Board of Directors
The leaders of ACIHE, the Accreditation Council for International Healthcare Education, include Review Committee Members, Council Members, and staff. Each role plays an integral part in the ACIHE mission.
Seven men and women comprise the ACIHE Board of Trustees and guide ACIHE as it sets standards, policy, and accreditation. ACIHE is a non-profit corporation registered in the State of Missouri. Elected Accreditation Review Committee (ARC) perform accreditation review and makes accreditation decisions for ACIHE.
Members of the Board of Trustees and Accreditation Review Committee are appointed to serve on ACIHE Councils:
Joseph LeMaster, MD, MPH
ACIHE President
Dr. LeMaster lived in Nepal from 1990-2000, serving at Okhaldhunga Hospital, promoting maternal-child health and conducting leprosy research. He received an MPH focused on epidemiology from the University of Washington in 2002. Presently, Dr. LeMaster is a full professor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, teaches family medicine and provides healthcare for refugees from Bhutan. He is also a Board member of the North American Primary Care Research Group.
Lawand Abdulrahman, PhD
Community Representative
Dr. Talal received his Doctor of Judicial Science Degree from the University of Kansas (KU) in May 2020 in International Law. He received his LL.M Master’s Degree from UMKC in July 2014. He is currently a Law Professor at Duhok Polytechnic University in Iraq and works for the United High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Iraq as Assistant Protection Officer.
Brad Gautney, PHP, MPH, PhD
Community Representative
Brad is Founder and President of Global Health Innovations. He designs HIV/AIDS programs in East Africa, and developed the HITSystem technology tool to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV and to ensure HIV infected infants receive optimal HIV care. Brad also designs medical programs to assist children rescued from slavery in West Africa.
Lani Ackerman, MD
Academic Representative
Dr. Ackerman is a medical educator and family physician who spent 10 years living and working in the nations of Nepal and Bnuthan. Today, she and her husband lead HELP, Health Environmental Learning Program, a non-government organization working in community development in the Himalayas. Dr. Ackerman also teaches clinical medicine for Texas Christian University School of Medicine.
Todd Stephens, MD
Approved ACIHE Program Representative
After serving six years providing medical care in Kenya and Rwanda, Dr. Stephens today directs the Post-Residency International Family Medicine Fellowship at Via Christi Medical Center in Wichita, Kansas. This one-year fellowship incorporates both study of global health and supervised service in developing nations, instilling vision and skill among like-hearted healthcare personnel.
John Gibson, MD
Approved ACIHE Program Representative
Dr. Gibson is Director of the International Medicine at the University of North Texas Southwestern Health Sciences Center and John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. He lived in Thailand from 1984-2004, training Thai medical personnel and providing care for marginalized citizens. Fluent in the Thai language, Dr. Gibson sat for the Thai medical licensure exam and is fully credentialed in that nation.
Charlie Inboriboon, MD
Academic Representative
Dr. Inboriboon is an Emergency Medicine Physician and Director of International Emergency Medicine Programs at Truman Medical Center and Children’s Mercy Hospital. Dr. Inboriboon completed the University of Rochester International Medicine Fellowship. He has extensive international medicine experience and research.
Elizabeth (Betsy) Wickstrom MD
Community Representative
Dr. Wickstrom is a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Kansas City’s Shawnee Mission Medical Center. She is mother of two girls and of one thriving birthing center in Haiti, Maison de Naissance. Her professional interests include multiple gestation and recurrent pregnancy loss. She enjoys her Greek heritage, including language, dance, music, and Saint Dionysios Greek Orthodox Church.
Flint, MPA, RN, DINPH
Interim CEO
Micah Flint has served in CEO and Chief Innovations Officer roles since 2005. Micah’s expertise is in disaster management, innovative entrepreneurship, and personalized health promotion. Micah is married to Jennifer, a pediatric critical care physician, and their service experience includes volunteering at the Baptist Medical Center in Ghana, West Africa.