SSRFC Operating Committee Elections

SSRFC Operating Committee

The Operating Committee represents the active student leadership of the Society of Student-Run Free Clinics. The committee executes the day-to-day operations of the organization and plays a major role in setting the tone and direction of the organization. The positions below are available for ambitious students from any health profession who want to make a difference for student-run free clinics nation-wide.

All positions require nomination and self-nomination is encouraged. The nominating period for the 2026-2027 Operating Committee will run from now until October 17, 2026. Nomination prior to arriving at the meeting is strongly encouraged as there will be very limited time at the conference to promote your candidacy. With your nomination, you will submit a photo in electronic form along with your vision and past experience with similar roles. The profiles will also be made available directly to voting representatives of each clinic at the conference. Individuals may only be nominated for a single position and are ineligible for any position he or she has held for 2 years.

The election will occur following the Election Meeting on Saturday, October 17, 2026. At the Election Meeting, candidates will each be provided a short time (~1-2 minutes) to speak about their background and their vision for the position. While attendance by candidates is not required, it is strongly encouraged. Voting will be done by 2 voting representatives from each Active Member Academic Institution. Voting Representatives are allowed to be nominees, but are not required to be. Please refer to the election rules for more specific details on elections, voting representatives, and operating committee positions. 

Click here to fill out the 2026 Operation Committee Nomination Form!

National President (1 person)

Duties: As National President, you are “the face of the SSRFC.”  Duties include setting the strategic direction of the organization as part of the Board of Directors, overseeing the Operating Committee, answering or redirecting all emails to the SSRFC email account, being available for news interviews, and developing partnerships or fiscal relationships for the organization. This is a two-year position with the first year spent as “National President-Elect” to train under the current National President. The following year you would serve as the National President.

Requirements:  

  1. Previous conference attendance preferred
  2. Ability to attend the National Conference for the two years following the election
  3. Hours required: 2-3 hr/wk during light months (Oct-Feb), 4-10 hr/wk during busy months (Mar-Sep)

Conference Coordinator (1 person)

Duties: As Conference Coordinator, you are in charge of planning and organizing the SSRFC conference. If you like creating events that positively affect hundreds of students simultaneously, this position is for you. We are in need of visionaries with a strong work ethic to establish SSRFC as a premiere independent student-run conference nationally. This is a two-year position with the first year spent as “Conference Coordinator-elect” to train under the current Conference Coordinator. The following year, you would serve as Conference Coordinator.

Requirements:

  1. Previous conference attendance preferred
  2. Ability to attend the National Conference for the two years following election
  3. Hours required: 1 hr/wk during light months (Oct-Feb), 6-10 hr/wk during busy months (Mar-Sep)

Finance Chair (1 person)

Duties: As Finance Chair, you secure future funding and track current finances of the SSRFC. You will consult with others on the Operating Committee to prioritize spending and plan for future financial needs. You will also help set funding priorities and lead grant and fundraising efforts. This is a two-year position with the first year spent as “Finance Chair-elect” to train under the current Finance Chair. The following year you would serve as Finance Chair. This position does not require prior finance experience, but strong communication skills and a willingness to learn are important.

Requirements:

  1. Ability to attend the National Conference for the two years following the election
  2. Hours required: 5 hr/month

Research/Publications Chairs (1 person)

Duties: As Research/publications chairs, you are charged with national research initiatives for student-run clinics. Historically, this has included multi-institutional research projects and a database of projects. This position often works closely with the Conference Coordinator and the Journal of Student-run Clinics editors to promote research-related initiatives. This is a two-year position with the first year spent as “Research/Publications Chair-Elect” to train under the current Research/Publications Chair. The following year you would serve as the Research/Publications Chair.

Requirements:

  1. Ability to attend the National Conference for the two years following the elections
  2. Hours required: 2-3 hr/wk during light months (Oct-Feb), 4-10 hr/wk during busy months (Mar-Sep)

Communications Chair (1 person)

Duties:  As Communications Chair, you are the creative director of communication for the SSRFC.  In this role, you will not only direct the content, look and feel of SSRFC communications, but will work to build a stronger community among student-run free clinics. As communications chair, you will work with the National Coordinator to develop news briefs and answer media requests. In the coming year, you will likely focus on promoting new initiatives including the Journal of Student-Run Clinics, the new conference format and maintenance of a new national database of student-run clinics.

