About Us

PA Moms ® was established in 2016 and became a Special Interest Group of the American Academy of PAs in December 2020, with a goal of positively impacting the outside community and collaborating with other organizations to fulfill a greater purpose.

Our Mission

Our mission is to provide each other with support, friendship, and camaraderie in order to decrease career burnout and work-related stressors. We recognize the hardships of balancing life at home and our demanding careers as PAs.

PA Moms unifies and empowers PA women to advocate for their patients and our profession, express their full potential, and positively impact the broader healthcare community by giving back and collaborating with other organizations.

The mission of PA moms is both simple and profound: we will change lives, minds and medicine forever and for good by supporting and empowering each other in both the PA profession and motherhood.

Our Vision

PA Moms empowers Physician Associates (PAs) to be of service to one another and their patients to their fullest potential.

Nothing is more powerful than a #PAmom except for thousands of #PAmoms standing together ♥️

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging at PA Moms:

PA Moms is committed to cultivating a leadership culture that embraces the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, where all members feel a sense of belonging. We strive to foster a community of acceptance and empowerment, and listen to our underrepresented members with an environment free of judgement. PA Moms recognizes that the PA profession is too homogeneous and we are committed to implementing partnerships and programs to support diversity in our profession.

Leadership

Raquelle Akavan, PA-C

President & Founder

Raquelle Akavan, PA-C founded PA Moms in October 2016 when she was finding it incredibly challenging to balance her full-time work as a PA in neurosurgery and her new role as a mom to her then two-year-old daughter. After learning about an online support group for physicians who are parents, Akavan had the idea to start a similar group for PAs. Raquelle has been a surgical PA for 10 years and is most recently starting a PA program as the Director of Clinical Education. Raquelle is from Long Island, NY and spent most of her career working in NYC. She started her career in plastics, then neurosurgery working at a level 1 trauma center in the Bronx. She later relocated to Austin, TX with her husband and 2 children. Raquelle obtained her bachelors in biology from State University College at Oneonta and her masters in physician assistant studies from Pace University-Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. Raquelle is a natural community builder and loves to create and build brand identities.
@dr.rocky_pa

Katerina Dons, MMS, PA-C

 

Jena Morcelle, PA-C

Shameice Fischer, PA-C

Elisa Hock, MPAS, PA-C

 

 

 

Tiffany Wimsatt, PA-C

Ashley McClary, PA-C

 

 

 

Charmeen Wilkes, PA-C, ATC

Jennifer, Mayer, DMSc, MPAS, PA-C