Saying goodbye to TAFP’s 2025

Thank you to members like you for your support this year

By Samantha White
December 15, 2025

Happy holidays, TAFP members! What a momentous year the Academy had in 2025. Between hosting our annual CME conferences, advocating on behalf of family medicine at the Capitol, supporting family medicine leaders in multiple organizations, and engaging with students and residents in new and exciting ways, TAFP worked all year to advance the specialty of family medicine.

As the year draws to a close, let’s push the rewind button on the calendar and review TAFP’s big moments of 2025.

In January, TAFP members and staff serving on AAFP commissions traveled to Kansas City for the Winter Cluster to help shape policy for the Academy. The 89th Texas Legislature also began in January, with 72 TAFP members serving in the Capitol clinic throughout the regular session as Physicians of the Day. Thank you to these members, as well as those who volunteered to provide testimony on numerous topics. 

David Walden, MD, Sara Stubbs-Walden, MD, Rep. Ray Lopez, and Laura Nietfeld, MD, at the Capitol during the 89th Texas Legislature. The physicians were recognized on the floor of both the senate and the house while serving as Physicians of the Day.

In February, TAFP leaders and staff traveled to San Diego to meet with leaders from various of states at the Multi State Forum.

In March, the Central Texas Chapter was reinvigorated, adopting new bylaws and electing new leaders. A big thank you to Tim Martindale, MD, for leading the chapter for over a decade! Also in March, the staff made Match Day a dynamic celebration online and overall, Texas residency programs did well in matching medical students.

In April, we gathered in Round Rock for the C. Frank Webber Lectureship and Interim Session, where the third cohort of TAFP’s Resident Leadership Experience completed the program and the newest class of the Family Medicine Leadership Experience began. We also had a great Member Assembly with Council Forums, where we heard from Lubbock’s Ron Cook, DO, on the area’s measles outbreak. Later that month, TAFP sent a full delegation to AAFP’s National Conference of Constituency Leaders in Kansas City. Joaquin Villegas, MD, MPH, and Kenneth Barning, MD, were elected as co-conveners to help plan and facilitate next year’s conference. They were also both elected to represent member constituencies at the AAFP Congress of Delegates. We also launched the TAFP merch store in April this year, giving members and family-medicine enthusiasts the opportunity to support the specialty outwardly with apparel, mugs, bags, hats, and more.

The third cohort of the Resident Leadership Experience completed their yearlong program during the C. Frank Webber Lectureship and Interim Session in April.

In May, many members gathered in San Antonio to bring the voice of family medicine to the Texas Medical Association’s TexMed. TAFP hosted a block of free clinical education one afternoon and had a great turnout!

TAFP leaders Li-Yu Mitchell, MD, Nayeli Fuentes, MD, and Emily Briggs, MD, MPH, pose with medical social media influencer Mike Varshavski, DO, during TexMed in May. TAFP handed out I HEART FM buttons so TAFP members could represent family medicine during the conference.

June began with more than 325 attendees gathering in San Antonio for TAFP’s Texas Family Medicine Symposium. It is great education in a relaxing and family-friendly resort environment, including TAFP’s Family Fun Fest, complete with games and snacks for attendees and their families. Members and staff also traveled to Washington D.C. in June for AAFP’s Family Medicine Advocacy Summit, where they met with elected officials and their staff.

Throughout the summer, pre-clinical medical students spent time with volunteer preceptors across the state through the Texas Family Medicine Preceptorship Program, which is administered by TAFP. Almost 300 students requested preceptors and 168 successfully participate in two- or four-week rotations with family physicians across the state. We plan to continue the initiative put into place last year, which makes all summer preceptors eligible for free Annual Session registration. Thank you to our volunteer preceptors who do the important work of providing a real-world family medicine experience to interested medical students.

August was a great month for our workforce development efforts. The TAFP Foundation funded 45 scholarships for medical students to attend AAFP’s FUTURE conference in Kansas City. TAFP hosted a well-attended reception for students, residents, and faculty from Texas and interested in Texas. It’s a great time for attendees (and TAFP staff!) to network and make new family medicine connections. The second-annual TAFP Student and Resident Summit was just three weeks later. Around 200 attendees gathered in Irving with volunteers who shared their family medicine experience and knowledge. Residency programs met with prospective interns, residents had the opportunity to speak with possible future employers, and the Family Medicine Leadership Collaborative took place for residency faculty and administrators to share and learn from each other.

TAFP hosted a fun reception for students, residents, and faculty from Texas during AAFP’s FUTURE conference. The TAFP Foundation funded 45 scholarships for medical students to attend the Kansas City conference.

In September, the fourth cohort of the Resident Leadership Experience began their program, meeting in Austin. The Heart of Texas Chapter held their annual meeting also in Austin, which was fruitful and a great time for members to fellowship. Also this month, graduating residents across the state received graduation gifts from TAFP as a way for the Academy to maintain relationships with them as they settle into their careers.

Members and staff traveled to Anaheim in October for AAFP’s Congress of Delegates and FMX. Our delegation ably represented Texas. Emily Briggs, MD, MPH, was announced as chair of AAFP’s delegation to the AMA, and Texas resident Shana-Kay Lambert-Johnson, MD, received AAFP’s Award for Excellence in GME. Only 12 residents nationwide receive the award each year. Congratulations to you both!

Lindsay Botsford, MD, MBA, Clare Hawkins, MD, MSc, Tricia Elliott, MD, and Emily Briggs, MD, MPH, represented Texas as delegates to AAFP’s Congress of Delegates in October.

TAFP celebrated National Family Medicine Week in October, along with AAFP and other state chapters. TAFP also sponsored the Texas Primary Care Consortium Summit, and a handful of TAFP members presented during the conference.

Throughout the year, CEO Tom Banning and key leaders engaged with and presented to a variety of entities including TMA, AAFP, residency programs and local chapters around the state, Texas Public Health Coalition, Texas Women’s Health Care Coalition, the family medicine department chairs, and of course key members of the Texas House and Senate and their staff throughout the legislative session.

You may only see TAFP leaders a few days of the year, but they work on your behalf year-round, advocating for family medicine and patients across Texas. The Academy is only able to do this work through the support of TAFP members. Your membership matters to the strength of the specialty and the organization, both in Texas and across the nation. We are grateful for you and your membership and hope to reach even more of you in 2026!