BALTIMORE, April 03, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Urological Association (AUA) announced today the newest members of the AUA Leadership Program. The 2025-2026 program marks the 11th Leadership Class, with 28 participants nationwide.

“The AUA understands that cultivating and nurturing leaders is critical for the future of our organization — and the future of our specialty,” said AUA President Stephen Y. Nakada, MD. “The Leadership Program has played a vital role in shaping urology’s leaders of tomorrow, and we are proud to add such an exceptional group of individuals to this esteemed program.”

The AUA Leadership Program is a prestigious and long-standing initiative designed for urologists who have demonstrated leadership within organized medicine. This highly competitive program selects participants from each AUA Section for a year-long experience that includes a leadership training weekend, mentorship-driven group projects, engagement in the Annual Urology Advocacy Summit, networking opportunities at the AUA Annual Meeting and more.

AUA Secretary Dr. David Penson added, “This highly competitive program has produced more than 200 graduates since it was launched in 2004, and those graduates can now be found in leadership roles across organized urology, including the AUA Board of Directors, AUA Section leadership and subspecialty societies like the Endourological Society, ROCK Society, Society of Urologic Oncology and others. We have seen Leadership Program graduates accomplish amazing things, and I look forward to seeing the difference this new class is going to make.” 

Notable graduates of the Leadership Program include Eugene Rhee, MD, the incoming AUA president-elect; Robert Siemens, the current editor of The Journal of Urology®; and Kathleen Kobashi, the incoming editor of Urology Practice.

Congratulations to the 2025 class of the AUA Leadership Program:

Mid-Atlantic Section

• Daniel Lee, MD
• Matthew Meissner, MD
• Krishnan Venkatesan, MD

New England Section

• Jaime Cavallo, MD, MPHS
• Matthew Mossanen, MD
• Benjamin T. Ristau, MD

New York Section

• Justin Han, MD
• Katie Murray, DO, MS, FACS
• Andrew Winer, MD

North Central Section

• Denise Asafu-Adjei, MD, MPH
• Bradley Gill, MD, MS
• Nathan Grunewald, MD
• Kevin Koo, MD, MPH, MPhil 

Northeastern Section

• Vineet Agrawal, MD, MHA, FRCSEd, FEBU
• Teresa Danforth, MD
• Thomas Frye, DO

South Central Section

• Marawan El Tayeb, MD
• Ty Higuchi, MD, PhD
• Michael Johnson, MD
• Casey Kowalik, MD, FACS

Southeastern Section

• Hans Arora, MD, PhD
• Adam Baumgarten, MD
• Lourdes Guerrios-Rivera, MD, MSc
• Chad Ritch, MD, MBA, FACS

Western Section

• Sudhir Isharwal, MD
• Una Lee, MD
• Brock O'Neil, MD
• Sarah Psutka, MD, MS, FACS

 Learn more about the AUA Leadership Program at AUAnet.org/Leadership

About the American Urological Association: Founded in 1902 and headquartered near Baltimore, Maryland, the American Urological Association is a leading advocate for the specialty of urology and has nearly 26,000 members throughout the world. The AUA is a premier urologic association, providing invaluable support to the urologic community as it pursues its mission of fostering the highest standards of urologic care through education, research and the formulation of health policy.

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• AUA Leadership Program Announces 2025 Class

Corey Del Bianco
American Urological Association
443-689-4033
cdelbianco@auanet.org