Humanizing Geisel: The Podcast

Staff Spotlight: Conversation with Kate Adams

 
Name (pronouns): Kate Adams (she, her, hers)
Hometown: Dennis, MA
Year at Geisel: 4
Career interest: Mental Health, Wellbeing, Coaching, Live Performance, Music, Dance, Yoga, Movement Therapy
The best thing about Geisel is: the small, tight-knit community
Favorite spot in the Upper Valley: Putnam’s Vineyard for an indoor spot, the white river branch near South Royalton for an outdoor spot
Favorite activity in the Upper Valley: Searching for good finds at Listen
Book/poem Recommendation: Braiding Sweetgrass & anything by Mary Oliver
Favorite piece of music/song: To many to list but right now I’m into the band Palace
Favorite quote: “Precision is suffocating”. Also, anything uttered by Aldo Leopold or Ralph Waldo Emerson. 
Most treasured travel: My 36 trips around the sun
Guilty pleasure: Reality TV- Real Housewives, anything on Bravo really
Unknown fact about you: I’m chainsaw certified, live in the woods for 8 months and can move big rocks with the correct mechanical advantage
 
Bio:
Kate grew up in Dennis, MA a small beach town on Cape Cod. She earned her BA at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, MA (Berkshires) and pursued a career in performing arts and arts administration. She is also a registered yoga teacher, level III Reiki practitioner, Barre instructor, and will soon be a certified Health and Wellness Coach.
After a few years in Manhattan and a year in Maine, she moved to New Hampshire to work at the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College working on student engagement & marketing. She joined Geisel in February 2020 and is currently the Wellness Program Coordinator for the Office of Student Life.
When she’s not in the office Kate enjoys traveling, hiking (ask her about the NH 48), tending to her garden, and watching the Great British Baking Show. She is a dog Mom of a mini–Australian Shepard named Lola who is currently living with her grandparents on the cape.

Student Spotlight: Conversation with Matthew Goff, Class of 2025

 
Name (pronouns): Matthew Goff (he/him/his)
Hometown: Plattsburgh, NY
Year at Geisel: 2025
Career interest: Triple Board (Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)
The best thing about Geisel is: My classmates (of all years)!
Favorite spot in the Upper Valley: Abracadabra Coffee in Woodstock, VT
Favorite activity in the Upper Valley: Trail running and cycling
Book/poem Recommendation: Medical History by Nicole Sealey
Favorite quote: I’m not sure I have a particular favorite quote, but one quote that has had an impact on me was when Yo-Yo Ma spoke at Dartmouth my senior year and said, “I am a human first, a musician second, and a cellist third.” I often rephrase this in the context of medicine to, “I am a human first, a doctor second, and a cellist third.” In medicine, we often put up barriers between ourselves and our patients, but I think it is important that in this physically, mentally, and emotionally grueling field we don’t let our job get in the way of our humanity.
Most treasured travel: Any chance to adventure in the mountains, but I am especially fond of a backpacking trip in the French Pyrenees following a study abroad program in college, which is where my now fiancé and I trace the beginning of our relationship.
Guilty pleasure: period/historical fiction movies and books
Unknown fact about you: In college I got to play Yo-Yo Ma’s cello!
 
"I am originally from rural, upstate New York and did my undergraduate degree at Dartmouth where I majored in Neuroscience and minored in Anthropology of Global Health. While at Dartmouth I also studied French and studied abroad for a term in Toulouse, France. I also spent a term working for a community health non-profit organization in rural Alabama. After undergrad, I spent 2 years working as an Admissions Officer for Dartmouth College, where I was a member of the Visitor Relations team working on redesigning the visitor experience, as well as the Communications team working on developing institutional branding and messaging around affordability and accessibility. I am now an MD/MBA student, so for the three years prior to Tuck I have been attending medical school. I am planning to complete medical residency following Tuck in a combined program of Pediatrics, Psychiatry, and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. I am still exploring options for applying my MBA to healthcare, but I am especially interested in improving healthcare delivery, particularly in the area of pediatric mental health."
 