Requirements:

  1. Ability to attend the National Conference for the two years following the election
  2. Hours required: 3-8 hr/month

Technology Chair (1 person)

Duties: As Technology chair, you will maintain the SSRFC website and are in charge of improving and maintaining the SSRFC listserv and working on the new student-run clinic database. The website is an important public face of the organization and functions not only to communicate vital information, but to project the value of the organization. You will support the rest of the operating committee with their technology needs. In the coming year, you will likely focus on integrating new tools, such as the forum, student-run clinic database and conference registration, into the existing SSRFC website.  IT experience is helpful and encouraged but not required as long as you have a willingness to learn.

Requirements:

  1. Ability to attend the National Conference for one year following the election
  2. Hours required: 4-8 hr/month

2026-2027 Operating Committee Nominations:

Isabel Schaffer

UT Southwestern Medical School

Research & Publications Chair Nominee

What is your vision for the position?

My vision for this role is to improve the avenues of collaboration between student-run free clinics and provide support for individuals hoping to start or continue research projects at their respective clinics.

First, I would work on developing the current SRFC research database into one that promotes collaboration across different sites. Listing active and ongoing projects would allow clinics to identify potential partnerships for multi-site research studies and find individuals with similar research questions that they may reach out to for guidance on their own projects. There is currently so much great research and scholarly work being conducted at all the free clinics nationwide. I would love to facilitate better connections between individuals conducting similar research studies who may want to collaborate or gain advice from each other.

Second, I hope to improve the visibility of SRFCs nationwide, which I strongly believe requires more research publications. I think it would be beneficial to create guides for the steps of the research process that can be difficult, including IRB review, writing protocols, and turning conference posters into manuscripts. Working with the Conference Coordinator and the Journal of Student-Run Clinics editors, I would help presenters carry their abstracts and conference presentations forward to publication.

Together, these two goals would support clinics in accomplishing their research aims while boosting the national visibility of SRFCs.

What prior experience do you have?

My experiences in community health outreach, free clinic leadership, and clinical research have equipped me with the skillset to support collaborative research initiatives through the SSRFC.

At UT Southwestern, I am the Vice President and Free Clinic Committee Representative for the Union Gospel Mission (UGM) free clinics. In this role, I lead our STI testing project and quality improvement research, which incorporates both qualitative and quantitative findings to improve the testing experience for our patients. This year, through identifying partnerships with local organizations, we have been able to add syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhea screenings to the previous HIV testing panel. I am grateful to be presenting our work on the project at this year’s conference.

As a representative for our school’s free clinic committee, I have witnessed the importance of collaborative efforts and learning from the work of others, which is a primary reason I am drawn to the work of the SSRFC. I currently serve as a secretary of our committee, where I help organize and lead our meetings for 13 SRFCs.

Finally, I am pursuing an MPH alongside my MD, which has given me the chance to explore public health and quality improvement research through a dedicated research curriculum.
I am so grateful to be able to contribute to the work of UGM free clinics at UTSW, and I would love to help expand the research opportunities for SRFCs nationwide through this role!

 

Sean Beck

Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

National President-Elect Nominee

What is your vision for the position?

My vision for National President is to make the Society of Student Run Free Clinics not just a place where clinics can share their accomplishments, but an organization that provides the necessary tools for clinics to expand upon their resources.

My primary goals would be to develop an SSRFC Specialty Care Collaborative to expand access to specialty healthcare. Many clinics see a need for services such as dermatology, women’s health, psychiatry, ophthalmology, dentistry, etc., but lack the developmental resources to implement recurring clinics. Implementation of these clinics encounters barriers involving funding, equipment, and volunteer recruitment.

I would begin by identifying several high demand specialties and surveying member clinics to determine where specialty programs already exist, and where the greatest needs remain. SSRFC could then launch specialty specific networks which connect select established programs with clinics seeking to develop those services. Through a Specialty Clinic Incubator, participating clinics would receive mentorship, and connections to national societies for advice, volunteers, and potential funding. We could evaluate this pilot program based on programs developed and use those lessons to replicate successful models across SSRFC.

Beyond this initiative, I would strengthen year-round collaboration between member clinics, expand external partnerships, and ensure that the Society of Student Run Free Clinics is attentive to the evolving needs of the communities it represents. I don’t just want SSRFC to be a place where we present what our clinics have accomplished, but rather be a place where we build what our clinics do next.

What prior experience do you have?

