Meet TAFP’s officers

Troy Fiesinger, M.D. | President
troy.fiesinger@memorialhermann.org
Dr. Fiesinger is a faculty member for the Memorial Family Medicine Residency Program in Sugar Land, Texas. Previously he served as medical director of the Lone Star Family Health Center in Conroe and assistant professor at the Conroe Family Medicine Residency. He earned his medical degree at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and completed his family medicine residency at the East Carolina University School of Medicine in Greenville, N.C. Dr. Fiesinger is a member of the Commission on Core Delegation.

Clare Hawkins, M.D. | President-elect
chawkins@tmhs.org
Dr. Hawkins is the program director of the San Jacinto Methodist Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program in Baytown, Texas. He is board-certified in family medicine and palliative medicine, and holds a master’s degree in Community Health Science. Dr. Hawkins was awarded his medical degree from the University of Manitoba, and completed residency in Winnipeg, Canada at St. Boniface Hospital. He became a faculty member shortly after completing residency and became program director at St. Boniface. In 1998 he relocated to Baytown. His special medical interests are COPD, asthma, obstetrics, pediatrics, and outpatient surgical procedures.

Ajay Gupta, M.D. | Vice President
ajgupta@hotmail.com
Dr. Gupta is a partner with Jefferson Street Family Practice in Austin, Texas. He was awarded his medical degree by the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and completed his postgraduate medical training with the Corpus Christi Family Medicine Residency Program and Memorial Hospital in Corpus Christi. He is an associate professor of family medicine for both UTHSCSA and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Dr. Gupta has been a member of TAFP and AAFP since 1994. Within TAFP, he has served on the TAFP Board of Directors, TAFP Foundation Board, Finance Committee, Executive Committee, and as chair of the Commission on Health Care Services and Managed Care. Dr. Gupta is also a member of the Texas Medical Association and the Travis County Medical Society.

Dale Ragle, M.D. | Treasurer
dragle@sbcglobal.net
Dr. Ragle practices family medicine with the group Dallas Family Doctors in Dallas, Texas. He received his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, and completed his post-graduate training at the Baytown Family Medicine Residency Program affiliated with University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston. He has been a member of TAFP since 1991 and has been a member of the AAFP since 1987. During his tenure at TAFP, he has served on the TAFP Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Commission on Legislative and Public Affairs, Commission on Health Care Services and Managed Care, and TAFP Foundation Board. He is also a member of the Texas Medical Association and the Dallas County Medical Society.

Tricia Elliott, M.D. | Parliamentarian
tcelliot@utmb.edu
Dr. Elliott is the director of the University of Texas Medical Branch Family Medicine Residency Program in Galveston. She also serves UTMB’s Department of Family Medicine as an associate professor and as vice chair for clinical affairs. She previously served as the program director of the Baylor College of Medicine/Kelsey-Seybold Clinic Family Medicine Residency Program in Houston. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, and a member of the Harris County Academy of Family Physicians, the Society of Teachers in Family Medicine, the Association of Family Medicine Residency Directors, the American College of Physician Executives, the Medical Group Management Association, and Harris County Medical Society.

I. L. Balkcom IV, M.D. | Immediate Past President
ilbrealfp@yahoo.com
Dr. Balkcom is a physician with the Medical-Surgical Clinic in Sulphur Springs, Texas. He was awarded an A.S. degree in Biology by Andrew College in Cuthbert, Ga., and was awarded a medical degree by La Autonoma De Guadalajara, Mexico, and Ross University, Portsmouth, West Indies. Dr. Balkcom has served as director of the TAFP Red River Chapter, chair of the Section on Leadership Development, and chair of the Section on Rural Physicians. He is a member of the TAFP Commission on Legislative and Public Affairs and the TAFP Political Action Committee Board of Directors.