

Hello! My name is Jason Karimy and I am so excited to be an intern at the Boone Rural Family Medicine program. I am originally from Littleton, Colorado where I grew up playing music, snowboarding, backpacking, reading, and writing. Eventually, I moved to the East coast where I found a new love in SCUBA diving. There is an indescribable feeling when you take your first breath underwater. Highly recommend. But, while, I love SCUBA and the ocean, my heart belongs to the mountains. Which is why when I came to Appalachia for the first time, I knew this was my home. The hiking and camping here is breathtaking and so accessible as it is in our backyard. Apart from my love for the outdoors, I have a passion for rural communities, poverty, food insecurity and how it relates to chronic illness. Our program’s leadership have a vested interest in these communities and have fostered an environment where residents can actually come in and make an impact. I hope to stay in Western North Carolina as a rural family medicine physician and care for the communities that have become such an important part of my life.

Hey there! I hail from Chapel Hill, NC. I attended Duke for my undergraduate education and became interested in a holistic, public health-focused approach to medicine. I graduated with a B.A. in Spanish and spent a year working for Americorps before matriculating into UNC School of Medicine and graduating with an additional Master of Public Health degree from UNC. In my free time, I enjoy rock climbing and cycling, as well as playing music with my friends.

During medical school (apart from my training), I’ve had the opportunity to volunteer at our student-run free clinic at UNC, perform in a longitudinal cervical cancer screening in El Corpus, Honduras, and serve patients at our rural health clinic in Nash County, NC.

I’m thrilled to get to move out west and become a part of the Boone MAHEC family! I am drawn to work at the MAHEC Boone program as an opportunity to learn to treat a wide variety of medical pathology, develop longitudinal relationships with my patients, and provide care in the most beautiful town in the state.

Hi! My name is Anna Sparks, and I am so excited to be part of the MAHEC Boone Family Medicine residency!

I was born and raised in Elkin, North Carolina. I attended Surry Community College for two years before transferring to Appalachian State University where I graduated in 2017 with a degree in Biology. After graduation, I headed to South Carolina to attend medical school at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine - Carolinas campus (VCOM). While at VCOM, my passion for rural, full-spectrum medicine grew through various clinical rotations and experiences while working with underserved and underprivileged populations. I knew MAHEC Boone would be a great fit for me, and I am so excited to return to the high country. My clinical interests are vast, and I look forward to becoming a jack-of-all-trades underneath the guidance and teachings of faculty, staff, and fellow residents.

Outside of medicine, I enjoy walking on nature trails, traveling, collecting seashells, and spending time with family and friends. I am so excited to be in Boone and to serve the populations of Watauga and surrounding counties!

Hello! My name is Tiffany Warren, and I grew up in Oak Ridge, NC. I attended college at Wake Forest University, where I majored in Health and Exercise Science. After a gap year working as a scribe for a Family Medicine physician and as a pharmacy technician, I attended University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for medical school. Throughout my experiences in undergrad and medical school, I have become very passionate about women’s health, obstetrics, and lifestyle medicine including healthy nutrition and exercise habits. Being a family medicine physician provides the unique opportunity to take care of patients through all phases of life and develop long-term relationships with them, and I find this to be one of the most exciting aspects of medicine.

Outside of medicine, I really enjoy cooking, baking, exercising, and crocheting. My husband and I love to be outside, and you can find us hiking, running, kayaking, fly fishing (maybe?... I’m still learning!), and attempting to garden. Our Christian faith is very important to us, and we love attending and serving in our local church. We love North Carolina (especially the mountains) and are looking forward to starting our next chapter in Boone! I am excited to be a part of the MAHEC Boone family!

Hello! My name is Isaac Werner, and I am originally from Florida, the sunshine state! I attended University of Miami for my undergraduate degree, with an interest in public health and international studies. Towards the end of my senior year, I discovered medicine as my true calling, and I decided to get my EMT certification and enter into a post baccalaureate program. Working as an EMT was an extremely rewarding experience that confirmed I had chosen right career path.

