Philip M. Brown, Jr., MD

President (Term: 2020-2021)

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 is former president of the New Hanover-Pender Medical Society and will continue as co-director of the Kanof Institute for Physician Leadership, a leadership college provided by the N.C. Medical Society Foundation.

Michael J. Utecht, MD, FACEP

President-Elect (Term: 2020-2021)

Member since 2005

Dr. Michael Utecht is an emergency medicine physician living in the Triangle-area. He has been an active member of the NCMS and other organizations, serving on several committees and as president of the North Carolina College of Emergency Physicians from 2009-2010.

Palmer Edwards, DFAPA

Immediate Past President (Term: 2020-2021)

Member since 1992

An NCMS member since 1992 – nearly 30 years – Dr. Edwards has been involved in many important leadership roles during that time including serving on the NCMS Foundation’s Board of Trustees and being a member of the NCMS Board of Directors for the past 10 years. Dr. Edwards is an alumnus of the Society’s Leadership College and has mentored future health care leaders through the program.

He is Past President of the NC Psychiatric Association, Past President of the Forsyth-Stokes-Davie County Medical Society and founding President of the Forsyth County Psychiatric Society. He also served on the Board of Directors of the NC Professionals Health Program (formerly the Physicians Health Program, NCPHP).

Dr. Edwards is a graduate of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and completed both his adult psychiatry residency and child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship at Vanderbilt University.

He is board-certified in adult psychiatry, and child and adolescent psychiatry. In addition to his private practice, he is a clinical associate professor in the Wake Forest University School of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine and a psychiatric consultant to the Wake Forest University School of Medicine’s Adult Medicine Clinic.

Medicine runs in his family. Dr. Edwards grew up in the eastern North Carolina town of Washington, the son of a physician. He saw firsthand the challenges and rewards of being a small town doctor. Later, a University of North Carolina/Duke University health policy course placed him in Washington, DC, working for the chair of the US House Public Health Committee. This experience helped him appreciate the nuances and complexities involved in developing sound public policy.

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).

Robert W. Seligson, MBA, MA

CEO Emeritus

With the NCMS since 1994

With more than three decades representing physician interests, Bob has a keen understanding of the complexity of our health care system and how to initiate and promote strong health policy. He began his career at the Florida Medical Association, where he rose to become Deputy Executive Vice President. Over his 20-plus years in North Carolina, Bob has tirelessly worked on numerous health care and civic boards.

At the national level, he serves as President of The Physicians Advocacy Institute, Inc., (PAI), which offers tools to ensure physicians may deliver high quality patient care, and as treasurer of The Physicians Foundation, which advances the work of practicing physicians. Since 2001, he has been part of the AMA’s State Legislative Team. Bob has authored more than 50 articles on health care issues, and is often sought by the media for his analysis of health care topics.

Locally, Bob is treasurer of the RBC Centennial Authority Board and has served on the Board of Leadership North Carolina. An Eagle Scout, he has been on the Boy Scouts of America, Occoneechee Council Board of Directors. In 1999, North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt awarded Bob the coveted Order of the Long Leaf Pine for his service to the state. Among his many honors, Bob has received the 2017 Ron H. Levine Legacy Award for Public Health; the L. Richardson Preyer Alumni Award from Leadership North Carolina as well as recognition by The Florida Medical Association, the AMA, the NCMS, the NC Association of Physicians of Indian Origin and the Old North State Medical Society for his service and dedication to patients and the health care community.

Bob is a graduate of the University of Georgia with an undergraduate degree in economics, and the University of North Florida with an MBA. Ten years ago, he returned to school to pursue his passion for documentary filmmaking, and received a master’s of arts degree in liberal studies with a concentration in film from North Carolina State University. From 2003 until 2014, Bob chaired the NC Film Council. He continues to add to his wide-ranging portfolio of documentaries.

Bob is married and has a son and a daughter.

Edward W. Whitesides, MD

Region 1 Representative (Term: 2018-2021)

Member since 1988

Dr. Whitesides was born in Cologne, Germany while his father was an opera singer in Europe. The family moved back to the U.S. when he was 3 years old, and he grew up in Columbus, Ohio and Louisville, Kentucky. He attended college at Davidson College and medical school and urology training at UNC Chapel Hill. After completing training in the summer of 1993, he and his family moved to Wilmington, and he has been practicing general urology since that time.

He has maintained board certification by the American Board of Urology since 1996 and is a member of the American Urologic Association and the New Hanover-Pender County Medical Societies, for which he has served as president. He has been an NCMS member since 1988.

Dr. Whitesides and his wife have 4 grown children. He enjoys all types of sports, travel, camping and hiking in our National Parks.

Fatima Z. Syed, MD, MSc

Region 2 Representative (Term: 2021-2022)

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. She serves as an Associate Director for the Primary Care Leadership Track. She transitioned into medicine through social policy, having an MSc in Comparative Social Policy from University of Oxford before attending Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. Dr. Syed was the first primary care resident at Thomas Jefferson University 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. 

Danielle L. Mahaffey, MD, MMM

At-Large (Term: 2018-2021)

Member since 2005

Dr. Danielle Mahaffey is the Chief Physician Executive in the Appalachian Regional Healthcare System in Boone, NC, where she focuses on system-wide quality and provider engagement. She is responsible for leading medical staff practitioners to adapt current and shape future practices within an evolving healthcare delivery system.

Dr. Mahaffey graduated with her Doctorate in Medicine from the Indiana University School of Medicine in 1996 and received her Master of Medical Management from Carnegie Mellon University in 2017.

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.