Our People

I was born in Charleston, SC, and raised in a small rural community in the heart of the Francis Marion National Forest, which is just outside of Charleston. I grew up doing construction work with my family, and that allowed me to gain valuable experience and an appreciation for working with my hands. I have also always been very interested in biology, chemistry, and physics, so majoring in biomedical engineering at the University of South Carolina allowed me to combine all of my interests with my background in building things. After college, I earned my medical degree from the Medical University of South Carolina. In medical school, I fell in love with being in the OR. I find surgery to be the most interesting specialty because I get to work with my hands and help people at the same time.

I am very happy that I will complete my surgical training at MAHEC. The program and the people are all excellent, and I love the area. I have spent many vacations in the mountains, so I feel very fortunate that where I used to vacation is now my home. In my spare time, I love to fish and to just be outdoors in general.

My name is Mark Khalil and I was born and raised in South Carolina. I was born three months after my parents immigrated to the United States from Egypt; however, I primarily grew up in a small, Greenville-neighboring town called Easley. Secondary to being raised in an Egyptian household located in the deep south, I am a self-proclaimed Southern-Egyptian.

I attended Clemson University for my undergraduate studies, where I attained a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry and a passion for serving people. I attended medical school at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine – Greenville, and I am very excited to join the MAHEC general surgery residency family.

General surgery was an obvious specialty choice for me because I was unequivocally amazed by surgical procedures, technique, and pathology. I was also very attracted to the way a surgeon can serve and care for patients in a very unique and meaningful way; being someone patients can trust in a moment of their life that is frightening and uncertain. I am so fortunate to undergo my surgical training at MAHEC in the beautiful city of Asheville – a special place where I am certain I will be able to simultaneously be trained to be an excellent surgeon and enjoy life.

Outside of work, my wife Anna and I enjoy any and all outdoor activities including hiking, fishing, flat-water kayaking, playing with our sassy pit-lab mix, Dragon; as well as sharing life and meals with people, exploring breweries, and ping-pong.

My name is Katie and I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. I am one of three siblings and the only person in my immediate family who isn’t an engineer, parents included. I went to the University of Dayton for undergrad (go flyers!) where I became a volunteer EMT and discovered my passion for medicine and patient care. I then moved to northwest Ohio for medical school at the University of Toledo and quickly found myself drawn to the hands-on and patient-centered nature of surgery. While I love Ohio and my family there, I was very ready for my next adventure somewhere new!

I first fell in love with Asheville and MAHEC/Mission Hospital when I did a rotation here as a 4^th year medical student. The mountains and the excellent program drew me here, but the people made it feel like home. I am incredibly grateful and excited to be a part of the MAHEC team and I’m looking forward to training with the best colleagues and mentors!

In my free time, I love hiking, road biking, running, rock climbing, and anything else that involves the outdoors! I have been an avid snow skier my whole life, even dabbling in ski racing for a short time, and love slalom water skiing as well. I’m extremely excited for the outdoor opportunities Asheville will bring me and can’t wait to start exploring!

My name is Amanda Stastny and I’m excited to be joining the MAHEC Rural General Surgery Residency Program. I grew up in Anderson, SC, and later traveled up the road to attend college at Clemson University, where I majored in bioengineering. After graduating in 2016, I started medical school at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Columbia, SC. I’m thrilled to be coming closer to home but also to experience living in Asheville, NC. I’m looking forward to exploring the hiking and fishing in the area as well as relaxing and spending time with my dog, Maeve, at the breweries and parks around town.

My name is Luke Tidwell. I was born and raised in Chattanooga, TN, in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains. I went to the University of South Carolina where I first became interested in healthcare. After graduating from undergrad, I worked in the Surgical Department and immediately fell in love with the surgical medicine. I also obtained a Master’s in Pharmacology before getting my medical degree at the University of Tennessee in Memphis.

Going into medical school, I knew that I wanted to be a surgeon and cannot wait to start my journey in Asheville. The community at MAHEC is really what makes the program special. They are incredibly supportive and I am lucky that I was chosen to be a part of the Asheville family.

Growing up in the mountains, Asheville was a natural fit for me. I enjoy hiking, camping, and just about anything that gets me out of the city. I am excited to get to know the city more and experience the booming culture.

