Skip to Main Content
Teaching and Learning Center
YSM Home

INFORMATION FOR

TLC Leadership

  • Janet Hafler, EdD

    Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning

    As Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning, I oversee the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) and Continuing Medical Education (CME) at Yale School of Medicine. I am thrilled to work closely with John Encandela, PhD, TLC Executive Director, and Allison Rentfro, PhD, CME Executive Director, to advance the critical missions of both organizations. During the summer of 2022, the TLC and CME were restructured to prepare us to address the challenges and opportunities for advancing medical education in the 2022 YSM Medical Education Strategic Plan. We are deeply committed to serving the needs of educators, with both foundational and innovative programs. Drs. Encandela and Rentfro are leading exceptional teams of faculty and staff and I invite you to view the Teaching and Learning Center and Continuing Medical Education websites to learn more about the programs they offer.
    Read More
  • John Encandela, PhD

    Executive Director, Teaching and Learning Center

    Thank you for your interest in the Yale School of Medicine Teaching and Learning Center (TLC). The Center opened its doors in 2012 under the impactful leadership of Janet Hafler, EdD.On October 1, 2022, I assumed the newly created role of TLC Executive Director. I am honored to lead an amazing team of faculty and staff as we continue the critical work of supporting our educators in achieving excellence in medical education and scholarship.The TLC has expertise in many areas of medical education including educator development, student and teaching assessment, curriculum design and evaluation, and scholarship. We hope you will join us for events such as the monthly Medical Education Discussion Group and our annual conference—Medical Education Day at Yale. Please consider how the Medical Education Fellowship or MHS-Medical Education Pathway Degree Program may enhance your skills as an educator and medical education researcher. These events and programs are all described on this website and we encourage you to read more about them.All of us at the TLC are available to help you in a variety of ways including developing and enriching curricula, enhancing teaching and assessment skills, and designing a medical education research project to name a few. Please use the Request a Consultation form to connect with us to explore how we can work together.We invite you to join to our mailing list to receive emails about our events and opportunities in medical education. You may email me directly john.encandela@yale.edu or at tlc@yale.edu to join our list and learn more.We are excited to work with you.
    Read More
  • Michael Green, MD

    Director of Student Assessment

    I oversee assessment of students’ clinical competence throughout the medical school curriculum. In particular, my role includes:Developing a programmatic assessment system that tracks students’ development within a competency framework, provides meaningful information for learning and improvement and certifies students’ readiness for graduation and residency training.Ensuring that students receive timely, longitudinal and meaningful formative feedback and support in guided self-assessment and reflection.Supporting curriculum leaders in their development, implementation and evaluation of  assessment strategies and interpretation of assessment data. Interpreting examination item analyses and revising or rejecting poorly performing questions. Collecting, analyzing and interpreting medical school-wide assessment data to guide curriculum evaluation and refinement.Offering faculty development programs in assessment in medical education.Providing individual consultation and mentorship to students, residents and faculty in their medical education scholarship. Chairing the Clinical Skills Assessment Committee, overseeing the pre-clerkship and clerkship OSCEs and remediating poorly performing students.Leading YSM’s participation the American Association of Medical Colleges national Core Entrustable Professional Activity Pilot.Representing Yale School of Medicine on matters of assessment to key local and national stakeholders and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.If you would like to contact me, I am available by email or phone.
    Read More
  • Gary Leydon

    Director Educational Technology

    As the Director for Technology Services I look forward to providing consultation to YSM's learning community about a wide range of topics pertaining to digital technology as it applies to medical education. My areas of expertise include: application development, mobile computing, e-learning systems, augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR), survey design, data analysis and educational videos.I look forward to our discussions, contributing to the enhancement of the curriculum and your development as an educator by applying the latest technology where it is appropriate. Please email or call me anytime.
    Read More

TLC Administrative Staff

  • Dorothy DeBernardo

    Associate Director for Operations

    The Teaching and Learning Center is aptly abbreviated TLC because of the care we take to ensure that our educators receive the support they require to enhance their teaching and inspire their learners. Our faculty and staff are dedicated to providing educational expertise, programs and individual consultation in educator development, assessment (student, faculty and program) and educational technology. In my role as manager, I oversee all our programs and educational activities. I enjoy working with my colleagues to be certain excellence is in everything we bring to the medical education community.Please call or email me if you have any questions about how we may be able to help you. I am delighted to assist you.
    Read More
  • Erin Brannan, MS