I then moved to Nashville, TN where I completed medical school at Meharry Medical College. Meharry has a special relationship with an underserved community in North Nashville, providing quality care to those who need it most. I enjoyed volunteering at our free clinic on campus, as well as Heart and Soul Hospice. Working in end of life care taught me the impact of visiting with patients, and helping them feel heard.

During this time, I developed an interest in fitness, hiking, and rock climbing. I became fascinated with the challenge of climbing difficult routes while also getting over my fear of heights (I’m still scared). In my free time, I enjoy learning about exercise physiology and recovery. I am passionate about treating athletes, and getting them back to doing what they love.

When I discovered MAHEC family medicine, it was an absolute perfect fit. Working in one of the most beautiful towns in the southeast while also providing care to rural communities was more than I could ask for. Additionally, the access to a robust sports medicine program with division 1 athletes made choosing MAHEC an easy decision. I enjoy spending time with my fellow residents, I appreciate the focus on wellness, and I value the breadth of experience during my training.

Hello, my name is Mitchell Brown and I am very excited to be joining MAHEC Boone’s Family Medicine residency.

I was born and raised in Mount Airy, NC and have always felt called to serve the residents of the mountains and foothills of Western NC. After graduating high school I was recruited to be the kicker for the Campbell University football team. I found those four years of playing and studying at Campbell a rigorous but rewarding opportunity.

Upon considering a career in medicine, I began working as a CNA at my local hospice home. The work I did in this setting solidified my decision to pursue medicine and instilled in me the importance of treating the person as opposed to just their illness. These formative experiences guided my decision to stay at Campbell for my medical education. Going through medical school I developed an interest in rural, underserved, and geriatric populations. I find it especially fulfilling preventing and limiting serious illnesses in these groups but really have a wide range of clinical interests.

My pursuits outside of medicine include hiking, golfing, gardening, cooking, watching sports, and collecting sports memorabilia. My favorite sports teams are pretty typical for a North Carolinian (Carolina Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, and Atlanta Braves). I am very thankful for the opportunity to serve this area!

Hi! I’m Evelyn Frederick. I split my childhood between San Diego, California and Dallas, Texas before my family settled in South Carolina in 2010.

I earned a B.S. in Genetics from Clemson University and have a professional background working as a medical scribe, which is where I developed my passion for family medicine and serving underrepresented populations. I attended medical school at Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine. At Campbell, I directed the student-run Mobile Clinic that provided healthcare to the migrant farmworkers of Harnett and its surrounding communities.

I am thrilled to be a resident with MAHEC Boone! I initially connected with the program’s emphasis on community outreach and rural health. I also truly believe the leadership team cares about my personal wellness and will guide me thoroughly on my path to being a full-spectrum family physician. My medical interests include women’s health, osteopathic manipulative medicine, and addressing healthcare disparities in underserved populations.

In my free time, I enjoy cooking, baking, hiking, brewery hopping, podcasts (of the murder variety), and being the best dog mom to my dog, Gustavo.

Hello! My name is Katherine Henry Justo, and I grew up just outside New Orleans, Louisiana. I attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge for my undergrad (Geaux Tigers!) and received two bachelor degrees in my four years on campus – one in biology and one in business management. After college, I headed to Tulane University in New Orleans and received my master’s degree in cell and molecular biology. Soon after I began at LSU New Orleans, earning my medical degree. My academic career and personal life sparked my interest in primary care, and I have special interest in women’s health and psychiatry. While interviewing for residency, I was captured by the beautiful landscapes and friendly people in Boone. I am honored to be in the North Carolina Highlands to serve such a unique and awesome community for my residency training.

Outside of medicine I enjoy sewing, baking, and hiking. My favorite thing to do is spend time with my husband, Tyler, and my dog, George.