Throughout my educational career, student-run healthcare has been a defining passion and the foundation of my leadership experience. As an undergraduate student, I served as Lieutenant and President of Five Quad Volunteer Ambulance Service, a student-run BLS agency serving the University at Albany community. In this role, I implemented Stop the Bleed Kits throughout campus, developed a Leave Narcan Behind initiative, and spearheaded the purchase of a new fully equipped BLS ambulance to improve the care provided to the on-campus community. While gaining experience leading a large student organization, I grew more confident in coordinating operations and ensuring continuity as student leadership transitioned.
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In medical school, I serve as the research and grant coordinator for Lighthouse Free Medical Clinic, helping students develop research projects that address gaps in student-run free clinics. This year, seven projects I have supported are being presented at the SSRFC National Conference. This role gave me direct experience in advancing scholarship within the student-run free clinic community.
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Most recently, I founded Lighthouse Free Eye Clinic after identifying a gap in access to comprehensive eye care for the underserved population of Buffalo. Building this clinic has required recruiting physicians and student volunteers, developing community partnerships, obtaining necessary equipment and supplies, navigating funding, and creating a sustainable clinic workflow.

Through these experiences, I have learned to identify needs and turn ideas into action. I would bring this approach to the SSRFC by listening to members’ needs, building partnerships, and developing sustainable programs that deliver measurable results.

 

Brynn Grandusky

Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

Communications Chair

What is your vision for the position?

My vision for the Communications Chair is to position communication within SSFRC as more than broadcasting information. I want to use communication to form stronger connections between clinics, create a national community, and welcome feedback and ideas to allow for continuous improvement.

To accomplish this, I will support and promote the new initiatives including the Journal of Student-Run Clinics, the new conference format and maintenance of a new national database of student-run clinics. In addition, I will expand upon SSRFC’s impactful work by establishing frequent and consistent lines of communication between SSRFC and clinic leadership through social media presence, our new journal initiative, and monthly newsletters. Together, these efforts will help SSRFC to increase understanding of clinic needs while emphasizing a culture of national community and establishing SSRFC as a friend to all clinics, a support system, and a resource to help them continue their mission.

I am excited for the opportunity to work on the new Journal initiative as it opens up a line of communication between SSRFC and the free clinics it serves. I will ensure that the stories, resources, and columns included in the Journal support the mission of the organization. The goal is to inspire students all over the country to expand their clinics using resources that are organized into a one neat journal as well as inspire students to create more free medical clinics where there is a need. In order to expand, networking will be of utmost importance in order to ensure that SSRFC’s reach is wide.

What prior experience do you have?

My time at the Jacobs School of Medicine has helped me develop skills in planning and executing community-building through events and leadership. It has also taught me the importance of using creative solutions and ideas to build an organization from the ground up.

Since the first year of medical school, I have served as an elected representative for Polity, our student government. I also lead a club called Community Council, an organization created as a liason between our community-facing curriculum and the student government. I inherited this position a year after its initial founding. As a relatively new organization, I developed skills to market the organization, increase student and faculty involvement, and create a culture within the organization that can carry on for years to come. In my first year, I started our school’s annual Spirit Week, an annual volleyball tournament, and an annual Talent Show Fundraiser.

Additionally, through my position as labs manager at Lighthouse Free Medical Clinic, I have had the opportunity to work directly with patients and members of the Western New York community. I’ve had the privilege of working at Lighthouse to better our community and the lives of our patients. Through my own experiences with patients at Lighthouse, I have a deep connection to increasing access to healthcare for all people through supporting no-cost care. I feel called to contribute in both clinical and non-clinical ways.

 

Trisha Shukla

Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University

Technology Chair

What is your vision for the position?

My vision for the Technology Chair is to be able to make the SSRFC platform a central hub that is able to continue to optimize usability and bridge the digital platform with member needs. The website and digital platforms provide a base of access for members of SSRFC and are a vital means of communication between free clinics.
To achieve this, I would first want to work on continuing to expand and integrate the student-run clinic research database. This is a thorough goal and I believe that by organizing all past and incoming projects into a user-friendly platform, we have the ability to allow clinics nationwide to understand current research going on within student-run free clinics. Using this, we can create opportunities for free-clinics to gain more ideas from one another and increase interprofessionalism within student-run free clinics nationwide.
Furthermore, I hope to have an interactive forum that allows students at many different free-clinics to interact prior to the conference and aid in many frequently asked questions. Being able to maintain this would allow the opportunity for students to interact with one another. Additionally, I hope to be able to continue to maintain the listserv, clinic database and conference registration modules in order to make sure communication across clinics is a convenient and efficient process.
Together, I hope to be able to streamline user navigation, provide reliable technical support and help ensure that technology is a continuous tool for collaboration, and connection across student-run free clinics.

