PAHPM - Board of Directors

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Get to know your Board of Directors

Current President: Ryan Baldeo, MPAS, MSPC, PA-C, FAAHPM

Bio: I am a practicing physician assistant (PA) in palliative care (PC) with experience in both community-based and academic medical centers. Through serendipitous experiences, I identified a passion at the crossroads of health literacy, socioeconomic status, cultural variability, and medical practice in the US, with specific passion in working with persons living with serious illness(es). While practicing as a PC PA, I have come across many obstacles, gaps, and roadblocks that serve as barriers to the delivery of specialty level PC for persons in need, which has expanded my passion to focus on enhancing infrastructure, business models, education, and research in the field with intent to positively impact the future landscape of PC in the US. As such, my professional goals are to develop and sustain initiatives in PC that will provide an infrastructure to support consistent high-quality PC specialty services to patients and loved ones in need.

Favorite Quote: "To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch...to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

President Elect: Tracey Piparo, PA-C, DFAAPA

Bio: A seasoned Physician Associate with 23 years of healthcare experience, Tracey is dedicated to enhancing the lives of individuals facing serious illness. Her expertise in palliative care focuses on empowering patients to actively participate in their healthcare decisions, including advance care planning.

She is passionate about normalizing conversations around death and dying, and works tirelessly to improve access to compassionate end-of-life care. Through national speaking engagements and collaborative initiatives, Tracey strives to create a healthcare system where every patient and family receives the support they deserve.
Tracey’s commitment to evidence-based practice, patient-centered care, and professional advocacy drive her work as she supports patients and families in navigating complex healthcare journeys. In 2024, PA Piparo joined the National Emergency and Palliative Medicine Initiative of Compassion and Choices to expand access to palliative care within emergency departments.
She lives in Allentown, NJ with her firefighter husband and two growing boys and enjoys family workouts in their garage gym, occasional hikes throughout NJ, visits to the shore, good food and even better wine, as well as a good evening of mindless television.
Favorite Quote: "So what is the magic formula, I hear you ask. It's H ≥ e – E. Or in other words: happiness is greater than or equal to the events of life, minus the expectations of life." -Mo Gawdat

Immediate Past President: Jeanine Smith, MS, PA-C