Chairs and Administrative Directors Joint Session - “Leadership in Times of Change and Crisis: Building Academic Physiatry That Endures”

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

8:00 PM - 9:00 PM AST

Location: 104 AB

Presenter(s)

David P. Steinberg, MD, MMM

Chair, Department of PM&R; Executive Medical Director
University of Utah; Craig H. Neilsen Rehabilitation Hospital
Rita Hamilton, DO

Chief Medical Officer
Baylor Scott & White Institute for Rehabilitation
Joseph Herrera, DO

Professor and Chair, Department of Rehabilitation and Human Performance
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Lyn Weiss, MD (she/her/hers)

Professor and Chair Rehabilitation Medicine
NYU Langone Hospital Long Island and NYU Long Island School of Medicine
Walter Frontera, MD

PhD
UPR School of Medicine

How do academic departments lead with clarity when the ground keeps shifting—through pandemics, workforce strain, reimbursement changes, rapid scientific advances, and natural disasters? In this session, experienced chairs distill decades of leadership across institutions and continents into a practical playbook for crisis-era decision-making. In this moderated panel discussion, our experts will frame a model for setting priorities, protecting the academic mission, and strengthening culture under pressure—then illustrate it with real-world cases of department disaster response, recovery, and growth. Attendees will leave with real life examples and strategies they can apply immediately: how to communicate what matters, mobilize teams, align research and education with clinical realities, and turn disruption into durable progress for learners, patients, and communities.

Learning Objectives:

Apply a simple crisis leadership framework to set priorities and communicate trade-offs.
Identify concrete moves that protect research, education, and clinical quality during disruption.
Design a post-crisis “rebuild plan” that strengthens culture, pipeline, and partnerships.
Define measures of success (90-day, 1-year) to track recovery and growth.