Michael J. Utecht, MD, FACEP

President (Term: 2021-2022)

Member since 2005

Dr. Michael Utecht, an emergency medicine physician living in the Triangle-area, has served on the NCMS Board of Directors since 2014 and as an NCMS Foundation Trustee since last year. He has been heavily involved with various NCMS committees over the years and is a 2019 graduate of the NCMS Foundation’s Kanof Institute for Physician Leadership Health Care Leadership and Management program. Dr. Utecht also is a past president of the North Carolina College of Emergency Physicians.

Dr. Utecht received his undergraduate degree in physiology from Michigan State University and went on to receive his MD from Wayne State University School of Medicine. He did his emergency medicine residency at Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine. 

He currently is an attending physician in the emergency department at the VA Hospital in Durham where he teaches residents while providing direct clinical care of veterans. 

Arthur E. Apolinario, MD, MPH, FAAFP, CH

President-Elect

Member since 2000

Dr. Arthur Apolinario, or "Dr. Art" as he's affectionately called by his patients, is a board-certified family medicine physician working at the Clinton Medical Clinic, Inc. He has been active in the North Carolina Medical Society and the American Medical Association, serving as delegates to both organizations as a medical student, resident, and “Young Physician” and successfully working to pass policy relating to health care and childhood obesity as well as domestic violence. He has been president of his local county society, the Sampson County Medical Society, since 2004. He has been actively involved with the NC Medical Society since 2000 and served on the Board of Directors representing Region 3, which covers the south-central portion of the state, from 2014 to 2020. He is a 2016 graduate of the NCMS Foundation Kanof Institute for Physician Leadership’s Health Care Leadership and Management program. 

After receiving his undergraduate degree in English Literature from Gannon University, he went on to New Orleans, LA for his MD at Tulane. He moved to Erie, PA to serve his residency in Family Medicine at Saint Vincent Health System, and later moved on to Newton Grove, NC to join the Clinton Medical Clinic. Dr. Apolinario has a special interest in weight loss and mind-body medicine including hypnotherapy.

Philip M. Brown, Jr., MD

Immediate Past President (Term: 2021-2022)

Member since 1991

Philip Brown, MD, currently serves as New Hanover Regional Medical Center Chief Physician Executive where he oversees care quality, care transformation and physician leadership within the organization. A vascular surgeon practicing in Wilmington since 2004, Dr. Brown finished undergraduate work at UNC-Wilmington in 1988, then gained his medical degree at the Brody School of Medicine in 1995 at East Carolina University. He completed a residency at Pitt Memorial Hospital in Greenville, then a fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2001-02. The next two years he served on the academic faculty at East Carolina University in Greenville.

Dr. Brown served as NCMS president from 2020-2021 and is also former president of the New Hanover-Pender Medical Society.

John Meier MD, MBA, FAAP

Secretary-Treasurer (Term: 2020-2023)

Member since 2008

John Meier MD, MBA, FAAP, is a practicing internist and pediatrician in the Raleigh area. He serves as a member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer of WakeMed Key Community Care (WKCC), a Medicare Shared Savings Program participant and Accountable Care Organization. In his role at WKCC John also serves on the Management, Quality and Operations Committees. Dr. Meier is very active in several working groups and committees at the North Carolina Medical Society – Towards Accountable Care Task Force, Towards Accountable Care Advisory Board, the Kanof Leadership Institute Advisory Board, the Legislative Cabinet and Finance Committee.

Dr. Meier followed his interest and passion in medicine by attending medical school at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, graduating in 2004. He completed his combined Internal Medicine and Pediatric residency at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and had the opportunity to serve as the Medicine Chief Resident at WakeMed Hospital.

Chip Baggett, JD

Executive Vice President and CEO

With the NCMS since 2007

Email Chip
Direct:  (919) 719-4164

In his capacity as CEO/EVP, Chip is responsible for state level advocacy efforts (primarily focused on the NC General Assembly) as well as communications and fundraising for the NCMS and NCMS Foundation.

Chip has a long history in organizational advancement and advocacy. Dating back to college, he has fundraised in numerous paid as well as volunteer capacities. He has led successful corporate and personal annual fund programs and gone through training at the Indiana School of Fundraising. Chip has worked in many different facets of health care ranging from a children’s science and health museum and pharmaceutical sales before going to work directly for physicians and PAs as a medical society executive first at the county level and then here at NCMS.

Chip graduated from the evening program at the NC Central University School of Law and passed the NC BAR in 2016 while working for NCMS. He is proud to be married to his wife, Shanon. They have two children in addition to a Great Dane-Lab mix. Chip also loves to explore the outdoors in his spare time by bike and on foot (preferably with a loaded backpack).