My name is Keith Anderson, and I grew up in Memphis, TN, the Home of Blues and Birthplace of Rock n Roll. I earned a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology and dabbled in club tennis and club gymnastics at Yale University before returning down South to attend the UNC School of Medicine in Chapel Hill (I definitely missed the warmer climate!).

I am ecstatic to join MAHEC’s program as I pursue surgical training in the beautiful city of Asheville! The residency is a true gem in that it is not only new and dynamic, but also involves working with many skilled surgeons and handling a large patient volume. I feel fortunate that Dr. Schurr invited me to be a part of the team. My interests include trauma/critical care, medical education, and social determinants of health.

Outside of the hospital, I enjoy playing tennis, hiking, trying new restaurants, exploring breweries, and binge-watching television shows.

My name is Katie Decker, and I’m so excited to be joining the MAHEC General Surgery Team. I grew up in Nashville, TN, and my family spent many wonderful vacations in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina. I am absolutely thrilled to be moving back to the area.

I started my undergrad degree at the University of Hawaii and finished at University of California, Davis with a degree in biology. I attended medical school at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL. I am interested in acute care, critical care, and trauma surgery.

I have a seven-year-old daughter, and as a family we love hiking, swimming, rock climbing, and other outdoor activities. We are so excited to make Asheville our home.

My name is Julie Rajotte-Caron. I’m ecstatic to be part of the MAHEC surgery family! I can’t wait to experience this beautiful city and meet all of its amazing people.

I’m originally from Quebec, Canada. I obtained my bachelor of science in nursing during my time in the Canadian Military. I completed 8 years in the Canadian Armed Forces and experienced several areas of healthcare including community health, global health, tropical diseases, teaching, primary care and healthcare management.

The Army has permitted me to work in emergency and trauma care as part of international coalitions in austere environments. I was challenged to develop my clinical skills in conditions of extreme fatigue requiring personal and professional growth during several deployments abroad such as in the Philippines and El Salvador. My passion for the Army will always stay. As I always say: my heart is green!

I have always been interested and drawn toward performing technical procedures that involve using my hands. Surgery residency is the next step in my adventure. Specifically, my interests are global surgery, rural surgery, breast surgery, and plastic surgery.

Outside of work, I like to spend time with my wonderful husband. We try to visit a new country every year. I also enjoy hot yoga, hiking, biking, baking, and outside circuit training.

Hi! My name is Natalie Reed and I am excited to complete my surgery residency at MAHEC. I am originally from eastern North Carolina, and I attended UNC Chapel Hill for undergraduate and medical school. I was lucky enough to spent part of my medical school experience at MAHEC and love Asheville and the western part of the state. The supportive community of MAHEC surgery combined with the case load made MAHEC a great residency choice.

In my free time, I love hiking, running, drinking beer, reading, and doing ceramics.

I was born in Durham, NC, and grew up outside of Charlotte, NC, before moving to Nashville, TN, where my parents still live. I was an economics major and played varsity soccer at Harvard before returning to the south to work in the Durham/Chapel Hill area for 5 years prior to attending medical school at UNC Chapel Hill. I met my wife while in medical school and we decided to remain in Chapel Hill (at UNC) to start my general surgery residency training while she finished PA school at Campbell University.

We have two dogs and love to spend time with them—walking, hiking, swimming, cooking outdoor meals, and playing fetch. I enjoy golf, although I’m not very good, and play pickup/recreational soccer games when time allows. I am an adamant Liverpool (English premier league soccer team) supporter and watch as many live games as possible. My wife and I also enjoy scuba diving, snow skiing, rock climbing, cooking new recipes, and traveling to new places together. She is originally from Hendersonville, NC and this is where her parents still live.

Asheville is a perfect place for us to start our lives together because the city and surrounding area offers opportunities for us to pursue many of our leisure activities and is a return home for her. It is a place I look forward to calling home alongside her.

MAHEC is the ideal residency program for me because it is a great fit for both my personal life and my professional goals. The opportunity to train under surgeons with the knowledge, experience, and skill of Dr. Schurr as well as the other faculty members at MAHEC is one that I value greatly. Additionally, building a new program alongside outstanding faculty members is a once in a lifetime opportunity that not many residents are afforded. Together, I hope we can create a longstanding and excellent residency program which is special not only to future MAHEC trainees, but also to patients of Western North Carolina.