Faculty Spotlight: Conversation with Dr. Charles Hopley

 
Name: Charles Hopley (He/Him)
Hometown: Denver 
Year at Geisel:  6th
Career interest: Im an Internist and I take care of patients with Kidney Disease and bad blood pressure
The best thing about Geisel is: Its setting.
Favorite spot in the Upper Valley: Sunrise over Whaleback
Favorite activity in the Upper Valley: Being outside and watching my kids sports events
Book/poem Recommendation: The original Sherlock Holmes Stories. Holmes is a genius, and at the same time a deeply flawed character. There is method to his madness though, Holmes has an approach. I try to emulate that. 
Favorite piece of music/song: Highway 61 Revisited
 
Dr. Hopley is from Denver, Colorado. He went to Colorado College, where he studied Biology, and Medical School at Ross. He received a Master of Public Health at Dartmouth (at the time, it was called the Center for Evaluative Clinical Sciences, but now it's The Dartmouth Institute or TDI). He did an Internal Medicine residency at the University of Illinois and a fellowship in Nephrology at the University of Colorado. He is in his 6th year on the faculty in the Department of Medicine, Section of Hypertension and Nephrology at Geisel/Dartmouth Hitchcock. He directs The Fluids, Electrolytes, and Renal Medicine at Geisel for the second year medical students. At Dartmouth Hitchcock (DH) he directs the Home Dialysis Clinics as well as the Advanced Hypertension Clinic. He is a husband and father of 3, and we like to be outside.

Staff Spotlight: Conversation with Shawn O'Leary

Name (pronouns): Shawn O’Leary (he, him, his)
Hometown: Duluth, MN
Year at Geisel: ~22 years
Career interest: Health equity, student engagement with the underserved and wellness
The best thing about Geisel is: Our student’s commitment to service
Favorite book/poem: The Roundhouse by Louise Erdrich
Most treasured travel: Anywhere with my family
Guilty pleasure: Anything sweet       
Unknown fact about you: I’ve run ten marathons
 
Shawn has been working to create innovative programs in the social justice field for thirty years. He is an enrolled member of the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe in Northern Minnesota where his family has harvested wild rice for generations.
For over twenty years, Shawn has been the Director of the Office for Diversity, Inclusion, and Community Engagement at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. Shawn is responsible for overseeing the Geisel School of Medicine's diversity programs and executing its mission of promoting a climate of unity, respect and belonging. He is the academic advisor to the Urban and Rural Health Scholars Programs. He also serves as an advisor to minority students and student affinity groups, and works to ensure the success and retention of all minority students, faculty, and staff. Shawn was selected by medical students for induction into the Gold Humanism in Medicine Honor Society for Outstanding Mentorship in 2006, 2021 and 2024. In 2017, Shawn received the Holly Fell Sateia Award, a Dartmouth College social justice award that pays tribute to a faculty or staff member who is an enthusiastic and effective leader in advancing diversity and community. Most recently he received the Jack H. Lyons Humanism in Medicine Lifetime Achievement Award in June 2022.
Shawn came to Geisel from the University of Maine where he served as Assistant Director of the Native American Center. Prior to coming to New England, Shawn worked in his home state of Minnesota developing minority recruitment and retention strategies, based on an individualized student service philosophy, at the Center of American Indian and Minority Health, University of Minnesota Duluth School of Medicine. He chaired the Indians into Medicine advisory board and was the liaison between the medical school and the thirty-four reservation communities in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. Shawn also worked for the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe's Educational Talent Search Program where he worked to promote the educational needs of first generation American Indian students.
Wherever Shawn lives and works, he is actively engaged in the community. He served as a youth hockey coach and has coached over forty hockey teams the past nineteen years in Minnesota, Maine, New Hampshire, and Canada. While in Minnesota, he was appointed by Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson to the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee for his work with high school and college dropouts in the correctional system.
Shawn has an open door policy and is always willing to speak to prospective or current students. You may stop by his office in Remsen 315E, reach him by phone at (603) 339-2686, or email at shawn.oleary@dartmouth.edu.
 
 

Student Spotlight: Conversation with Nicholas Fuller, Class of 2025

Name (pronouns): Nicholas Fuller (He/Him/His)
Hometown: Centre Hall, PA
Year at Geisel: 3rd
Career interest: Palliative care
The best thing about Geisel is: The amazing hospital with wonderful people
Favorite spot in the Upper Valley: Lucky’s Coffee Garage in Lebanon, NH
Favorite activity in the Upper Valley: Going to trivia at Salt Hill Pub on Sunday nights
Book/poem Recommendation: Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
Favorite quote: “Truth is a locked room that we knock the lock off from time to time, and then board up again” - Donald Barthelme
Most treasured travel: Going back home
Guilty pleasure: Listening to podcasts probably more than is healthy
Unknown fact about you: I used to drive a big red pick-up truck in high school
At the time of this interview, Nicholas was a 3rd year medical student at Geisel. He is originally from Centre Hall, Pennsylvania, a small town in the Appalachian Mountains. He attended college at the University of Pittsburgh, where he received a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and a Bachelor of arts in Philosophy. Before medical school he worked as a nursing assistant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the medical ICU of a community hospital. He really enjoys reading, writing, playing music, watching movies, going for walks and drinking coffee.

