Meet TAFP's 2026 candidates for office
President-Elect: Lane Aiena, MD, FAAFP
Dr. Aiena is a family medicine doctor in Huntsville, Texas. After completing his undergraduate degree at Louisiana State University, he attended medical school at Texas Tech Health Sciences Center School of Medicine and his residency in Conroe, Texas. He has been practicing at Huntsville Family Medicine since 2017. He is a two-term at-large member of the TAFP Board of Directors, former New Physician Director for the Board of Directors, serves as the chair of the Texas Medical Association’s Young Physician Section, and serves on the Walker County Hospital District Board. Dr. Aiena is also the President of the Walker–Trinity County Medical Society. Previously recognized with the TAFP Public Health Award and as Walker County Citizen of the Year, he is dedicated to leadership, advocacy, and improving patient care in his community and across Texas. He hosts the popular local radio segment “Thursday Morning House Call,” promoting health education and strengthening the physician–patient relationship.
Why I want to serve: I want to serve as President-Elect on the TAFP board to help advance TAFP’s mission of supporting family physicians and improving access to care across Texas. As a rural physician, I’ve seen firsthand the barriers patients and doctors face, from workforce shortages to resource gaps. I am committed to representing those voices while working collaboratively to strengthen our specialty statewide. By serving, I hope to advocate for practical solutions that ensure every community, urban and rural alike, has the family medicine support it needs. I want to help TAFP empower physicians, promote sustainable practice models, and keep patient care at the center of all our efforts as we navigate the evolving healthcare landscape together.
Treasurer: Puja Sehgal, MD
Dr. Sehgal is a practicing family physician in Houston, Texas. After finishing medical school in India, she completed her internship at Wichita Falls Family Medicine Residency Program and residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. She joined Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, a multispecialty ACO, in 2007 and is currently the Chief of Family Medicine Department at Kelsey-Seybold and an elected board member of Kelsey Seybold medical group. She is past president of the Harris County chapter and has served on various committees and councils during her 20 year membership with TAFP. She previously chaired the Section on Special Constituencies as well as vice chaired the Council on Medical Practice. She served on the TAFP board in 2020. She has mentored residents for TAFP’s Resident Leadership Experience program and was awarded the Breakthrough Women 2022 by Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce. She is a proud mom of three kids.
Why I want to serve: I truly believe that expanding family medicine is the answer to improving access to healthcare in this nation. TAFP gives us a voice and platform to advance the specialty and advocate for payment reforms for family physicians so that they are fairly compensated for the value and not the volume. Our physicians should have access to resources and technology to improve efficiency and decrease burn out. Our practices are as diverse as we are and our needs may be different but our goals are similar. Collaboration and coordination with payers, other stake holders, and multiple specialties can impact our practices positively. TAFP is uniquely positioned to assist all of us. With my knowledge, commitment, and efforts, I strive to work diligently with fellow physicians in improving health of our patients and communities and ensuring a joyful, rewarding practice for doctors.
At-Large Director: Sarah Ashitey, MD, FAAFP
Dr. Sarah Ashitey's professional work is rooted in her commitment to public health. She trained at UT Southwestern Medical Center and John Peter Smith Hospital, where she gained experience in community and global health. She has since worked in a rural health clinic, hospital-owned clinic, and now a thriving group private practice in Dallas. Her dedication to public health is evident in her roles on the Environmental Health Committee for the City of Dallas, the DISD School Health Advisory Council, and as a board member of The Immunization Partnership. She has served a term as an at-large member of the TAFP Board of Directors and currently serves on the TAFP Council for the Health of the Public. She also hosts "Fuller Living with Dr. Ashitey," a podcast on physician well-being and whole-person health, and practices at Southwest Family Medicine Associates, where she also mentors the next generation of family physicians as adjunct faculty at UT Southwestern.
