Bethany Figg joins Gleaner Life Board of Directors
August 15, 2024
New appointee brings compliance, risk-management, finance, and strategic planning skills to the position.
Representing a new generation of Gleaner Life members, Bethany Figg of Bridgeport, Michigan, is the newest member the Society’s Board of Directors. Figg was chosen July 1 to fill a vacant seat with a term that ends in October 2025. Because the term had more than nine months remaining, Society bylaws dictated the Board of Directors had responsibility for filling the vacancy.
Figg serves as Director of Graduate Medical Education for CMU Medical Education Partners in Saginaw, with oversight of 170+ resident physicians completing training in nine medical and surgical specialty programs. “I have experience in developing and administering policies, budgets, and educational strategies to support an effective clinical learning environment,” she noted. She also is President Elect of the Michigan Association for Medical Education which provides support and educational programming to the residency program professionals across the state of Michigan.
“My experience in overseeing accreditation responsibilities and emphasizing compliance with accreditation standards allows me to contribute expertise in risk management and compliance,” she wrote in her application, which she submitted after seeing the Society’s invitation for applicants in Forum.
“Everyone I’ve met has been so welcoming and so kind. I’m excited to continue to meet as many people as I can in the Gleaner group,” said Figg, whose life insurance purchase a decade ago made her a Gleaner member.
Community outreach is one of her other strengths. She has organized two Stop the Bleed training programs for the K-12 students and teachers at Bridgeport Baptist Academy, participates yearly in mock interviews and resume writing for junior and senior high school students at the Saginaw Career Complex, and served as Treasurer on the Bridgeport Public Library Board of Directors. “I understand the importance of strong leadership, ethical governance, and effective collaboration in board-level decision making,” she stated, noting these skills will transfer to her Gleaner duties.
Since 2014, she has been the column editor for a peer-reviewed health sciences journal which publishes four issues per year, and also recently found time to write a chapter titled “Accreditation and Evaluation: Roles for Health Sciences Library Managers” for the book “Managing Health Sciences Libraries in a Time of Change,” published this year. Figg presents regionally, nationally, and internationally on a range of topics addressing educational needs in graduate medical education, which allows her the opportunity to travel. When they can join her, she takes family or friends on these trips, and always plans an adventure to experience and later post to Instagram. She and her husband of 21 years, Brent, have two teenage sons — a sophomore in college, and a senior in high school. The couple also own and manage several rental properties, providing them hands-on experience in real estate and property management.