Our Board of Directors
President
Prof Deborah Eastwood
Prof Eastwood is the Immediate Past President of the British Orthopaedic Association and holds the position of UCL Professor of Paediatric Orthopaedic Surgery at Great Ormond Street and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospitals. She specialises in paediatric orthopaedics and is known for her role as the lead surgeon for the Ponseti service for clubfoot deformity.
First-Vice President
Dr Laurie Hiemstra
Based in Canada, Dr Hiemstra is an associate professor of orthopaedic surgery at the University of Calgary and director of research at the Banff Sport Medicine Foundation. Dr Hiemstra completed a clinical fellowship in orthopaedic sport medicine at the University of Western Ontario and also attained a PhD in neuromuscular physiology. Dr Hiemstra served as the first female president of the Canadian Orthopaedic Association in 2023.
Second-Vice President
Dr Mark Schultzel
Dr. Mark Schultzel is the Division Chief of Orthopaedic Surgery at United Medical Doctors, Chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at the Sharp Community Medical Group, and Chief Medical Officer of Modiv Health, based in San Diego, CA. He is board-certified orthopedic surgeon with fellowship training in shoulder and elbow surgery from the prestigious Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic, with clinical appointments at UC San Diego and Touro Schools of Medicine, and a focus on AI and spatial computing in medicine. He is a team physician for the US Olympic Team and USA Kendo, and is involved with leadership and diversity initiatives within the AAOS, AOA, ASES, and Pride Ortho.
Immediate Past President
Dr Matthew Schmitz
Dr. Schmitz is a Clinical Professor of Orthopaedics at UC San Diego and Rady Children's Hospital. His practice is focused on adolescent sports injuries and hip preservation in young adults. He also serves as a Deputy Editor for the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.
Secretary
Miss Samantha Tross
Miss Tross has been heavily involved in increasing DEI in orthopaedics her whole career. Miss Tross has worked with numerous charities, as well as Bristol University, to improve access to medical school through mentoring. Dr Tross is a Trustee of the British Association of Black Surgeons and a member of the Cultural and Diversity Commitee of the British Hip Society, for which she helped set up and run the mentoring program.
Treasurer
Dr Matthew Schmitz
Dr. Schmitz is a Clinical Professor of Orthopaedics at UC San Diego and Rady Children's Hospital. His practice is focused on adolescent sports injuries and hip preservation in young adults. He also serves as a Deputy Editor for the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.
Trainee Representative
Miss Kate Atkinson
Miss Kate Atkinson is an orthopaedic resident (registrar) in London. She is passionate about improving diversity within orthopaedics and has delivered international talks on this topic. She is the past Vice President of the British Orthopaedic Trainees Association (BOTA), the past BOTA Culture & Diversity Representative, and is the British Orthopaedic Association & BOTA Culture and Diversity Champion for London. She is also the founder of London Women of Orthopaedics.​
Africa
Dr Bezawit Teferi Tsegaye
Africa@orthopaedicdiversity.org
Dr Bezawit T. Tsegaye is an orthopaedic and trauma surgeon based in Ethiopia. She has held numerous roles in the Ethiopian Society of Orthopaedic and Traumatology. Dr Tsegaye is passionate about mentorship, surgical outreach programs and medical innovation projects to increase accessibility and equity in trauma care in Africa.
Europe
Dr Marie Fridberg
Europe@orthopaedicdiversity.org
Dr Marie Fridberg is a trauma and paediatric orthopaedic surgeon in Denmark. She is the founder of the Danish Orthopaedic Women's Society (2016) adn the first woman to serve on the Danish Orthopaedic Board of Directors as Treasurer. She was among the founders and an inaugural board member of Young Orthopaedics Denmark in 2010 and has been an AO Faculty member (Denmark) since 2018.
Latin America and Caribbean
Associate Professor Maria Gala Santini Araujo
LatinAmerica-Caribbean@orthopaedicdiversity.org
Dr Maria Gala Santini Araujo is a foot and ankle surgeon based at the IUHI Medicine School in Buenos Aires and leads the foot and ankle division of Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires (IHBA). She completed fellowships at IHBA and the University of Leuven in Belgium. Dr Santini Araujo is the AAOT Women's Committee Chair and the Vice President of the SAMECIPP Board. She was the recipient of the AOFAS Traveling Fellowship in 2023.
Middle East
Dr. Saleh Alsaifi is a consultant in adult and pediatric orthopaedics and limb reconstruction, currently leading the Division of Pediatric Orthopaedics at AlRazi Hospital in Kuwait. He has held several national leadership roles, including Chair of Orthopaedics at AlRazi Hospital and Head of Kuwait’s Orthopaedic Council. A fellowship-trained specialist with international experience, he is active in advancing inclusive care and education through regional and global orthopaedic societies.
North America
Dr Zachary Lum
NorthAmerica@orthopaedicdiversity.org
Zachary C. Lum, DO, FAOA, is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Chief Wellness Officer at UC Davis Medical Center, specializing in adult hip and knee reconstruction. He completed fellowship training in joint reconstruction at UC Davis following residency at Valley Orthopaedic Surgery. Dr. Lum’s scholarship spans arthroplasty outcomes and value and the use of artificial intelligence in surgical education and quality. He serves on the AAOS Knee Program Committee and chairs the AAHKS Diversity Advisory Board. An OREF-funded investigator, he also an editor of the Journal of the American Osteopathic Academy of Orthopaedics, in addition to mentoring trainees and leading department wellness initiatives.
North America
Dr Marc Tompkins
NorthAmerica@orthopaedicdiversity.org
Dr. Tompkins is an orthopedic sports medicine surgeon and Professor in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Minnesota and a faculty for the orthopedic sports medicine fellowship at TRIA Orthopedic Center. Clinical interests for Dr. Tompkins are in complex reconstructive and joint preservation surgery in the knee and shoulder. In addition to an adult practice, he is the co-director of the pediatric sports medicine program at Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare.
Dr. Tompkins sits on the Editorial Board for AJSM, KSSTA, and Sports Health. He serves on committees and in leadership roles for organizations, including AOSSM, PRISM, AAOS, ISAKOS, the ROCK group, and IPSG. He has participated in both AOSSM and Patellofemoral Foundation/ISAKOS traveling fellowships. He also has expertise in leveraging technology, including mixed reality applications and wearables, to help facilitate surgical education and patient rehabilitation.
Past Presidents
Dr Matthew Schmitz
IODA Past President
2024–2025
Dr Marí Thiart
IODA Immediate Past President
2023–2024
Dr Jennifer Green
IODA Past President
2022–2023
Dr Kristy L. Weber
IODA Inaugural President
2021–2022