Dr. Cathy Lazarus is a nationally recognized leader in academic medicine, medical
education, and organizational leadership, with decades of experience guiding faculty,
residents, and students across major academic health systems. Currently Assistant
Dean for Student Affairs and Records and Professor of Medicine at Louisiana State
University School of Medicine, Dr. Lazarus has held multiple senior leadership roles,
including Chief Academic Officer at University Medical Center New Orleans, Associate
Dean for Student Affairs at LSU New Orleans School of Medicine, Senior Associate Dean
for Student Affairs and Medical Education at Chicago Medical School, Associate Chief
of Staff for Education for the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System, as
well as Assistant Dean for Graduate Medical Education at Tulane University School
of Medicine. . Dr. Lazarus attended medical school at Washington University in St.
Louis where she completed her internal medicine residency and started her career in
academic medicine teaching, practice, and administrative leadership. A graduate of
the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine (ELAM) program, she has built a distinguished
career advancing interprofessional education, faculty development, and systems-level
leadership in healthcare organizations. Her efforts have consistently improved academic
environments, accreditation outcomes, and the culture of mentorship and professional
growth in medicine.
Dr. Lazarus brings deep expertise in leadership coaching and program development, grounded in her experience directing the LSU Leadership Academy, which cultivates leadership capacity among faculty in academic medicine. As inaugural Chair of the National Advisory Council of the Gold Humanism Honor Society, she oversaw its growth from three to ninety chapters nationwide and led multiple strategic-planning retreats focused on sustaining humanistic leadership in healthcare. Her national impact includes faculty roles with the Bayer Institute for Healthcare Communication and leadership of faculty-development initiatives at Tulane University and Rosalind Franklin University. She served on the board of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) for eleven years including on the budget and executive committees and was a member of the CEO search committee. She is currently on the board of the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) and has served as treasurer and a member of the executive committee. Dr. Lazarus has also served in leadership roles, including board chair, treasurer, and secretary for several different non profits in the New Orleans community. She has received many teaching awards including the Presidential Medal for Graduate and Professional Teaching from Tulane University. She is a two time Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine awardee from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. She has completed DISC certification training as well as Executive Coaching training from the Center for Executive Coaching. A Master of the American College of Physicians, Dr. Lazarus combines broad executive experience, humanistic leadership, and deep academic insight to coach emerging and established leaders in medicine toward effective, values-driven leadership in complex healthcare settings