Meet The Fellows

Dr. Maria Sofia Avendano-Welch is a pediatrician who works at Chesapeake Health Care Pediatrics in Salisbury, MD. She graduated from the Far Eastern University School of Medicine (Manila, Philippines). She completed her Pediatric residency program at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore. Currently, she is the Medical Director of the Physician Assistant Program at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. 

Why the PALLA Fellowship? 

The PALLA Fellowship is an excellent resource in developing skills as an effective preceptor thereby facilitating training of competent compassionate future physician assistants.

I am a General (Robotic) Surgeon in Easton, MD. I have practiced here for the past 8 years.  I am eager to create a robust General Surgery here on the Eastern shore of Maryland. I have helped develop the General Surgery robotics program and am currently the Robotics Committee Chair. I am lucky to have helped create a genuine patient focused practice.  Outside of work I spend my free time as a glorified chauffeur getting my kids to all of their practices and extracurricular activities.  I enjoy cooking and eating at new restaurants as well as travelling. 

I choose to become a part of the PALLA experience to be a better educator for our rotating PA students and to be able to provide targeted and effective education for the different learner types. 

Jacob Bollinger is a Physician Assistant who works in outpatient Primary Care Internal Medicine. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science from Salisbury University in 2016. After working in a hospital laboratory for two years, he pursued further education and obtained his Master of Medical Science from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, in 2020. Jacob has since practiced in both Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Internal Medicine. 

Passionate about education, Jacob actively precepts students and is committed to serving his underserved community on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Outside of his professional life, he enjoys gardening, spending quality time with his family, and surfing. 

Why the PALLA Fellowship 

I am passionate about education and love precepting students in the clinical setting. The PALLA fellowship offers a unique opportunity to enhance my skills in both education and clinical practice. There is always more to learn, and the PALLA fellowship will help me refine my educational abilities and create an environment of growth for the students I mentor 

Sophia is a Physician Assistant in general internal medicine in the Johns Hopkins After Care Clinic. She provides comprehensive care, serving as a bridge for patients who have recently been in the Johns Hopkins Hospital or emergency department as they transition towards their longitudinal care plan. She conducts many medical visits directly in Spanish as a qualified bilingual speaker. She originally started working at Johns Hopkins in 2017 as a PA in inpatient orthopedic surgery. 

Sophia leads a Diversity and Outreach group for Johns Hopkins Advanced Practice Providers and received one of the 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Awards in recognition of her volunteerism. 

She received a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology and Health Sciences at William & Mary and completed her master’s at the Weill Cornell Medicine Physician Assistant program in New York City. 

Why PALLA? 

I enjoy mentoring and teaching students at several educational levels including pre-PA, PA, and NP students. I love to learn and believe in education’s significant power to positively affect lives. I applied to the PALLA preceptor fellowship to prompt reflection on my current practices and improve my ability to precept learners of all backgrounds. 

Adanna is a Physician Assistant who finds joy as a mentor and educator. She guides students to success as a Physician Assistant (PA) through assisting them with their academic decisions. With a background in Biomedical Sciences and a Master's in Physician Assistant Medicine, she's served for over five years, specializing in OB/GYN medicine and Acute Care Trauma Surgery. She shares her expertise through guest presentations and collaborations with leading companies. Outside of work, she enjoys family time, producing faith-based films with her husband, and traveling. Her mission is to empower others in the field of medicine through mentorship and education. 

Matt has been a primary care PA in Hagerstown MD for the past 14 years. He also spends time teaching medicine to Family Practice residents at Meritus Family Practice and at Frostburg State University’s PA program.  Prior to becoming a PA he was a gravitational physiologist. 

Why the PALLA Fellowship?  It is an opportunity to learn the skills of teaching. I have received a significant amount of education throughout my career, but only a small focus on the act of teaching and precepting. This is an opportunity to expand my knowledge and become more efficient at teaching and precepting.  

My name is Kyle Maio PA-C. I have worked in general surgery since graduating from UMB PA program back in 2019. I initially had a passion for orthopedics but, quickly realized that I loved general surgery. I enjoy procedures and operating especially robotically. My practice is on the eastern shore at the University of Maryland in Easton. We have a wide demographic base which helps me to understand many different cultures. I have chosen to attend the fellowship course as I have also newly found a passion for precepting. I have always been so grateful to those that precepted me that ever since I was able to accept PA students I do so willingly. This course has helped me gain insight for mentoring and helped me establish evidence base practice to help my students excel. 

Brandon is a dedicated physician associate and the president of Sailwinds Medical Group, a multi-specialty practice serving the communities of Cambridge and Salisbury. In addition to his leadership role, he has a background in emergency medicine and currently works at TidalHealth as a clinical informaticist and hospitalist, where he combines his expertise in medicine with cutting-edge technology to improve patient care and provider efficiency/satisfaction. Brandon has a strong passion for education, previously teaching PA students at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) and continuing to mentor the next generation of healthcare professionals as a preceptor. His current focus includes advancing personalized education through PALLA, aiming to create a more structured yet tailored learning experience for his students.

Kelsey Rosen, MSN, CRNP graduated from University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing in 2015 with her Master of Science in Nursing and received her adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner license. She has been a nurse practitioner for 9 years. After graduation, she was selected for and completed a competitive one year advanced practitioner residency in trauma and critical care medicine at George Washington University Hospital. 

After the residency, she worked for 4 years as a nurse practitioner for the Center for Trauma and Critical Care Medicine at George Washington University Hospital. As she gained more clinical experience and comfort in her career, she pursued more teaching and mentorship opportunities. She joined the Advanced Practitioner Residency Committee in 2017 and then became Co-director for the 2019-2020 cohort. She also was responsible for organizing monthly educational grand rounds for advanced practitioners and students. 

Currently, she has worked the last 5 years in general surgery at University of Maryland Shore Medical Center where her role consists of first assisting surgeries, caring for surgical patients in the hospital, and managing patients in the outpatient clinic setting. She also works part time at University of Maryland Urgent Care. Throughout her career she has always had a passion for educating and mentoring students. 

Why the PALLA Fellowship?

The fellowship has enhanced my professional development by helping me to learn valuable leadership and teaching skills to precept advanced practitioner students. It has provided me with the educational resources and tools to be the best preceptor and mentor that I can be while supporting my goal to educate and inspire future advanced practitioners. 

Jay graduated from Chatham University Physician Assistant with Masters in Physician Assistant Science program in July of 2014. He also holds a BA from Rutgers University in Political Science with Minor in Philosophy and Women’s Studies. He began his career in 2014 with four years as an inpatient hospitalist PA at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Shadeyside Hospital in Hematology and Oncology. While at Shadyside Hospital he precepted students and lectured on Oncologic Emergencies as well as Chemotherapy Administration. He spent 4 years working in General and Vascular Surgery at Medstar Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore MD. He currently serves as an inpatient PA at the National Institutes of Health under National Heat Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) on teams trying to cure Aplastic Anemia and Sickle Cell Disease. While at the NIH he lectures at NIH grand rounds, created a peer review program for medical documentation, created the “Approach to….” Lecture series, created onboarding program for advanced practice providers, as well as created and implemented various patient safety projects 

Why the PALLA Fellowship? 

I feel that the best way to deliver safe patient care is to start with education. The PALLA fellowship provides the community and framework that allows me to grow as an educator and help the future of the PA profession.