Hello, I am Zack Lindsey! I grew up in Linville, NC, and my family has been in western NC since the 1700s. I attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for undergrad and then East Tennessee State Quillen College of Medicine for medical school. It was always my intention to do rural family medicine, and I was fortunate to be selected for the Rural Primary Care Track at ETSU. My experiences in the program confirmed my passion. When it came time to choose a residency program, Boone was a natural fit. I’m excited to come full circle and further my medical education in the same hospital where I was born!

My professional interests include a little bit of everything. That’s why I chose family medicine. I look forward to becoming an experienced physician treating patients of all ages and walks of life. In my free time I can often be found outdoors hiking, fishing or skiing in the mountains I call home.

Hi! My name is Savannah Puckett and I’m originally from the town of Mocksville, NC. After graduating from UNC Chapel Hill with a degree in Radiologic Science, I worked for two years as a CT Technologist in Winston-Salem. I then moved to Tallahassee, Florida to pursue my medical degree at Florida State University and I am so excited to be returning to the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains where I spent my childhood summers.

Throughout my life, I have always been passionate about family medicine and have hoped to provide exceptional healthcare to rural Appalachian communities, with a focus on decreasing the need for specialist referrals, substance abuse treatment/recovery, and end-of-life care. Practicing family medicine allows me to build long-term relationships with my patients and create a healthier community and I eventually hope to settle down and practice in rural Appalachia.

In my free time, I love spending time with my husband and two bonus daughters, as well as my three cats, Golden Retriever, and Husky. I enjoy playing the fiddle, quilting, hiking, whitewater kayaking, and attempting to grow vegetables.

Hello! My name is Rachel Reed, and I am so grateful to be training at the Boone Family Medicine Residency Program!

I am originally from Midway, Tennessee, a small rural community nestled among the hills near the Appalachian Mountains. I attended Wake Forest University for my undergraduate education and earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and minor in mathematics. During this time in my educational journey, I discovered that medicine presented the unique opportunity to combine my affinity for science with my commitment to serve both the individuals around me and my community as a whole. Thus, after a gap year, I attended Wake Forest School of Medicine and graduated in May 2023. My earnest hope is to practice full-scope Family Medicine and serve Appalachian rural and underserved communities throughout my career.

In my free time, I enjoy reading, crocheting, baking, hiking, and spending time with my two dogs, Callie and Maddie. I shared a love of cultivating flowering plants with my late grandmother, so I love tending to my orchids indoors and my growing flower garden outdoors. My other passion outside of medicine is aiding with livestock management on my family’s cow-calf operation in Tennessee.

Hi! I’m MacKenzie Cutia. I was born and raised in the small town of Clarion, PA, before my family moved to Florida in 2011. Growing up, my father was a rural family physician who inspired me to pursue family medicine from a very young age. I earned a B.S. in Biology from Florida Gulf Coast University, where I got involved in breast cancer research and advocating for preventative medicine. Graduating college a year early, I decided to take a year to pursue clinical research in Savannah, GA, before attending medical school at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in Bradenton, FL.

I am thrilled to be a resident with MAHEC Boone! I initially connected with the program during a rotation in my 4th year of medical school. The patients and community welcomed me in an instant, and I knew this was a place I could call home! As a family medicine physician, I cherish the opportunity to care for patients through all stages of life, fostering lasting relationships along the way. My professional interests include women’s health, osteopathic manipulative medicine, pediatric medicine, and obstetrics.

In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family and husband hiking, brewery hopping, rock climbing, and playing with our amazing chocolate lab, Hoss.

Olivia Mangat Dhaliwal was born and raised in Erie, PA, with strong ties to Sacramento, California, and many other places across the country. She has lived in eight different states since starting college a year early (she is a high school dropout!) and took a roundabout journey to medicine that included teaching high school math and science and yoga on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. She cannot wait to pursue her training in Boone, NC. Her hopes and dreams are to practice rural family medicine, carrying on the legacy of her grandfather, Dr. Robert Moyers, who was an old-school small-town family doctor in western Pennsylvania. She takes a generalist, integrative approach to care with emphasis on culinary and lifestyle interventions.

