Dr. Katie Russell is a pediatric surgeon who currently serves as the Trauma Medical Director and the Surgical Director of the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) program at Primary Children’s Hospital in Utah. Her interest in continuing to grow her leadership skills and professional training led her to join the Heller EMBA program in August 2025.
Eight years after completing her fellowship, Katie found herself back in the classroom for the program’s first of three on-site sessions. “It's like a summer boot camp,” she recalls. “You get ten uninterrupted days to dive into the program—it’s really intense, but I think it's an effective way to learn and a great way to bond with your colleagues who are embarking on this journey with you.”
Upon completing the first session, Katie and her classmates transitioned into the hybrid component of the program, balancing life as full-time physicians and students. “My practice ebbs and flows, and some weeks I have more time to dedicate to EMBA work; other times I’m far more encumbered clinically,” she says. “Fortunately, the professors are really understanding of the different workloads we’re all navigating.”
For Katie, a major benefit of the program has been the opportunity to work with fellow physicians on real world issues. She recently completed a group accounting project focused on the NUSS program in Utah, which treats children who have chest wall abnormalities. “We conducted a financial analysis, which will make it easier and help me build the program in the next couple of years,” says Katie. “It’s amazing to be able to work on projects that are going to make your institution better with peers who share similar experiences and also bring different perspectives.”
Katie recalls another group project on the Utah Pediatric Trauma Network for her strategic management course: “We're trying to coordinate all trauma care across all hospital systems in the state of Utah to get the sickest kids to the level 1 trauma center, and to keep kids who aren't as sick closer to home,” she says. “One of my group members has actually done a lot of this work before for adult trauma. To be able to collaborate with her and think about how we can make the network in Utah better is a unique and valuable opportunity that will make a real difference.”
Looking beyond graduation in May 2026, Katie hopes to ultimately take on leadership roles at the division chief or surgeon-in-chief level. “I'm very interested in pushing academic research in a way that's doable for clinical physicians,” she says. “For now, I’m happy where I am and feel confident in the skills I’m gaining. The program has been extraordinarily helpful for not only my development, but also for several of the programs that I'm working on locally and regionally.”
Katie encourages fellow physicians interested in bolstering their leadership capabilities to “dive right in” to the Heller EMBA program: “It might seem overwhelming or like there isn’t a perfect time to start, but it’s definitely doable. This program is a great way to meet new people, get different perspectives, and really understand the bigger picture of your professional career.”
One particular highlight of the program has been the personal connection she discovered along the way to her late father, Thomas Russell: “My dad was the previous executive director of the American College of Surgeons, and I believe was part of the ACS’ initial partnership with Brandeis. It feels like a full circle moment to be here over a decade later.”