Why I want to serve: Serving on the TAFP Board has deepened my belief that family medicine is the cornerstone of our healthcare system, and that patient advocacy is at the heart of that work. As I seek another term as an at-large director, I want to continue ensuring family physicians have a voice in shaping the policies that directly affect our patients and our practices. I'm also bringing a new focus to this term: physician well-being. We cannot sustain excellent patient care without also protecting the physicians who provide it, and I'm committed to advancing that conversation through my work on TAFP's Physician Well-Being Taskforce. It would be my honor to continue representing the interests of our community and profession on the board.
At-Large Director: Farron Hunt, MD, FAAFP
Dr. Hunt is a practicing family physician from southeast Texas. She completed medical school at UTMB at Galveston. She did her internship at Duke/Southern Regional AHEC in Fayetteville, North Carolina before completing residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Dr. Hunt has practiced across the state of Texas including the Austin area, Houston, Beaumont, and Port Arthur. Dr. Hunt has worked in underserved settings at rural sites and FQHCs as well as a large multi-specialty group. She has served as medical director of her local hospital wound care center and briefly had a DPC practice. She currently works remotely doing virtual urgent care and reviewing appeals while she nurtures her three- and four-year-old daughters. She has served TAFP in various capacities including as a former board member, serving as at-large and special constituencies director. She has chaired various committees and councils as well and helped extensively with the Family Medicine Leadership Experience and Resident Leadership Experience programs.
Why I want to serve: I love supporting doctors, especially family physicians. We work hard to care for our families, our patients, and our communities. It is an honor to be a voice that represents our talented and hardworking membership. We continue to grow and adapt to an ever-changing practice landscape. My goal is to share the tools for best practice that help us keep our doors open and keep us connected to quality patient care in a way that is fulfilling and rewarding. I understand that when family medicine thrives, communities thrive. I’m here to listen and push for reforms that alleviate threats to our survival. I support TAFP’s vision and I hope to improve the health of Texas. I support growing family medicine with strong connections to medical students as well as high school and college students.
New Physician Director: Chelsea Mendonca, MD
Chelsea Mendonca, MD, is a family medicine physician with Baylor College of Medicine. She practices full-scope family medicine including obstetrics and is core faculty in the BCM Family Medicine Residency Program. She received a BS in Chemistry from the University of Saint Thomas Houston and MD from UT Health San Antonio Long School of Medicine. Dr. Mendonca completed family medicine residency training at Baylor College of Medicine. She is currently working toward a lifestyle medicine certification. She has been an active member of TAFP since 2016 and completed the RLE program in 2023. Additionally, she serves on the Council for Workforce and Member Engagement and was TAFP's 2026 New Physician Delegate to NCCL.
Why I want to serve: I want to serve on the TAFP Board because I believe family medicine is uniquely positioned to address many of Texas's greatest healthcare challenges, but doing so requires strong leadership, effective advocacy, and sustained investment in our specialty. I am passionate about strengthening the family medicine workforce by fostering mentorship, leadership development, and meaningful engagement among students, residents, and practicing physicians. Practicing within a large academic safety net health system has reinforced my commitment to health equity and the essential role family physicians play in improving access to care. TAFP has been instrumental in my professional growth, and board service is an opportunity to give back while helping shape a stronger, more connected, and more resilient future for family medicine in Texas.
Resident Director: Kyle Breed, DO
Dr. Kyle Breed is a family medicine resident at UIW TIGMER in San Antonio who has a long-standing record of advocacy for Texas family physicians. He completed his medical degree at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth, and during this time served as the student advisor for the TAFP Foundation Board. During residency he went on to serve as an alternate resident delegate to TAFP’s Member Assembly while also serving as a class representative and recruitment committee member within his residency program. One of Dr. Breed’s passions is educating students and residents on financial well-being, delivering presentations at his home program and to medical students. Dr. Breed enjoys spending time with his family, attending car shows, engaging in competitive shooting, and exercising.
Why I want to serve: Through the leadership positions I have held in TAFP, I have used each job description as a starting point, rather than a limit to my scope of service. I am passionate about continuing to have a leadership role in TAFP because of the platform it gives me to advocate for my peers, improve the specialty I love, and provide guidance to those who will come after me. During my training I went through the couples match, learned how to manage physician finances, worked in a medically underserved area, and served as a student and resident leader. My goal is to share the lessons I learned from these experiences so that our family medicine community is stronger than when I joined it.
