Our Officers

Dr. Lester Ruppersberger

Dr. Lester Ruppersberger
President

is a retired NFP-only Ob/Gyn physician.  Prior to retirement, he had an active practice in Bucks County.  He is Past President (2015) of the national Catholic Medical Association after having served on the board for 13 years.  He is a certified Natural Family Planning instructor for the Archdiocese of Phila. He had a radio program on a local EWTN affiliate for 15 years called ‘NFP…for Life’ with his wife, Betty, along with teaching Pre-Cana and he currently is the medial director for two crisis pregnancy centers and serves on the board of the Couple to Couple League.  He is actively involved in medical student activities, serving on the Boot Camp Committee as well as having authored several papers in the Linacre Quarterly.  He is married for 49 years to his wife, Betty, and has two grown children and 10 grandchildren.


Devin Barnaby

Dr. Amanda Stahl-Piraino
Vice President

Dr. Amanda Stahl- Piraino grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania and graduated from the University of Scranton with her undergraduate degree in Philosophy and Biology. She earned her medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and where she met her husband Tom. Amanda chose family medicine as an outward expression of her faith stating, “it is a dedication to walking with our patients when they struggle to stand: to walk with them on good and bad days, to fight for their well-being when they cannot fight for themselves, and to hear their hopes, dreams, and fears when others find it hard to listen.” She is interested in preventative care for all ages, obesity medicine, and osteopathic manipulation. She enjoys Disney, cooking, and walking her German Shepherd, Stella. Upon completing her residency, she took a position with Main Line HealthCare Family Medicine at Riddle Hospital in Meda, PA.

 



N. Joseph Schrandt, MD

N. Joseph Schrandt, MD
Treasurer

Dr. Schrandt was born and raised in eastern Iowa, graduated from University of Minnesota Medical School and completed neurology residency at the University of Iowa. After a year of epilepsy fellowship in Minneapolis, he practiced general adult neurology there for five years before moving to Wilmington, Delaware along with his wife, Dr. Mary McCrossan and their three children. Here, he continues to practice neurology along with his two partners and two midlevel practitioners.

Dr. Schrandt joined the CMA and completed the certification course in Health Care Ethics from the National Catholic Bioethics Center in 2012. He has served as Delaware state director for the CMA since 2016.


N. Joseph Schrandt, MD

Mary McCrossan, MD
Assistant Treasurer

Mary McCrossan, M.D. is a family physician in Delaware. She practices in the St. Francis Wound Center and as a clinical preceptor in the family medicine resident's office. She is married to Joseph Schrandt, M.D. they have 3 children, 2 sons-in-law and 2 grandchildren, so far.

Dr McCrossan first became aware of the CMA more than 20 years after medical school, as she researched Catholic teaching when serving as a children's weekend religious ed. instructor. This happy discovery has lead to spiritual and professional growth including increased work in prolife activity and fertility awareness based women's health.


Dr. Robert Motley

Robert J. Motley, MD, MHCDS
Vice President of Student Outreach

Robert J Motley, MD, MHCDS is Clinical Professor and Vice Chair of Community Medicine
and Director of the Physician Shortage Area Program in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Sidney Kimmel Medical College (SKMC) and Thomas Jefferson University. A native of Philadelphia, Dr. Motley graduated from LaSalle University and Jefferson Medical College (now SKMC). Bob remained at Jefferson for residency training in Family Medicine. He practiced Family Medicine for 19 years in Bucks and Montgomery Counties, Pennsylvania. From 2001 to 2004 he served as Chairman of his 34 clinician group,TriValley Primary Care. During this era, Bob was a medical student preceptor and mentor to Catholic medical students in the Philadelphia area.

As a faculty member in the Family Medicine residency at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN), Allentown, PA (2006-2015), Dr. Motley coordinated the chronic care, geriatrics and ethics portions of the residency curriculum and was also a practicing clinician. He was honored three times as Resident Teacher of the Year (2009-2011). Dr. Motley served as the Department of Family Medicine’s Vice Chair of Network Collaboration and as President of the LVHN Medical Staff (2012-2014),then as the Leonard Parker Pool Chair of the Department of Community Health (2015-2018). In 2018, Bob came back to Philadelphia and Jefferson.

