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Executive leader named to statewide “Forty in their 40’s” list for transformative leadership in health care and education
Brian Ebersole, vice president of academic affairs and associate designated institutional official for The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education, was recently selected for City & State Pennsylvania’s 2025 “Forty in their 40’s” List. The list celebrates Pennsylvania’s most influential and accomplished leaders across nonprofits, government, business, and media, honoring their exceptional achievements, visionary leadership, advocacy, philanthropic contributions, and deep commitment to bettering lives and championing progress throughout the commonwealth.
The multimedia news organization selected Ebersole in recognition of his visionary leadership in transforming health care workforce development through innovative, community-rooted graduate medical education models that are expanding opportunities, addressing physician shortages, and improving health equity across the nation.
Brian Ebersole, vice president of academic affairs and associate designated institutional official for The Wright Centers for Community Health and Graduate Medical Education
“I’m grateful to City & State Pennsylvania for this recognition that reflects the collective efforts of so many of my mission-driven partners at The Wright Center who are working to reshape how we train physicians and serve communities,” said Ebersole. “At The Wright Center, we believe the future of health care starts in the neighborhoods that need it most, and I’m proud to help build that future alongside such dedicated colleagues, board members, learners, patients, and partners.”
A visionary leader in graduate medical education, Ebersole played a pivotal role in designing and advancing The Wright Center’s innovative Graduate Medical Education Safety-Net Consortium. Through this model, he transformed residency training by placing physician learners in community health centers, rather than traditional hospital settings, to equip them with better practical, community-rooted experience while addressing physician shortages and improving retention in underserved areas. Ebersole also secured critical federal funding, forged strategic partnerships, and established a sustainable health care workforce pipeline that prioritizes community health over institutional convenience.
In 2013, he further advanced The Wright Center’s mission “to improve the health and welfare of our communities through responsive, whole-person health services for all and the sustainable renewal of an inspired, competent workforce that is privileged to serve” by launching its National Family Medicine Residency Program, which was the first nationally coordinated network of high-performing, patient-centered Federally Qualified Health Centers serving as unified training sites under a single, centrally managed program.
Under his leadership, both initiatives have become scalable and replicable national models that redefine how and where America’s future physicians are trained.
Ebersole has more than two decades of experience in health policy and innovation. Before his current position, he served as senior vice president of mission delivery and business development at The Wright Center, successfully securing federal, state, and local funding to support and expand a wide range of programs. He previously held public health leadership roles under four Pennsylvania governors and served as senior director of health innovations at Geisinger Health System, where he focused on initiatives addressing social needs across Northeast Pennsylvania.
A founding member of the American Association of Teaching Health Centers, he rejoined the organization’s executive committee as treasurer in 2023. He also serves on The Institute’s Health and Health Care Task Force and is actively involved with several community-based nonprofits.
A native of Duncannon, Pennsylvania, Ebersole earned a Bachelor of Arts in politics and education from Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. He has a son, Keegan, and resides in Old Forge, Pennsylvania, with his husband, Jeff Smith.