Faculty Spotlight: Conversation with Dr. Thomas Thesen

Name (pronouns): Thomas Thesen (he, him, his)
Hometown: Trier, Germany
Year at Geisel: 1 ½ years
Career interest: Medical Educator & Scientist
The best thing about Geisel is: A resource-rich academic center surrounded by wilderness
Favorite spot in the Upper Valley: Skiway in the winter, Moosilauke and the Connecticut River in the summer
Favorite activity in the Upper Valley: Hiking, skiing and rowing
Book/poem Recommendation: Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse, an aging academic in pursuit of self-discovery and trying to reconcile the contrasting aspects of one's nature, ambitions, and the pursuit of harmony within oneself. Strangely, I read it as a teenager and it was as relevant then as it is now.
Favorite piece of music/song: Most recently, Noah Kahan’s Emmy award-winning songs about the challenges of living in rural NH resonate with me.
Favorite quote: “To know what you know and what you do not know, that is true knowledge” – Confucius, 
Memento mori - Stoic philosophers
Most treasured travel: Skippering a small sailboat across the Atlantic
Guilty pleasure: I have a sweet tooth that I have been unable to extract completely 
Unknown fact about you: I probably have undiagnosed ADHD. I also spent one year in the military. 
Anything else: My dog Sophie is Miss February 2024 in the ‘Dogs of Dartmouth’ calendar. At age 13, she still got it!
 
Thomas Thesen, Ph.D. - Associate Professor & Principal Investigator
Dr. Thesen received his Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience from Oxford University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in brain imaging at the University of California, San Diego. He was a faculty member in the Department of Neurology at Grossman School of Medicine at New York University for over 10 years, where he was the director of NYU ECoG, a center for research in patients with brain implants. Most recently, he was a founding faculty member at the new College of Medicine at the University of Houston before coming to Dartmouth. He is a co-director of the Neuroscience & Neurology and Medical Learning Sciences courses in the MD program at Geisel, and a visiting scientist  at the Brain & Mind Institute in Nairobi. Thomas initially came to the US as an international student from Germany. He is an avid sailor and outdoor enthusiast, enjoying skiing, hiking, and freediving.
 
Host: Tamar Mosulishvili
Co-Host: John Emery
Editor: Willa Merrill

Staff Spotlight: Conversation with Amy Rose

 
Name: Amy Rose (she/hers)
Hometown: Farmington CT
Primary role at Geisel: Staff, Program Manager 
Career interest: If I exceled in science, I would have gone into nursing 😊
The best thing about Geisel is: the small community feel, I have really enjoyed getting to know my colleagues and involved in different projects/programs with students, such as the KNN student chapter and the peer mentoring program.
Favorite spot in the Upper Valley: the hiking trails behind my house
Favorite activity in the Upper Valley: I don’t go anymore because I live too far away now, but I used to go to this bootcamp classes in North Haverhill. I love any activity that involves being outside
Book/poem Recommendation: The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Guilty pleasure: currently – eating my kids’ Halloween candy
Unknown fact about you: I was a whitewater raft guide for a couple of summers in Maine.
 
Short Bio:
Supports Medical Education Committee (MEC)​
Coordinates policy and curriculum review​
Manages Geisel Coaching Program​
Manages Kern National Network (KNN) Grant​
Advisor to KNN Student Chapter​
Supports UME projects & UME Newsletter​
Amy joined the UME team in November 2021. She previously worked as a first-grade teacher and reading interventionist. She has a master’s degree in Early Childhood Education. Amy lives in New London, NH with her husband Andy and children Morgan (4), Marlee (2), and Bode (3 months). ​
 
Host: Tamar Mosulishvili
Editor: Willa Merrill

Staff Spotlight: Conversation with Tina Hoisington

 
Name (pronouns): she/her/hers
Hometown: Lebanon, NH
Year at Geisel: I am now in my 30th year at Dartmouth College, 20 years at Geisel, 18 in the Department of Student Affairs.  
Career interest: planning events to make others happy
The best thing about Geisel is: the relationships I have
Favorite spot in the Upper Valley: my home
Favorite activity in the Upper Valley: spending time with my family
Favorite quote: “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.”
Favorite piece of music/song: Humble and Kind – Tim McGraw
Most treasured travel: Anytime I visit Tennessee and spend time in the mountains
Unknown fact about you: I was born in the original Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital and have never lived outside of the Upper Valley.
 
