Worcester Business Journal

8 Worcester Business Journal | February 7, 2022 | wbjournal.com Leading the field e president of the largest physician group in Central Mass. has spent her career advancing science and diversity in ophthalmology R are are the moments a person can later pinpoint as life-changing. But when they happen, they pack a punch. For Dr. Shlomit Schaal, chair of ophthalmology at UMass Chan Medical School and president of UMass Memo- rial Medical Group in Worcester, one such moment came by way of attending a mid-career women faculty leadership development seminar hosted by the As- sociation of American Medical Colleges. It was late 2014, she recalls, and she'd been nominated by her dean at the Uni- versity of Louisville, where she served on faculty as well as the director of retina and the director of vitreo-retinal fellowship, to attend the event. Look- ing at her schedule, which was packed, she'd tried to turn it down. Her chair, however, pushed her to take the time. She relented. "at seminar really changed my life in terms of thinking about how difficult it is to climb, and specifically, if you're a woman, to try for leadership positions," Schaal said. "And for immigrants, it's even harder." With more than a decade of profes- sional and academic experience under her belt, as well as a family with four children, Schaal was wrapped up in her career and her life; she'd never given much thought to the unique, oen sys- temic, challenges women in the medical field – and beyond – faced when it came to ascending within their careers. e event, she remembered, was eye open- ing. Freshly equipped with relevant data and the realization she needed to make sure to intentionally drive her profes- sional life forward, she felt invigorated. But the event changed her life in more ways than one. At this seminar she was exposed to UMass Chan Medical School. One of the speakers at the event was Luanne orndyke, who at the time served as the school's vice provost for faculty affairs. When, in the following days Schaal received a recruitment email, indicating the Worcester school was seeking a chair for its ophthal- mology department, she remembered hearing orndyke speak and decided to throw her hat into the ring. She was taken aback when that application turned into a job offer. But just as quickly, she was stricken with uncertainty. Touch choices Schaal came to the U.S. to take an ophthalmology fellowship at the Uni- versity of Louisville, aer receiving both her medical and doctoral degrees in Israel and serving as a physician in the Israeli navy. Traveling across the Atlan- tic with her husband and four daughters in tow, she'd originally planned, aer studying the field specializing in eye disorders, to return to her home coun- try and carry out her work. "I wanted to become the best retina surgeon in northern Israel, at the time," she said. When her chair in Kentucky offered her a lab and a position on the faculty, the opportunity to become a clinician scientist, she found herself needing to decide whether to abandon that plan and stay in the U.S. Although the fellowship had been an invaluable experience, her time away from home had not been easy. Her husband did not initially have a visa allowing him to work, and on top of her academic and professional responsibilities, they had a family to take care of. "We were earning $25,000 a year, and we had no money for shoes and had to really look at the prices of rice," Schaal said. "It was real for us, this experience to come to a new country, not knowing the language or having any money." Making the decision to stay was one of the hardest choices of her life. e family she'd intended to return to pressured her to come home, as did her mentors. "In Israel, you're raised in a very pa- triotic way," Schaal said. "My mom was a PHOTOS | COURTESY OF UMASS CHAN MEDICAL SCHOOL Dr. Shlomit Schaal immigrated to the U.S. to follow her passions and her career. Now, she is one of few women leading ophthalmology departments at American universities, all the while implementing diversity initiatives across multiple departments at UMass Memorial Health. BY MONICA BENEVIDES WBJ Senior Staff Writer F O C U S W O M E N I N L E A D E R S H I P

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