Call for CHA Academy Members
Draft for mock-up will update when finalized:
We are excited to announce the launch of the CHA Academy of Educators, a new interprofessional community of practice dedicated to advancing teaching excellence, fostering educational scholarship, and strengthening collaboration across disciplines throughout CHA.
Marcela Almeida, MD will serve as the inaugural Director of the Academy. Dr. Almeida is a psychiatrist and medical educator who joined CHA in 2020 and currently serves as Adult Psychiatry Residency Program Director. She will partner closely with academic leadership and faculty across CHA to build a vibrant and collaborative educator community.
Our goal for the Academy is to ensure that every educator at CHA is supported and empowered to thrive in their educational role. Whether you are looking to implement a curriculum, design a research project, format your CV or intentionally improve some aspect of your day-to-day teaching, we are here to provide the scaffolding and professional relationships you need to succeed! At a time when burnout is an increasing challenge, participation in a dynamic learning community can rekindle joy, restore purpose, and offer a powerful source of professional renewal.
The Academy will elevate CHA’s academic reputation and advance our commitment to making a unique and robust contribution to national educational discourse and scholarship.
Why join the Academy?
Academy membership reflects reciprocal investment between CHA and its educators. In addition to the intrinsic value of engaging in the life of the Academy, membership will confer benefits and opportunities to develop educational projects, engage in peer mentoring and faculty development, be nominated for local and national awards, and to access resources such as small grants, technical assistance, and tuition support for courses.
A list of CHA educational leaders who serve as Founding Academy members (link) can be found here.
Who should apply?
Membership is encouraged for those at CHA who embrace ‘educator’ as part of their professional identity, and expected for those with formal teaching roles.
What is expected of members?
Developing a right-sized educational project with the goal of scholarship
Participating in at least 6 hours of Academy activities annually
An annual review of educational accomplishments with a mentor
What is meant by “project”?
For this inaugural year, we define “project” broadly and flexibly. It is any intentional effort to improve, innovate, or understand an aspect of health professions education at CHA.
Project proposals may fall anywhere on the continuum from an initial idea (e.g. a defined area of interest with a question formulated for further exploration) to a well-developed curricular intervention with a formal assessment plan.
Our goal is to help you identify and nurture an educational inquiry tailored to your capacity that bolsters your current work and CHA’s goals. With the encouragement of the Academy you will give shape to this pursuit and move it toward dissemination!
Importantly, your project is not meant to be "extra" work; it is often the work you are already doing, but with added structure and a plan for sharing what you’ve learned.
To apply:
We expect all applicants who agree to these foundational expectations to be accepted, with the goal of notification by early July, 2026.
Please complete the application form Membership Application and submit your CV to oaa@challiance.org by Thursday, June 18, 2026. The application includes a brief statement of goals and a short description of a proposed educational project.
For questions, please contact the Office of Academic Affairs ooa@challiance.org or Dr. Almeida at maralmeida@cha.harvard.edu
We look forward to partnering with you on this journey to elevate the academic mission of CHA!
Marcela Almeida (will update with Marcela’s signature above)
Director of the CHA Academy, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Liz Gaufberg
CHA Chief Academic Officer Associate of Medicine and Psychiatry Harvard Medical School
Academy Leadership
Marcela Almeida, MD
CHA Academy of Educators Director
Dr. Marcela Almeida is the Director of the Adult Psychiatry Residency Program at Cambridge Health Alliance and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. A graduate of the University of Chicago psychiatry residency and the Harvard Macy Institute Program for Educators in Health Professions.
Dr. Almeida has dedicated her career to the intersection of clinical excellence and educational scholarship. Her extensive background includes completing a Medical Education fellowship at the University of Illinois at Chicago and directing a nationally recognized Women’s Mental Health and Reproductive Psychiatry program.
A recipient of the AADPRT Mentorship Award, she is a passionate "mentor-scholar" who has published numerous peer-reviewed papers in collaboration with her trainees. Her leadership is defined by a commitment to helping clinicians navigate the invisible transformations of their professional identities. Her academic interests span medical education innovation, physician wellness and burnout, and health equity within cultural psychiatry.
Academic Advisory Board
David Hirsh
Undergraduate Health Professions Education
Rick Pels
Graduate Medical Education
Carl Fulwiler
Research Steering Committee
Glover Taylor
Research Steering Committee
Ben Cook
Research Steering Committee
Senior Leadership
Maren Batalden, MD
Executive Sponsor for Academics
Assaad Sayah, MD
Chief Executive Officer
Liz Gaufberg, MD
Chief Academic Officer
Elizabeth Gaufberg, MD, MPH is the Chief Academic Officer at the Cambridge Health Alliance and an Associate Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School (HMS). She came to CHA in 1989, completing residencies in Internal Medicine and then Psychiatry, followed by a rich career in patient care, education and administration. Liz was part of the original design team of the Harvard Medical School Cambridge Integrated Clerkship and has led the CHA-HMS Developing Physician Course since the CIC's inception. She served as the Director of the CHA Center for Professional and Academic Development (now transitioning to the CHA Office for Academic Affairs) for over 15 years. Her areas of professional interest and scholarship include developing innovative models of medical education, including longitudinal integrated clerkships and humanities and arts-based pedagogy. Liz is committed to fostering open inquiry and civil discourse in medical education, and serves on the HMS Dean's Open Inquiry Working Group which was created in 2025.
On a national level, Liz serves as a Senior Consultant to the Association of American Medical Colleges FRAHME (Fundamental Role of the Arts and Humanities in Medical Education) Initiative and is a Co-Director of the Harvard Macy Institute Art Museum-based Health Professions Education Fellowship. From 2012-2018, Liz served as the Jean and Harvey Picker Founding Director of the CHA-housed Arnold P. Gold Foundation Research Institute during which time she developed a community of practice of researchers, educators and advocates dedicated to advancing humanism in healthcare. The CHA Gold Innovation Fellowship and CEO CLER program are fruits of CHA's partnership with the Gold Foundation.
Liz has received numerous awards including the Clifford Barger Mentoring Award at Harvard Medical School and the Arnold P. Gold Foundation’s Pearl Birnbaum Hurwitz Humanism in Healthcare Award.
She is dedicated to supporting CHA faculty to forge pathways to professional flourishing in their roles as innovators, educators and researchers.
