Alumni spotlights

Sonja McGrath had just transitioned from a nursing career into healthcare administration when she joined AMGO in the early 2000s. She remained an active member until her retirement in 2013, including serving as president in 2008.

“I'm not a real outgoing person, but when I joined AMGO I immediately felt so welcome and comfortable with everyone,” said Sonja. “I could talk to anyone at any time with any question. If they didn’t have the answer, they’d know someone who did.”

She credits that sharing of information as the primary driver behind AMGO’s longevity and success.

“You have members from across the United States and Canada, each with their own unique academic positions and situations, all sharing their experiences, challenges, and perspectives. It’s an incredible learning environment,” said Sonja.

She also stressed the benefits of participating in the annual meetings, one of AMGO’s most valuable offerings. “You can learn so much by attending. I don't ever remember sitting in an AMGO meeting being bored.”

She frequently returned from the meetings with new ideas to share with her department leadership or the CFO of their practice plan. “It helped me realize there are so many different perspectives out there on administrative practices, physician compensation, budget strategies and educational programs. If you don’t come to the meetings, you miss the opportunity to learn from those diverse approaches,” said Sonja.

She recalled presenting on her own organization’s use of Relative Value Units (RVUs) for physician compensation, and being surprised by the interest it generated among colleagues whose systems operated very differently.

Their annual meetings consistently offered practical content that was relevant to all attendees, said Sonja. “You could always count on the agenda having presentations you’d be interested in.”

She believes AMGO membership is beneficial to more than just the administrators, and encourages members to bring managers and other staff members to meetings when possible. “My department chair agreed to send my billing and coding manager to a meeting and my clinic manager, who ultimately succeeded me as administrator, so they could share their perspectives and learn from other academic departments.”

During Sonja’s presidency, one of the organization’s priorities was to make attending the annual meeting more affordable. “Many institutions were reducing travel budgets, leaving some members responsible for covering expenses themselves,” she explained.

She worked with the board to keep conference costs as low as possible by choosing venues willing to negotiate on their room rates and meeting spaces. By tightening their own budget as well, she noted, they were able to make meetings accessible to everyone, while still providing an enjoyable event and valuable learning experience.

Today, Sonja remains connected with many former colleagues and is enjoying lifelong friendships that began at AMGO. She also travels, attends sporting events with her husband, belongs to a boating club, and enjoys time with her grandchildren and great grandchildren, “the joy of her life.”

Looking back, she remembers a speaking event where she was trying to convey just how valuable AMGO membership is, even beyond the tangible benefits like the network you’ll gain, the professional support you’ll have, and the educational opportunities offered, said Sonja. “It’s so much more than professional development. You’ll make new friends. You’ll share fun times and laughter that you’ll never forget. And you’ll feel comfortable and at home here.”

Carolyn Gorman

When Carolyn Gorman joined AMGO, little did she know the professional organization would become one of the most influential experiences of her career.

Carolyn’s AMGO journey began in the early 2000s when she was serving as director of operations in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania Health System. She remained an active member for more than a decade, including serving on the board of directors and as president from 2009 to 2010. In recognition of her exceptional leadership, service and commitment to the organization, Carolyn earned AMGO’s highest honor, the Circle of Excellence Award, and a lifetime membership.

“When I left my academic leadership role at Penn in 2014, where I had become chief operating officer, one of the hardest things for me was not being a part of AMGO anymore – it’s that great of an organization,” said Carolyn.

A defining moment early in her involvement was receiving an AMGO scholarship to attend the Snowmass Institute, a prominent educational conference focused on women’s health service line management. “I’d been asked to take on a service line role and wanted to gain all the knowledge I could. But our department could only fund one conference each year. For me, that conference was AMGO,” she explained.

“I was thrilled to get the scholarship. But it required presenting what I learned at the AMGO meeting – a scary prospect early in my career,” said Carolyn. The experience was transformative, building her confidence and leading to an invitation to join AMGO’s board of directors.

As a board member and later as Membership Chair, Carolyn and the board helped strengthen the organization by modernizing AMGO’s website, messaging and logo, and leading a nationwide membership campaign “which worked really well,” she noted. The goal: to refresh membership on an annual basis, ensure robust meetings, and introduce more professionals to the organization.

“AMGO has endured for 50 years because the professional benefits and personal relationships developed are so valuable,” said Carolyn. “You feel a tremendous responsibility to help carry it forward, ensuring others have this unique forum and support network specific to academic OB/GYN.”

“This is an organization where you can pick up the phone and call other members to get answers or learn how they do things,” she said. She recalled reaching out to colleagues for guidance on major initiatives and having AMGO members readily share successful models and expertise. “One member met with me and my department chair to share her whole framework for overhauling faculty compensation, which we implemented system-wide across all departments. That’s a powerful example of the value of this network and the ability to tap into what others have done rather than reinvent the wheel.”

When Carolyn retired in 2025, she was senior vice president and chief strategy officer for a major Philadelphia health system. She credits AMGO with advancing her career through leadership opportunities, professional development, scholarships, and board service. “Those experiences give you the confidence to do the next thing, taking your career to new levels,” she said.

Her advice to prospective and current members? “Get involved. Go to the annual meetings, which draw you closer to the opportunities for involvement and lead to relationships that keep you engaged and supported. You’ll meet people you can bounce ideas off of and learn from, and you’ll look forward to seeing them year after year. You’ll also be exposed to some cool things that will help your career.”

More than a decade after leaving academic medicine, she remains close friends with many AMGO colleagues. She’s excited to see these friends at the organization’s reunion in Salem and “for the opportunity to give back to an organization that gave so much more to me,” said Carolyn.

Retirement has enabled Carolyn to spend more time with her elderly parents, and to pursue her passion for adventure travel, including trips to Thailand, Ireland, Kenya, and Patagonia.