She walks the walk, too: outside of work, you can find her working out with her CrossFit family, practicing or teaching yoga, reading afro and indigenous sci-fi, writing poetry, rucking with her rescue pitbull Baylor, or traveling to her next adventure outside (ideally without her cell phone).

Hi y’all! My name is Haley Dicken. I grew up in Jamestown, Kentucky, a small town on Lake Cumberland. I spent much of my childhood outside and with my grandma on our family farm. Therefore, much of my desire to pursue a career in medicine was informed by disparities I saw in my rural community while growing up.

I attended the University of Kentucky where I received degrees in Biology and Neuroscience. After my undergraduate studies, I decided to stay at UK for medical school. During my third year, I was placed at Jamestown Healthcare for my rural family medicine rotation -- a clinic mere miles from where I grew up. Up to that point, I had planned to keep an open mind to each specialty; however, in my family medicine rotation I finally saw what my life as a doctor could be and I loved it. In my time there, it became clear to me the substantial impact of family medicine on my community. The thought of playing a role in that touched my heart in a way that I have difficulty finding words to explain. Feeling respected and being seen as a confidant, expert, and ally to patients was truly what I had been seeking in a career. It was as if I was auditioning for my dream job. That was the first and only rotation I felt that way; I took that as a sign and never looked back.

I was drawn to the MAHEC-Boone program because I felt I could receive excellent training that would prepare me to practice full-spectrum family medicine, while living in a beautiful mountain town. After leaving my interview day, I remember calling my best friend on the drive home to Kentucky and crying about how much I loved my experience in Boone. Needless to say, I am excited to get to serve this community and learn from and alongside so many kind and compassionate providers!

My interests within family medicine include serving rural, underserved populations specifically in Appalachia, as well as addiction medicine and procedures. Outside of medicine, I love playing pickleball and tennis, hiking, thrifting, and spending time with my fiancé Donovan and our son Ambrose (he’s a cat).

Hi! My name is Matt Hodges, and I grew up in the flatlands of central Indiana. I attended Wabash College for my undergraduate, where I studied mathematics. Prior to attending medical school at the Indiana University School of Medicine, I worked as a data analyst for a rural health department in Crawfordsville, Indiana and as a health educator in southeastern Kentucky. These experiences instilled in me the desire to devote the rest of my career to providing sustainable, high-quality care to rural communities.

My professional interests include prenatal and mom/baby dyad care, caring for families affected by substance use disorders, and community-based participatory research.

Outside of medicine, I’m a hiker and a voracious bookworm. I’m in an active two-person book club with my wife, Becca. I’m always happy to exchange favorite trails and books. My other hobbies include listening to and playing all sorts of music, and I have recently begun learning how to restore antique clocks. Becca and I are thrilled that our journey has brought us to Boone.

Hello! My name is Emily Moore, and I am from Knoxville, TN. I attended college at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City where I majored in Biology and minored in Spanish. After finishing my undergraduate degree at ETSU, I spent several months living in Nicaragua volunteering in a rural hospital and doing research on the water quality in rural areas. When I returned home, I completed my Master of Public Health in Applied Epidemiology at the University of Arizona and went to medical school at Lincoln Memorial University, DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine. Before starting medical school, I wore many hats including being a substitute teacher, creating a city-sponsored smoking cessation program for federal housing residents in Knoxville, and working in medical simulation at the University of Tennessee Medical Center.

I was drawn to the MAHEC-Boone program because I could tell immediately how invested this program is in the local community (and how beautiful the city is!) Some of my professional interests include rural and community health, global health, health education, and behavioral health.

Outside of medicine, I love cooking, movies, kayaking, thrifting, and taking care of my aquarium and many plants. My favorite movie is Knives Out, and I enjoy repurposing thrifted furniture. In fact, the only thing in my apartment I bought new is my bed. Feel free to ask me about fishkeeping as well. I’ve learned more than I ever dreamed about how to care for fish- I kept multiple goldfish alive for over 4 years!

A fun fact about me is that I have ziplined over an active volcano in Nicaragua.