Student Director: Sierra Villa
Sierra Villa is a third-year medical student and ROME Rural Scholar at UNT Health Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine in Fort Worth. She earned her degree in kinesiology and exercise science from Colorado Christian University before spending a gap year working as a medical assistant and scribe in a rural health clinic in Payson, Arizona. A month spent in Mongo, Chad and experience leading service teams in Cuba and Guatemala deepened her commitment to rural and underserved populations. During medical school, she has served refugee families in Fort Worth. Her research is people-centered, spanning reproductive loss, patient safety, and faith-based yoga interventions. Sierra and her husband, Raí, enjoy exploring new places, discovering local coffee shops, and dancing both Latin and country styles.
Why I want to serve: I am seeking to serve as a TAFP board member to amplify the voice of students in family medicine and demonstrate to future physicians that our specialty is both grounded in its core values and continually evolving to meet the needs of patients and communities. Family medicine's strength lies in preserving relationships, continuity, and community-centered care while embracing innovation and opportunities for improvement. Through experiences in rural, global, and local healthcare settings, I have gained perspective on the diverse needs of Texans and the physicians who serve them. My leadership in service, research, and medical education has cultivated growth-minded humility: a commitment to lifelong learning paired with the confidence to contribute meaningfully. I hope to bring that perspective to the board and help shape the future of family medicine in Texas.
AAFP Delegate: Clare Hawkins, MD, FAAFP
Dr. Hawkins has been a family physician for 40 years. He originally practiced in Canada, but moved to Texas in 1998 and was a residency director until 2014. He has broad experience in full-scope family medicine in many settings including hospitalist, palliative care, and now rural, value-based care. He has been a leader in TAFP and Harris County Medical Society and continues to practice part-time family Medicine in Baytown, Texas.
Why I want to serve: I value the contribution the physicians from Texas can make to the operations of the American Academy of Family Physicians. The Texas delegation is the voice of our state chapter to the operations and policy formation of AAFP. By representing the interests of our state your delegation provides physician leadership and input at the national level helping us all to serve our patients and keep the practice of medicine viable in Texas. As past president of TAFP and CME contributor as well as member of multiple commissions, I am in a position to see the larger opportunities for our organization and be a voice for us all.
AAFP Alternate Delegate: Mary S. Nguyen, MD, FAAFP
Mary S. Nguyen, MD, is a board-certified family physician and fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. She practices in Castroville, a rural, underserved community. She received her undergraduate education at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, her medical education at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and completed residency training at CHRISTUS Santa Rosa in San Antonio. She earned her masters of science in medical cannabis science and therapeutics from the University of Maryland. She has practiced in Castroville since 2000 and serves as adjunct clinical professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Incarnate Word School of Osteopathic Medicine. She is the associate medical director for Companion Hospice, serves on the board of UPSA ACO, and is medical director for Equilibrium Diagnostic laboratory. Dr. Nguyen is a member, past president, and past board chair of TAFP and has served on numerous TAFP committees and commissions. At the national level, she has served as a member on AAFP’s Commission on Membership and Member Services, the AAFP Convener for the Working Group on Rural Health, a member constituencies alternate and delegate to the AAFP Congress of Delegates, and served as the AAFP representative for the American Academy of Pediatrics Advisory Group for Supporting Providers and Families to Access Telehealth and Distant Care Services for Pediatric Care. She currently serves on AAFP’s Commission on Health of the Public and Science as well as the Public Health and Patient Advocacy Committee. She is also a member of the Society of Cannabis Clinicians and the Association of Cannabinoid Specialists.
Why I want to serve: I consider advocacy one of the most important roles of a family physician, the ability to represent those who don't feel that they have a voice of their own care. Many of my patients who live in very rural areas don't have access to healthcare or other necessary resources. Living in a rural, underserved area does not make them less privileged nor less deserving of quality and evidence-based healthcare. Serving at both the local, state, and national levels has allowed me to voice the concerns of my fellow family physicians as well as my patients.