Executive Team
Co-Founder/Advisor: Vivian Wang is originally from Ellicott City, Maryland. She co-founded WISER during her Emory general surgery residency and has enjoyed growing with the podcast from day one. She did a MIS bariatric/foregut fellowship at the Ohio State University, and now lives in Portland, OR. She’s a proud oldest sister of 5, and loves to eat, travel, and eat!
Co-Founder: Caroline Coleman hails from Orlando, FL, and was a mathlete in high school. She enjoys live music, hiking with her dog, ghost stories, and a good IPA. As an Emory medical student, she cofounded WISER and produced the entirety of Season 1 and more… back when we thought we might just do a handful of interviews. Her interests ended up leading her to critical care, and she is now an internal medicine resident at Emory.
Advisor: Jessica Liu originally hails from Toronto, Canada and is now an endocrine surgery fellow @UABSurgery. She loves to eat, travel, hike, and scuba dive. On her honeymoon to a safari, she helped operate on a cheetah – talk about combining interests! She joined WISER in 2019, and with her leadership, we’ve implemented some innovative ideas that we cannot wait to show you in Season 4!
Director: Jessica Keilson is a current Emory general surgery resident, back in the OR after completing impressive research investigating cholangiocarcinoma and gastrointestinal malignancies as a Clinical Research Fellow in the Lesinski Lab at the Winship Cancer Institute. She received her Doctor of Medicine from Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. Outside the hospital, she can be found hiking, traveling, and hanging with her family and two dogs, Izzy and Delilah.
WISER/AWS Student Leadership
Co-President/Co-Producer: Originally from Los Angeles, CA, Lara Schwieger is an M4 at Emory applying into General Surgery with an interest in surgical oncology. In her spare time she loves to hike, wind down with yoga, or play volleyball.
Co-President/Co-Producer: Lizzie Rieger is an M4 from Long Island, NY, and one of the co-presidents of WISER! She loves to golf in her free time, and is currently doing a year of hip and knee joint reconstruction research with the orthopedic surgery department.
Vice President: Shannon Su is an M3 joining us from Shanghai, Taipei, and the Bay Area. She had the fortune of spending the year leading up to medical school in Taiwan where the COVID-19 case counts trended a bit lower than here in the US. Shannon is interested in plastics, orthopedics, ophthalmology, dermatology, and ENT. Her hobbies include playing volleyball, golf, and tennis as well as cooking, making bread, and painting; she also loves to travel to new places and try new foods!
Mentorship Coordinators: Cynthia Ramazani is an M3 from Bukavu, DR Congo. She enjoys cooking and baking and has developed a penchant for hiking and interior design. She hopes to pursue a career in surgery, possibly pediatric surgery or vascular surgery. Jen Wang is an M3 and is a mentorship coordinator for WISER. She was born and raised in New Jersey and enjoys being outside, practicing yoga, and painting. Her current interests include general surgery, ENT, and plastic surgery.
Event Coordinator: Megan Wasson is an M3 from Kentucky. She spends her free time running, attempting yoga, hiking, baking, and reading. She is interested in a little bit of everything and looks forward to learning more about surgery from our accomplished @WISERpodcast guests who are breaking ground for women in medicine everywhere!
Social Media: Savanah Rumbika is an MS4 from Framingham, MA and she is serving as the social media coordinator for WISER this year! In her free time, Savanah enjoys yoga, trying new restaurants and recipes, and being outdoors. She is applying into General Surgery this year with a specific interest in global and pediatric surgery.
Treasurer: Rachel Holstein is a rising M2 and is the treasurer of AWS/WISER! She is originally from Minnesota but has been living in Atlanta for the past 4 years. In her free time, she loves to run, practice yoga, and hike with her partner and their two dogs. Her current medical interests are in pediatric, CT, and vascular surgery.
M2 Representatives: Tamia Ross is a rising M2 and is a WISER Student Host/Podcast Editor as well as the other M2 Representative! She’s originally from New York but grew up in North Carolina, and in her free time, she loves making art, traveling to new cities, and learning new languages. Her current medical interests are in pediatric and cardiothoracic surgery. Khushi Gupta is an M1 from Georgia and the AWS/Wiser M2 representative! She went to high school in Suwannee and undergrad at UGA Go Dawgs! In her free time she loves to binge watch tv shows, play with her dog, and explore restuarants and breweries. Her current medical passions lie in Ob/Gyn specifically REI!
Editor/Student Host: Tionne Pete is an M3 and Georgia native. When not burning it up on the dance floor (ballroom/latin/swing/tango), she enjoys ice skating, aerial arts, baking, sewing, and crochet. In addition to becoming an OB/GYN, Tionne aspires to own a purple cello!
Editor/Student Host: Grace Nguyen is an M3 and is a Podcast Host/Editor for WISER! She’s originally from Georgia and enjoys soccer, tennis, cooking, and playing with her puppy. Her current interests are General Surgery and Ophthalmology.
Special Acknowledgments
Logo Design: Priya Rajdev graduated from Emory General Surgery Residency in 2019, then she went to complete a Minimally Invasive Surgery fellowship at Oregon Health Sciences University. She is now in Pheonix as a MIS surgeon.
Theme Music: Patrick Postlewait is songwriter and producer based in Atlanta, who also happens to be married to a former Emory general surgery resident, who is now a breast surgeon.
We also like to thank the Emory General Surgery Department, specifically Dr. Thomas Dodson for his inspiration in starting a project, Dr. Keith Delman for creating a supportive, equitable residency, and Dr. Jahnavi Srinivasan who has been a great mentor to WISER.