FORT LEE, NJ, UNITED STATES, April 20, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Trista Walker, Board Chair of The Arnold P. Gold Foundation, is pleased to announce two new Trustees: Lee Jones, MD, Vice Dean at Rush Medical College and a national leader in academic medicine, and Francisco J. Leija, a seasoned board director, serial entrepreneur, and retired U.S. Army Colonel.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Jones and Col. Leija to the Board of Trustees at the Gold Foundation,” said Ms. Walker. “Both are deeply passionate about humanism in healthcare and purpose-driven work, and together they bring world-class expertise across medical education, patient care, innovation, and organizational transformation. We look forward to their insights as we work together to advance human-centered care.”
The Gold Foundation is the leading national nonprofit organization that champions humanism in healthcare. Since 1988, the Gold Foundation has worked to foster kind, safe, trustworthy care by engaging medical and nursing schools, health systems, companies and individual clinicians. Among the nonprofit’s many programs are the iconic White Coat Ceremony, the Gold Humanism Honor Society, and the Gold Humanism Summit.
About Dr. Lee Jones
Dr. Jones is a national leader in academic medicine with deep expertise in medical education transformation, holistic admissions, and human-centered education and practice. He serves as Vice Dean for Education and Student Experience at Rush Medical College in Chicago, where he is also the Stanley G. Harris Family Professor of Psychiatry.
“ I am very excited to be joining the Board of Trustees in the increasingly important work of The Arnold P. Gold Foundation,” said Dr. Jones. “Medicine – for all clinicians – is increasingly complex, making it a challenge at times to hold on to our foundational principles. The work of the Gold Foundation to maintain and strengthen our grounding in these principles is what excites me most at this point in my career. It is a distinct honor and privilege to be joining this Board now; I am very grateful for this opportunity to join outstanding colleagues in furthering this mission.”
Dr. Jones has been an esteemed leader within the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), a key partner of the Gold Foundation. He served on the Board of Directors for seven years, including terms as Chair-elect, Chair, and Immediate Past Chair. The AAMC and the Gold Foundation collaborate on several programs, including the Jordan J. Cohen Humanism in Medicine Lecture.
Dr. Jones is a board-certified psychiatrist who began his career as a surgeon, with expertise in care of acutely medically ill patients, transplant patients, and emergency department psychiatry. This unique combination reflects the breadth of his clinical and academic training. His career has been grounded in service and mentorship, with a focus on shaping inclusive learning environments and leading institutional transformation in medical education.
Humanism has been at the core of Dr. Jones’ patient care and medical education roles. He is a Gold Humanism Honor Society member and has won numerous awards for his exemplary teaching and service.
Dr. Jones has held faculty and leadership positions at major academic institutions including UCLA, UCSF, UC Davis, the University of Arizona, the University of Texas, and Georgetown University.
About Col. Francisco J. Leija
Col. Leija is a board director, entrepreneur, and retired U.S. Army Colonel whose career spans national security, institutional leadership, and human-centered systems transformation. Based in Rye, New York, he brings over three decades of experience leading complex organizations at the intersection of public service, advanced technology, and societal impact. Col. Leija’s perspective on healthcare leadership is shaped by both professional and deeply personal experiences.
“As a co-founder of Army Futures Command, where I worked closely with leading universities to align the U.S. Army’s basic research portfolio with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, wearable technologies, and autonomous robotics, I developed a disciplined approach to anticipating the human-in-the-loop factors that shape decision making, trust, and ethical application in warfare. That experience revealed a profound congruence with medicine, where the same technologies promise transformative efficiencies but must remain anchored in human judgment, empathy, and dignity to truly serve patients,” said Col. Leija. “I am deeply proud to bring this perspective to a mission of such consequence, and I can think of no better institution than The Arnold P. Gold Foundation to lead a national movement that ensures humanism remains at the center of care in an era of accelerating technological change.”
As a White House Fellow and Special Advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Col. Leija worked at the intersection of public policy and population-level systems, where healthcare delivery and emergency response are critical to national outcomes. In uniform, Col. Leija served in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, where he witnessed firsthand the life-saving impact of coordinated medical systems in high-risk environments. From 2010 to 2012, during the Afghanistan surge, he led non-lethal operations across the districts of Maywand and Zharay in Kandahar Province. In this role, he oversaw medical operations supporting the civilian populations and the expansion of community-based medical outreach in austere and volatile conditions. These experiences reinforced his deep respect for the medical profession and the critical importance of human-centered care under pressure.
Col. Leija’s commitment to compassionate, patient-centered care is further informed by his personal life. As a father, he experienced the profound impact of critical medical care when one of his daughters required advanced treatment, including an extended stay at the ICU and Ronald McDonald House. This experience strengthened his belief in the importance of empathy, dignity, and humanism in medicine, and continues to shape his support for institutions that elevate the patient and family experience.
Professionally, Col. Leija is the Founder and Principal of Modern Phalanx Solutions, advising organizations at critical inflection points, including those operating in health-adjacent technologies such as artificial intelligence and advanced systems. He serves as a Trustee of Norwich University and Manhattanville University.
Col. Leija is a recipient of the Ranger Tab, two Purple Hearts, two Bronze Stars, and the Legion of Merit.
Brianne Alcala
The Arnold P. Gold Foundation
+1 201-567-7999
email us here
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