Advancing Women Faculty to Senior Leadership in U.S. Academic Health Centers: Fifteen Years of History in the Making

In 1993 the Hedwig van Ameringen Executive Leadership in Q1 Academic Medicine (ELAM) program was developed in response to concerns regarding the organizational climate and leadership opportunities available to faculty women within academic health centers. Since that time the ELAM program has garnered a reputation as the premier leadership program for women in academic medicine, dentistry, and public health in the United States and Canada. This article details the design of the program and its curricular components as well as the conceptual framework and strategies that underlie it. The success of the program is demonstrated by demographic data on participants and their institutions; pre and postsurvey research on participants’ and comparison groups’ knowledge and skills; surveys of medical and dental school deans regarding their perceptions of program impact; the leadership career trajectory of ELAM fellows; and the development of leadership programs and numerous consultations based on the ELAM model.