Dr. Susan Salahshor is the Founding Program Director of the Physician Assistant Program in the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance at Ithaca College. She has been a Physician Assistant (PA) for 25 years with experience in approximately 10 specialties. A 1994 graduate of St. John’s University/Bayley Seton PA Program, she has worked at Catholic Medical Center in Queens, NY, Cleveland Clinic Florida, Mayo Clinic Florida and in private practice.
Dr. Salahshor is a past president of the Florida Academy of PAs (FAPA), and the first African American to serve in this role. She created and developed FAPA Leadership Academy during her president-elect year, and in addition to serving on several committees, workgroups, and taskforces, she was an advocate for healthcare students. She is certified in quality improvement methodologies in healthcare delivery systems.
A Mental Health First Aid Instructor (MHFA), Susan is certified to teach the adult, higher education, military and service members. Three years ago, she and a PA student obtained a grant to teach Mental Health First Aid to PA students across the state of Florida. She was one of the top “producing” hospital instructors in the Jacksonville Nonprofit Hospital Partnership collaboration for the mental health training.
In addition to her professional career, she has also served 3 years in the US Army Reserves.
Dr. Salahshor is passionate about leadership development, advocacy, and community engagement.