Claudius D. Jarrett, MD

Region 1 (Term: 2021-2024)

Member since 2019

Dr. Claude Jarrett is an orthopedic surgeon practicing at Wilmington Health. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Jarrett also participates in grant funded research projects addressing rotator cuff injuries, shoulder arthritis and upper extremity fractures. After graduating summa cum laude from Xavier University, Dr. Jarrett attended medical school at Northwestern University in Chicago and completed his Orthopaedic Surgery Internship and Residency at Emory University Hospitals. Dr. Jarrett is a 2021 graduate of Leadership College, a program of the NCMS Foundation’s Kanof Institute for Physician Leadership.  

Fatima Z. Syed, MD, MSc, FACP

Region 2 Representative (Term: 2021-2024)

Fatima Z. Syed, MD, MSc, FACP is an internist at Duke Primary Care and an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of General Internal Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. Syed came to medicine after receiving her MSc in Comparative Social Policy from University of Oxford in England. She went on to receive her MD from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and completed her residency at Thomas Jefferson University in Pennsylvania where she trained in both internal medicine and endocrinology. Dr. Syed has been involved in advocacy nationally through the American College of Physicians, formerly Chair of the Council of Resident and Fellow Members and currently serving in Diversity and Equity. At Duke, she is involved in medical and resident education as well as coaching and mentorship.

Karen L. Smith, MD, FAAFP

Region 3 Representative (Term: 2020-2023)

Member since 1990

Karen L. Smith, MD, FAAFP, is a graduate of Hahnemann University School of Medicine. She trained at National Congress of Family Physician Residents, North Carolina Academy of Family Physicians, Duke University, Cape Fear Valley Medical Center, and Fellow American Academy of Family Physicians.

Dr. Smith has been practicing since 1992, with a private practice in Raeford, North Carolina since 2003. Dr. Smith’s practice specializes in family medicine.

Rachel D. Keever, MD, CPE, FACC

Region 4 Representative (Term: 2020-2023)

Member since 2003

Dr. Rachel Keever, a cardiovascular disease/internal medicine physician from Asheville, is the newest member of the NCMS Board. She studied at the UNC School of Medicine where she received her MD degree, was a clinical fellow in the UNC Division of Cardiology and was a resident in the UNC Hospitals combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Program. Dr. Keever also was  awarded Certified Physician Executive (CPE) status in 2016.

Dr. Keever is one of a handful of  physicians who has completed two of the Kanof Institute for Physician Leadership’s programs: NCMS Leadership College in 2012 and Health Care Leadership and Management (HCLM) in 2016. 

Jugta Kahai, MD, FAAP

At-Large (Term: 2021-2024)

Member since 2000

Dr. Jugta Kahai is a pediatrician practicing at Southeast Pediatrics. Dr. Kahai has long been involved with the NCMS through committee work and as a 2003 graduate of the Leadership College and a 2019 graduate of the Health Care Leadership and Management program, both part of the NCMS Foundation’s Kanof Institute for Physician Leadership. Dr. Kahai’s specialties include pediatric critical care medicine. She received her MD degree from MS Ramaiah in Bangalore and did her residency training at the State University of New York.  

Bryant A. Murphy, MD, MBA

At-Large Member (Term: 2020-2023)

Member since 1993

Dr. Murphy practices medicine at UNC Health Care in Chapel Hill in the Department of Anesthesiology, where he is the Vice Chairman for Clinical Operations. He is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology at the UNC School of Medicine. In 2012, Dr. Murphy chaired the Anesthesiology section of the National Medical Association and is an NC delegate to the American Society of Anesthesiologists. He also served as the president of the North Carolina Medical Board from 2019-2020.

Eileen M. Raynor, MD, FACS, FAAP

At-Large (Term: 2020-2023)

Member since 2009

Dr. Eileen Raynor currently works as an Associate Professor of Surgery and an Associate Professor in Pediatrics in the Department of Surgery, Division of Head and Neck Surgery & Communication Sciences within the Duke University Health System. She has been an active member of the NCMS for a number of years, serving on the NCMS Legislative Cabinet, the Medical Education Committee and the Membership and Communications Advisory Committee. She is an alumna of the KIPL Leadership College Class of 2012 and also served as President of the North Carolina Otolaryngology Society.

Dr. Raynor shares, “I would like to positively impact the quality of life for North Carolina citizens and its physicians through advocacy and collaboration. As a member of the NCMS Board, we will be able to shape the future of health care for all of North Carolina.”

Merritt J. Seshul, MD, MBA, FACS

At-Large (Term: 2019-2022)

Member since 2002

Carl J. Westcott, MD

At-Large (Term: 2018-2021)

Member since 1998

Dr. Carl Westcott is a general surgery specialist and has been practicing for 22 years. He graduated from Hahnemann University School of Medicine in 1991 and currently is an Associate Professor of Surgery at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.