What prior experience do you have?

My prior experience within technology implementation, digital communications and data management has equipped me with the skills to help support the technological needs of the SSRFC.
At Chicago Medical School, I am the current Executive Officer of Telehealth. In this role, I have helped continue our introduction of the digital navigators into our clinic in order to improve telehealth communication, and reduce barriers for our patients. Additionally, I have aided in revamping our day-of-doc manuals in order to make them more accessible and user-friendly for our volunteers. This allows them a quick and easy place to access the clinic volunteer information in a more concise manner. However, none of this was done alone, using the guidance and collaboration from the faculty and student executive board, we were able to put all of this change into place.
Additionally, as a former Change Readiness Intern at Oak Street Health, my role was working as a bridge within technology and medicine. I was able to create user-friendly content and presentations designed to decrease communication gaps within the IT department and medical professionals. This allowed the opportunity to ensure smooth technology training and adoption.
Both of these roles have allowed me to gain the technical skills to help streamline workflows and enhance communication skills, all skills that will be essential for a Technology Chair. I am grateful for the opportunity to further contribute to the work of free-clinics and I would love to help expand the digital database and technical accessibility for SSRFCs!

 

Vaishali Gupta

Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

Conference Coordinator-Elect

What is your vision for the position?

As Conference Coordinator, my vision for this position is to establish SSRFC as a conference that inspires collaboration, innovation, and growth among medical students. Because this conference is an opportunity to connect with other student leaders of free clinics, I envision a future for the conference where we can learn from each other, explore new perspectives in our field, and foster meaningful, long-lasting connections.

I hope to use my experience attending this year’s conference to evaluate what worked well and identify opportunities to make next year’s conference even more engaging, accessible, and impactful for attendees. I would work with the SSRFC team and attendee feedback to create a platform that encourages attendees to leave with ideas and inspiration for their own clinics.

To do this, I would prioritize conference programming that promotes student teamwork, such as small-group discussions, case-based workshops, and student-led sessions. I would like to create structured networking opportunities with physicians, professors, and other medical students, so we can form connections that last beyond the conference. Above all, I would prioritize student feedback from conferences. I would work with previous leadership to identify areas of improvement and explore suggestions so we can tailor this conference for our needs.

As Conference Coordinator-Elect, I hope to have SSRFC conference be not just a memorable event, but an experience where medical students learn, grow, and leave with ideas that make meaningful impacts for our patient populations and the future of medicine.

 

What prior experience do you have?

My prior experiences in medical school have allowed me to develop skills in educational programming, collaboration, and student engagement that I hope to bring to the role of Conference Coordinator. Through my involvement as a manager of our dermatology clinic, I have coordinated care for many patients as they navigate their various skin diagnoses. I am also working to develop programming focused on recognizing dermatologic conditions across different skin tones, to encourage my peers to learn dermatology while promoting health equity. This has involved brainstorming interactive learning activities, case-based discussions, and educational resources that can create a more effective learning experience for student volunteers.

I have also attended local and national conferences, ranging from research to public health issues, that have allowed me to reflect on the different structures of conferences and ways to increase engagement. I have a strong interest in creating opportunities for medical students to learn from one another and engage with issues that extend beyond the classroom. These experiences have taught me the importance of thoughtful planning, understanding the needs of participants, and developing initiatives that are both meaningful and sustainable.

I would bring this student-centered approach to SSRFC, along with a willingness to learn from previous leadership, collaborate with the planning team, and take initiative in developing new ideas. I am excited by the opportunity to apply my interests in medical education and student engagement to a larger national conference and help create an experience that students find both professionally valuable and personally meaningful.

 

Pranav Mandyam

UT Southwestern

Conference Coordinator-Elect

What is your vision for the position?

