Congratulations to our 2022 Award Recipients!

MAPA PA of the Year

Mike Breunig M.S. PA-C

Mike Breunig has been selected as the 2022 MAPA PA of the Year. Mr. Breunig has received numerous awards previously for his work as an educator and mentor. He has published many articles related to point of care ultrasound (POCUS) and is seen as a leader in his division and within PA education related to his work with POCUS.

He has frequently presented on POCUS both locally and nationally. He serves as the co-chair of POCUS workshops at the annual AAPA conference and is also the JAAPA Editor of Diagnostic Imaging. He has received numerous awards previously for his work as an educator and mentor. He stepped up during COVID to work shifts beyond his FTE to give others a break.  He was identified as being extremely thoughtful in his approach to curriculum development within the Mayo Clinic PA Program. He creates an environment of compassion and generosity amongst others. Mr. Breunig elevates our profession and advocates for our profession locally, state-wide, and nationally.

Inaugural MAPA Advocacy Award

Leslie Clayton MPAS, PA-C 

Leslie Clayton was selected for the inaugural MAPA Advocacy Award. Ms. Clayton has been a fierce advocate for our profession for over a decade. She has held many positions in MAPA leadership including co-chair of the Legislative Committee. She has created deep, personal connections with legislators, lobbyists, and dozens of stakeholders to ensure the physician assistant profession remains relevant in every conversation about healthcare.

Through her tireless efforts, with untold hours of personal time, she saw the 2020 PA Modernization Act pass. She is now involved with the AAPA board, helping to craft policies and drive change for PAs nationally.  She is working with the AAPA to spearhead the 2022 Harmonization Bill. In addition, she is a leader in her healthcare organization, demonstrating how competent PAs can be utilized both clinically and administratively. Leslie is a tireless advocate for our profession.

MAPA Preceptor of the Year

Brittany Strelow DMSc, PA-C, M.S.

Brittany Strelow was selected as this year’s MAPA Preceptor of the Year. Dr. Strelow exemplifies the broad range of roles a PA can have. Through her clinical work in community internal medicine, she has precepted numerous students sharing her expertise with the next generation of healthcare providers. Through her work with the Mayo Clinic PA program, she assures that students are set up for success throughout their didactic and clinical years. She goes above and beyond in terms of meeting with students and ensuring they are doing well.

She helps students navigate through the challenges that PA school, discussing topics vital to the PA profession such as: self-confidence, having personal integrity, showing respect and compassion to all and maintaining composure during adverse situations.  She takes the time to get to know her students individually and selects clinical rotations accordingly.  Clinically, she came up with innovative ideas on how to increase preventative health screening in underserved populations and has led multiple quality improvement projects. She is a resource and educator on cancer survivorship and COVID-19 patient care. She is constantly working towards elevating the PA profession.  Through her hard work and dedication, she has influenced untold future PA’s.

MAPA Past President Award

Meredith Wold, PA-C

Meredith is the embodiment of what it means to be a PA: the team player, the bridge builder, striving for consensus whether it’s bedside with a patient, exploring why they weren’t taking their heart meds, or in the C-suite with the chief medical officer of a hospital, trying to understand barriers to utilizing PAs.  She is humble, and seeks to understand first, rather than seeking to be understood, always trying to get at the heart of a problem.  When she asks “wanna take a walk, grab a cup of coffee?” this is her way of having a crucial conversation, literally walking by your side, facing the problem together.

She is a consummate champion for her patients, fellow PAs, and for the entire healthcare team.  She questions everything and will blow apart a process to examine it and figure out where the sticking points are.  That way she’ll know how to improve upon it, all while building buy-in from stakeholders the entire time. 

Meredith is welcoming and inclusive, she loves gathering with good people, and wants everyone to feel they belong to the team. She excels at celebrating wins, gives you time and space to grieve losses, but won’t let you wallow in self-pity because there’s everyone needs to grow and develop from their experiences. 

Meredith has been recognized for her clinical excellence nationally by the Society of Hospital Medicine and has lectured and facilitated around the country about leadership, about optimal use of APCs in hospital medicine and beyond.  Her passion for teaching and developing excellence in PAs has led her to the inaugural directorship of our entire healthcare organization’s APC Fellowship program.  She continues lecturing at Augsburg and inspiring class after class of PA students.  She is a tireless mentor and teacher to PAs, PA students, and medical learners from all backgrounds.

For all these reasons and more; I am proud to present the Past President Award to Meredith Wold, PA-C.

-MAPA 2021-22 Past President, Elise Haupt, MPH, PA-C