My name is Rachel Morris and I’m thrilled to be a part of the inaugural cohort of general surgery residents at MAHEC. I first fell in love with western NC as a child visiting the mountains every year with my family and affirmed my love while working at a nearby camp and conference center for seven (yes, seven) summers. While I’ve lived all over the southeast and traveled as far as Cebu City in the Philippines, North Carolina has always been my home. Tar Heel Born (in Charlotte), Tar Heel Bred!

I had the distinct pleasure of attending undergrad at Presbyterian College in South Carolina, which—by virtue of its small student body—afforded me the opportunity to form meaningful, lasting relationships with educators and mentors. There, I majored in fine arts and minored in biology and chemistry, joined the Student Volunteer Services to give back to the community, formed life-long friendships, and learned to play the bagpipes. After college, I took the winding trail to medical school, taking six years to discern my future career. During that time, I traveled to the Philippines to work with social justice organizations, recruited young adults throughout the US to take a year for volunteer work at home and abroad, and spent three years with the American Red Cross in blood collections, where I met thousands of people all over NC.

UNC School of Medicine was an obvious choice when applying to medical schools, and I was privileged to be selected to spend my third year in the longitudinal program in Asheville through MAHEC and Mission. I’ve been interested in surgery since before I started medical school and had the chance to work in a rural hospital in Linville, NC through the longitudinal program. During this time, I fell further in love with being in the OR, working with my hands, and having the opportunity to dramatically change someone’s quality of life for the better from a single surgery. When I heard there was a surgical residency program opening in Asheville, I knew that it was the perfect fit.

I am excited to be back in a beloved community and equally as excited to learn from amazing providers whom I am lucky to have as mentors. I am eager to work with the medical students here for their clerkships and am interested in education being part of my future practice. The view of the mountains outside the window on a tough day (or any day) doesn’t hurt either. I’m currently interested in working in western NC as a general surgeon after residency, but I’ve also found that I really enjoy trauma and critical care. I look forward to exploring that and the many mountain trails in the coming years here in beautiful Western NC.

In my free time, I love hiking, camping, trivia, watching Jeopardy, biking, running, swimming (hoping to complete my first triathlon before I graduate), karaoke (usually in my car), exercising my fine arts major through drawing and pottery, baking (and watching “The Great British Bake Off”), being an aunt and godmother to children (and dogs), and spending time with my own eccentric cat, Madeline.

I am excited to be part of the MAHEC team and to work at Mission Hospital in such a special place with a community of excellent physicians and staff. Combine that with the beautiful mountains and various outdoor opportunities and I believe it is truly the best of both worlds.

I am originally a Northerner, spending most of my childhood in Ohio and New York. I attended Furman University in Greenville, SC and am excited to come back to the area after spending 5 years in the Western Carolinas. I went to medical school in Boca Raton, FL at the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University. I immediately recognized my love of surgery the first day I spent in the OR and I look forward to training here for the next 5 years.

My interests outside of medicine include CrossFit, running, cycling, playing drums/guitar, family, friends, music, cooking, eating good food, and watching movies.

Although I was born and raised in Vermont, I fell in love with North Carolina when I came to Chapel Hill for my Masters in Public Administration and fell back in love when I had the opportunity to do an away rotation at MAHEC/Mission Hospital as a 4th year medical student. Although I interviewed at many programs for General Surgery, I could never quite shake the MAHEC experience and am thrilled to be completing my surgical residency here at MAHEC.

My first career was in disaster management and response which left me deeply interested in prehospital care, disaster preparedness, and community health. As a busy hospital with a strong community presence and large rural catchment area, MAHEC stood out to me as the perfect place to learn the art of surgery without sacrificing my interest in community involvement and activism. I plan to pursue rural general surgery after graduation.

Outside of the hospital, I’m one of those crazy runner types who runs at 3 am before work and I’m always in training for something. Asheville has plenty of greenways and trails to keep me busy but in a pinch, I can also be found on my trusty treadmill. When I’m not running, I’m enjoying a craft beer or home cooked meal on the back porch with my husband Will, our son Oliver (born August of my third residency year) and our two rescue pups, Watson and Tinker.