My vision for the Conference Coordinator position revolves around building a well-organized conference that fosters cross-institutional interactions among students, faculty, community members, and nonprofit partners that run and rely on free clinics. My three main goals are to (1) create interactive programming centered on collaboration and community perspectives, (2) develop optional thematic presentation tracks, and (3) ensure clear pre-conference communication.
As attendees, we gain valuable insights from our peers’ projects and networking with other institutions. However, learning directly from community members who have relied on free clinic services about barriers to care, and from longstanding free clinic volunteers and partners about what keeps them committed, helps ground that work in real needs. I would organize panels with community leaders featuring these perspectives, paired with interactive workshops where attendees can work together to translate what they hear into ideas for improvement.
Secondly, I hope to develop optional thematic tracks that presenters can select based on their projects, such as workflow improvement, preventive care, mental health, patient education, cultural barriers, and advocacy. Grouping related posters would help attendees navigate the conference by interest and connect with presenters working on similar problems.
Finally, meaningful engagement begins before attendees arrive, and I would learn from the current coordinator to ensure clear timelines, accessible information on funding and accommodations, and consistent pre-conference communication. As Conference Coordinator-Elect, I hope to create a conference where students learn from one another, connect with community health advocates, and return to their clinics ready to put new ideas into practice for their patients.

 

What prior experience do you have?

As Vice President of The Now Forward Monday Clinic and a representative of the UTSW Free Clinic Consortium, I have worked on various initiatives, including improving access to food drives, expanding clinic operations, and organizing research project databases. I have collaborated with representatives from other UTSW free clinics and our faculty advisors to exchange ideas across clinics and keep multi-clinic projects progressing.

I also have extensive experience leading large events. As a chapter leader with the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative, I organized our inaugural lung cancer walk from start to finish, drawing over 200 attendees and raising more than $9,000. I contacted donors, coordinated physician speakers, invited healthcare vendors, publicized the event to students and Houston community members, and arranged prizes with our national organization.

I also led the planning and execution of two global health hackathons and design showcase sessions, drawing more than 40 college and high school teams. This required recruiting judges and keynote speakers, fundraising, logistics walk-throughs, catering, securing a venue, risk assessments, and content generation.
I understand (and enjoy) the months of collaboration, organization, and planning required to make sure all the small details are accounted for in such a large event, as well as the adaptability needed to manage unforeseen challenges on event day. My past roles have taught me to plan early, delegate clearly, and communicate consistently with partners, attendees, and team members, and I hope to bring these skills to creating an impactful and educational conference experience.

Alan Zdon

Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

Technology Chair

What is your vision for the position?

As technology chair, I’ll have the opportunity to develop tools that serve two functions: build relationships between clinics and help individual clinics serve their patients better. In the operating committee of the SSRFC, I hope to do this for SRFCs all over the country!

The development of an SSRFC Forum is a critical piece of infrastructure for our community. Many clinics deal with similar issues, but with clinics being siloed between institutions, we’re independently finding solutions to identical problems. With a communication network between clinics, we can strategize and solve these issues together, building off each other’s experiences instead of needing to reinvent the wheel. I feel this would be exceptionally helpful for new clinics, who can more easily ask for advice as they’re learning to care for patients in their communities.

Also, the SSRFC database is a crucial resource to help understand SRFCs as a whole. Clinic hours, services, opening date, can provide crucial insights to those wanting to learn what others have done. I’m presenting research at the conference I conducted using the SSRFC database! I’d be honored to help update it and identify as many student-run free clinics as are out there.

Ultimately, I’m excited to build on the digital infrastructure SSRFC has generated over time and envision contributing even more to help SRFCs be as successful as possible.

 

What prior experience do you have?

This year I’ve worked as the Health Technology coordinator for our clinic at SUNY Buffalo, Lighthouse. I’ve helped troubleshoot a myriad of IT problems, upgraded our data storage and communication channels to be HIPAA-compliant, and streamlined electronic prescriptions in our EHR. I also functioned as webmaster, which has helped me understand how critical professional websites are to patients finding and accessing SRFC services.

I also created a QI/QA committee at Lighthouse which works to continually improve on our clinic workflows and services. My role in health technology means I’ve learned how to use all the tools we have at our disposal to make clinical work easier for our managers, volunteers, and preceptors. From digital intake forms to electronic lab orders, there are so many ways SRFCs can use technology to adapt to the digital environment the rest of the health system is able to use.

Much of my work has been behind-the-scenes, but I spend time in clinic making sure I know where problems arise and how to fix them, and I hope to do the same as SSRFC Technology Chair. By understanding the needs of individual clinics, I hope to provide solutions that everyone can use.