Tina is a native of Lebanon, NH, born in the original Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital in Hanover, NH. She has lived in the upper Valley her entire life. As an employee of Dartmouth College of 30 years which includes18 at Geisel School of Medicine, she sits on several committees within the medical school, as well as with Dartmouth College. Tina plans and executes all major events at Geisel, including 1st year orientation, White Coat Ceremony, Transition Ceremony, Class Day Ceremony, and many others. Along with planning events, most of Tina’s work is directly with the medical and MPH students. She is part of the many facets of student life, from saying “good morning” as they arrive, working with various interest groups, all the way to the Student Government executive board, she is part of their daily life. Tina also works with several national and local organizations (AOA, AMSA, Gold, Physician for Human Rights ((PHR)), Schwartz Foundation, Schweitzer, etc.) to facilitate the collaboration between Geisel students and the outside organizations. Outside of the office, Tina enjoys being with her husband, children, grandchildren, and participating in all four seasons of outdoor activities such as, swimming, indoor and outdoor gardening, walking, camping, and snowshoeing.
 
Host: Tamar Mosulishvili
Editor: Willa Merrill

Student Spotlight: Conversation with John Emery, Class of 2025

 
Name: John Emery
Hometown: Mexico, NY
Year at Geisel: 3
Career interest: Undecided at the moment
The best thing about Geisel is: The People
Favorite spot in the Upper Valley: 4 Aces (best pancakes I’ve ever had)
Favorite activity in the Upper Valley: Skiing, both downhill and XC
Book/poem Recommendation: The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan (Gotta be in it for the long haul though, it’s 14 books)
Most treasured travel: Any and all, I’ve had too many great experiences to pick just one!
Guilty pleasure: UFOs, or UAPs as I guess they’re called now. I want to believe!
John Emery was born and raised in a small, two-stop-light, town in Central New York called Mexico. He did his undergraduate at the University of Rochester where he majored in microbiology and graduated in 2013. Between graduating from undergrad and starting medical school, he served as a nuclear-trained submarine officer in the US Navy. His Navy experience took him from Charleston SC to Groton CT to Honolulu HI and finally Saratoga Springs NY where, he shares, he had the privilege of serving with some of the hardest working and smartest Sailors the Navy had to offer. He has been at Geisel since 2021 and he loves it here! At the time of this interview, he is 4 rotations into the 3rd year and still has no idea what he wants to do when he grows up but he is loving the ride!
 
Host: Tamar Mosulishvili
Editor: Willa Merrill

Faculty Spotlight: Conversation with Dr. Roshini Pinto-Powell

Roshini Pinto-Powell, MD, FACP
Professor of Medicine and Medical Education
Associate Dean of Admissions
Co-Director of On Doctoring
Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
 
Name (pronouns): Roshini Pinto-Powell, she/her/hers
Hometown: Hanover, NH
Year at Geisel: 28
Career interest: Medical Education
The best thing about Geisel is: The small and warm community.
Favorite spot in the Upper Valley: Mount Cardigan and the Rail Trails
Favorite activity in the Upper Valley: Hiking and Biking
Book/poem Recommendation: Too many! The Great Influenza, The Elegance of the Hedgehog and any of Mary Oliver’s poems
Favorite quote: “Ars longa, vitae brevis..”
Favorite piece of music/song: Ode to Joy
Most treasured travel: any trip with my whole family
Guilty pleasure: Chips! Kettle cooked. Saltier the better.
Unknown fact about you: I am an open book, can’t think of an unknown!
 
She is an internist and infectious disease specialist who practices primary care medicine and geriatrics. She and her family have been at Dartmouth since 1992. Her husband is a vascular surgeon, and together they have 3 grown sons who all enjoy the great outdoors that they are lucky to have in their backyard here in New Hampshire. As a medical educator over the past several decades, she has taught at the UME and GME levels and has led faculty development sessions locally and nationally. Teaching is something she loves – the opportunity to help curious, bright, and engaged learners find joy in the science and the art of medicine, is a gift she is lucky to have. She had the privilege of being the Associate Dean of Student Affairs for six years before transitioning to the role of Associate Dean of Admissions at the Geisel School of Medicine five years ago. In addition to her educational and administrative roles, her other greatest joy is patient care. She can honestly say that her patients have taught her more about medicine, life, and herself than she could have predicted.
 
Host: Tamar Mosulishvili
Editor: Willa Merrill