New Board Members Approved for 2026–2027

February 12, 2026 — Two new members have been approved for the STFM Board of Directors. The 2026–2027 President-Elect is William Liaw, MD, MPH, University of Houston. The 2026–2027 Member-at-Large is David Rakel, MD, University of Wisconsin.The new board members were approved via a vote from STFM members (other than honorary members) in good standing. Members received an email on January 12, 2026, and a reminder email 2 weeks later, with information on how to vote. The vote closed January 30, 2026.Their new board members' terms begin in May following the 2026 STFM Annual Spring Conference.Click here for a list of all current STFM Board of Directors members. Read more about each new board member below.

President-Elect Winston Liaw, MD, MPH

Dr Liaw is a family physician, health services researcher, and the chair of Health Systems and Population Health Sciences at the University of Houston Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine. His research focuses on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in primary care and assessing and addressing unmet social needs within primary care settings.Prior to joining the University of Houston, he was a researcher at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and was the medical director at the Robert Graham Center, a primary care policy research institute affiliated with the American Academy of Family Physicians. He also served as residency faculty at the Virginia Commonwealth University, Fairfax Family Medicine Residency Program.Dr Liaw received a BA degree from Rice University, an MD from Baylor College of Medicine, an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health, family medicine residency training from Virginia Commonwealth University, and health policy fellowship training from the Robert Graham Center. Professionally, he has served on the boards of the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG) along with STFM. He served as the chair of the NAPCRG Research Advocacy Committee and the Academic Family Medicine Advocacy Committee and is currently a member of the PRiMER Editorial Board and STFM Artificial Intelligence in Medical Education Task Force.He is an educator at heart, loves teaching, and is always looking for ways to connect with his students and patients. Outside of work, he is a father to two amazing daughters, a husband, a music lover (ask him about his favorite bands at Austin City Limits), and a sports fan (ask him about how he tore his Achilles tendon).

Member-at-Large David Rakel, MD

Dr Rakel is professor and chair of the University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. Dr Rakel joined DFMCH faculty in 2001. He founded the integrative health program (now known as the Osher Center for Integrative Health at University of Wisconsin-Madison) and received the Gold Foundation’s Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, the school’s highest honor for excellence and compassion in care. His team worked with more than 50 clinical systems within the Veterans Health Administration to implement changes to make care more personalized, proactive, and patient driven which is referred to as Whole Health, now endorsed by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.In 2016, Dr Rakel became professor and chair of the Department of Family & Community Medicine at the University of New Mexico. He returned to UW-Madison in 2021. Dr Rakel has served on the STFM Telemedicine Task Force and the STFM Strategic Planning Committee.An author of both academic and popular writings, one of Dr Rakel’s missions is to communicate medical information in a way that is accessible to people of all backgrounds. He has published eleven books, including the Textbook of Family Medicine, Current Therapy, and Integrative Medicine, as well as peer-reviewed research on the impact of measures such as mindfulness meditation and the power of the therapeutic encounter. His 2018 book The Compassionate Connection focuses on how compassionate relationships can influence health outcomes. All profits from this book go to supporting family medicine education.

Over a series of several meetings, the Nominations Committee reviews the applications of those who self-nominate this year, others who have self-nominated in the past 3 years, individuals who fit the perspectives most needed on the board in a particular year, as well as names/applications maintained on a roster of potential future leaders. Per the STFM bylaws, the Nominations Committee recommends to the membership a slate of candidates for the open Board positions, and the bylaws require a membership affirmation of the slate.While there is no single pathway for selection for the STFM Board of Directors, generally, involvement in other leadership roles within the Society (previous Board service in a different role, committee chair, collaborative leader, task force participant, etc) is the most common way that individuals are selected for Board service. The Nominations Committee considers many factors when selecting candidates, including current diversity on the STFM Board of Directors, level of leadership activity within STFM, current strategic priorities of the Board, and the talents and perspectives of the individuals being considered.