Dr. Motley completed the NaPro Medical Consultant course at the St. Paul VI Institute in 2010. That year, he and Dr. Marguerite Duane co-founded the Fertility Appreciation Collaborative to Teach the Science (FACTS), an academic learning community dedicated to promoting the science supporting evidence-based natural family planning methods. Bob was also a conference planner and presenter for the CMA Student Boot Camp from 2013-2017.

Dr. Motley is a Diplomate of the American Board of Family Medicine, holds a Certificate of Added Qualification in Geriatric Medicine and a Master of Health Care Delivery Science from Dartmouth College. He and his wife Jeanne-Marie live in the Delaware Valley and have five adult children, four of whom are in the health professions. They have 11 grandchildren and are expecting 3 more in the coming year.


Barbara A. Neilan, MD

Dr. Barbara Neilan
Secretary

Dr. Barbara Neilan Secretary is a retired Hematologist-Oncologist. Her career has included positions as Clinical Associate of Medicine, Medical College of Pennsylvania; Interim Chief and Acting Director, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Medical College of Pennsylvania; Associate Medical Director, Dupont Pharmaceuticals; and Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Most recently she was in private practice for 15 years in Newark DE. She is a Past President of the Phila Guild of the CMA. She is a certified instructor in the STM method of Natural Family Planning.


Dr. Brian Wojiechowski

Dr. Brian Wojiechowski
Immediate Past President

is a practicing hematologist/oncologist with Alliance Cancer Specialists as part of Mainline Health Partners; he is board certified in hematology/oncology and completed his fellowship in Hematology and Oncology at Lankenau Medical Center. He obtained his medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine.

Dr. Wojciechowski completed his Internal Medicine internship and residency at Lankenau Medical Center. Dr. Wojciechowski is a proud native of South Philadelphia. His research has been presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. He is devoted to his faith and his family. He views cancer as a scientifically complex disease with unique psychological, social, and spiritual dimensions. He takes this perspective into his relationships with patients. He has also served on the Boot Camp Committee of the Catholic Medical Association and has led the guild as President, while his wife, Dr. Ania Wojciechowski, has served as Secretary.


Rev. John D.Gabin, MSW, MDiv (1975)<br />
     Chaplain

Fr. Joseph Ryan
Chaplain

I have been an Augustinian for forty years and a priest for thirty-six. I earned my doctorate in the History of Medicine and Immigration from American University in 1997. I have published on the History of Catholic physicians and the rise of scientific medicine. I am an Associate Teaching Professor in the History Department of Villanova University. I have taught at Villanova for 25 years. I am a member of the Order of the Holy Sepulcher and the Knights of Columbus. I was the President of the Archdiocesan Historical Commission for the canonization of Servant of God Fr. William Atkinson, OSA. On weekends, I celebrate mass at St. Matthew’s in Conshohocken where I have served for twenty-four years.


Dr. Kate Walsh

Dr. Kate Walsh
Resident Representative

Hi everyone! My name is Kate Walsh and I am a first- year resident in Family Medicine at Jefferson! I am a lifelong Catholic who grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and I went to Notre Dame for undergrad. It was at Notre Dame, on the March for Life, where I met my soon-to-be-husband, Conor Bradley, who is a fourth- year medical student at Jefferson. We will be married in May 2021.

Right after I graduated from college, I started at Ohio State for medical school. While there, I enjoyed being a lector and usher at my parish and I was involved in the OSU chapter of the CMA. I love sports and staying active, and thanks to Conor, I have a new favorite hobby of playing tennis! Within family medicine, I am passionate about fertility awareness and NFP, and normalizing their inclusion in women's health discussions. I am so excited to be moving to Philadelphia and starting this next chapter of my life and career!

 

Devin Barnaby

Daly Trimble
Student Rep-Elect.

is a second year medical student attending Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University.  She hopes to go into family medicine or pediatrics after graduation.  Her passions include pediatric and neonatal palliative and hospice care, street medicine programs for our neighbors experiencing homelessness, and making the culture of medicine more friendly towards families and mothers.  She is also an adult convert to Roman Catholicism and was baptized (in very cold water) at age 19 after being raised with an agnostic/atheist worldview.  Her hobbies include running, trying new recipes, spending time with her family, and befriending religious who accidentally make eye contact with her.  She is very excited to serve and support other Catholic medical students in the Philadelphia area!

 




Events

 
New upcoming events will be posted soon.