Courtney Sommer, MD is a general surgeon at Mission Hospital in Asheville. She also serves as the Assistant Program Director for the General Surgery Residency. Dr. Sommer graduated Medical School from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine and completed her Residency in General Surgery at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Upon Residency graduation, Dr. Sommer went onto complete a Fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at the University of Washington. Dr. Sommer’s focus of patient care is in General Surgery and Trauma.

Darren Patrick Bryant, MD is a Surgical Intensivist at the Charles George Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Asheville, NC.  Dr. Bryant graduated from the Lewis Katz School of Medicine At Temple University in 1996.

Elaine Chan, MD, FACS, is a general surgeon at Mission Hospital in Asheville. Dr. Chan graduated from SUNY Downstate Medical School in Brooklyn, NY and completed a general surgery residency at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York, NY.  After graduating from residency, Dr. Chan subsequently completed a fellowship in Trauma Surgery at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, GA as well as a fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at Ryder Trauma Center Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, FL. After fellowship, Dr. Chan served as Assistant Professor of Surgery at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA.

Garth P. Davis, MD, FACS, FASMBS, graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Texas in Austin where he was the Student Government President and was recognized as the most outstanding student at UT. Dr. Davis went on to attend medical school at Baylor College of Medicine and graduated in the top 10 percent of his class. In addition, he was inducted to the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. Dr. Davis completed his surgical residency at the prestigious University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where he was elected to the position of Chief Administrative Resident. He then started his career in Houston, Texas where he established The Davis Clinic and was an assistant professor of surgery at The University of Texas-Houston. He is certified by the American Board of Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and a Fellow of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. He is also boarded in medical management of obesity. Dr. Davis is the author of two books: Proteinaholic: How Our Obsession with Meat Is Killing Us and The Expert's Guide to Weight-Loss Surgery. Having spent 17 years in the field of surgical and medical weight management, Dr. Davis is a recognized expert in initial bariatric procedures as well as revisional bariatric surgery, and he is frequently asked to give lectures to both patient and physician audiences.

John Henretta, MD is a vascular surgeon at Asheville Radiology-Carolina Vascular. Dr. Henretta graduated Medical School at the Medical College of Virginia and completed a Preliminary Internship and Residency in General Surgery at East Carolina University School of Medicine. Upon Residency graduation, Dr. Henretta completed Fellowships in Endovascular and Vascular Surgery at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.  Before joining the Carolina Vascular team, Dr. Douglas worked for Asheville Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgeons, P.A. from 1999-2002.

Scott John, MD is a general surgeon at Mission Hospital in Asheville. Dr. John graduated Medical School from Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans, LA and completed his Residency in General Surgery at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga. Upon Residency graduation, Dr. John went onto complete a Fellowship in Surgical Critical Care at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga. Dr. John’s focus of patient care is in General Surgery and Trauma.

Dr. Kopelman is a general and critical care surgeon with Mission Hospital. She attended medical school at the University of Miami School of Medicine and remained at the University of Miami to complete her residency in general surgery as well as both her fellowship in Surgical Critical Care and her fellowship in Trauma and Emergency General Surgery. She has held academic appointments at the Medical College of South Carolina and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in addition to being faculty at Greenville Memorial Hospital (1997-2002) and the University of Arizona Medical School while faculty at Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona (2003-2018). Dr. Kopelman’s focus on patient care is in Surgical Critical Care, Emergency General Surgery, and Trauma.

Sean O’Connor, MD is a board-certified general surgeon who specializes in minimally invasive and robotic techniques for repair of complex hernias, as well as foregut surgery. He takes a comprehensive approach to pre- and post-operative care to enhance recovery after surgery, minimize surgical pain and provide durable results.

Dr. O'Connor received his bachelor's degree from Elon University and graduated medical school at East Tennessee State University, Quillen College of Medicine. He completed his residency at Wake Forest Baptist Hospital in Winston Salem, NC and his fellowship in Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery at Prisma Health in Greenville, SC. 

Jesse Sulzer, MD is a General Surgeon at Mission Surgery in Asheville, NC. He received his doctorate degree from the Louisiana State University School of Medicine University of New Orleans, and did his residency at the Louisiana State University.