    Assessment Program Manager

    In my role as Assessment Program Manager, I work closely with TLC Associate Directors, Dr. John Encandela and Dr. Michael Green, in planning and implementing programs to assess students, educators, the Yale School of Medicine (YSM) curriculum and other school programs. Together we collaborate with YSM leadership, faculty and staff to develop new and innovative approaches to assessment for teaching and learning. I also work with my TLC colleagues on other projects including:Collecting, analyzing and reporting assessment data for TLC programs such as our educator development sessions, etc.Managing the Poster Session for Medical Education Day at Yale.Managing the teaching awards given to educators at the Yale School of Medicine Commencement.Please feel free to contact me via phone or email and I will be happy to assist you.
    Read More
  • Reagin Carney, MHSA

    Project Coordinator

    In my role as Project Coordinator at the TLC, I enjoy working closely with our faculty and staff to support their efforts and bring exceptional programs to our medical education community. As part of the administrative team, I assist in the coordination and implementation of the MHS-Medical Education Degree Program, Continuing Medical Education (CME) reports and submissions and the Committee to Review Student Participation in Research. I am the coordinator for the Medical Education Discussion Group series, which provides monthly educator development sessions on topics of interest to YSM educators. I also lend my support to any program or project that the TLC is offering, and I enjoy the flexibility and diversity of this work.Please feel free to reach out to me via e-mail, I am happy to assist you as needed.
    Read More
  • Barbara Hildebrand, BFA

    Program Manager

    At the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) I am fortunate to work with talented and creative faculty and staff with a core mission dedicated to training and mentoring educators and having a direct impact on students’ learning outcomes. In my role as Program Manager at the TLC, I enjoy interacting with faculty from all areas of Yale Medical and Nursing schools developing interactive programs and contributing to student curriculum development. Primarily, I am responsible for the Standardized Patient (SP) Program, which utilizes actors to portray patients with various chief concerns and case scenarios in a standardized format. In these sessions trainees may practice interview techniques and communication skills in a safe teaching environment. I also manage the Teaching Summary Letter Program for senior faculty who are being presented for promotion. If you have specific questions or want more information about our SP program or the Teaching Summary Letter Program, please feel free to reach out so I may assist you. I would be delighted to help you.
    Read More
  • Linda Sarro

    Manager for Educator Development

    In my role as Manager for Educator Development, I oversee programs to enhance education for all of the departments at the Yale School of Medicine (YSM) as well as a diverse range of Yale New Haven Hospital interprofessional health care providers. I will highlight a few of these programs: The Medical Education Fellowship, a year-long interactive course where participants have the opportunity to read educational literature, discuss principles of learning and create an educational project. Their work is presented at the Poster Session at Medical Education Day at Yale when they graduate as Fellows. Clinical Teaching Educator Development Program, a series of small-group educational sessions for faculty and residents designed to develop their skills as teachers in clinical settings. The Humanism in Teaching Interprofessional Education Program, a longitudinal program led by interprofessional facilitators to bring health care team professionals including Physicians, PAs, Nurses, Social Workers, etc. together to enhance their humanistic approach to patient care. Educator Development Sessions on a wide variety of topics including clinical reasoning, observation and feedback, educational scholarship, effective teaching, lecturing and small group facilitation, to name a few. These sessions, which are designed constructed to meet the specific needs of the attendees, are often taught by TLC faculty as well as YSM leaders in medical education. They are CME accredited. I would be delighted to help you or answer any questions you might have about educator development programs either that we currently provide or one that you are interested in creating. Please email or call me at the contact information above.
    Read More

TLC Faculty Associates

  • Dana Dunne, MD, MHS

    TLC Associate for Educator Development

    Associate Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases); GME Director, Educator Development, Department of Medicine; Associate, Teaching and Learning Center; Director, Internal Medicine Clerkship, Internal Medicine Clerkship; Associate Chair for Education and Academic Affairs, Internal Medicine

    Dana was certified by the Stanford Faculty Development Center for Medical Teachers in 2014 and began her role as a TLC Associate for Clinical Teaching Educator Development. Her focus is working with clinical educators in the non-surgical specialties. The course she leads is offered in five to seven modules which include topics such as learning climate, communication of goals, promotion of understanding and retention, feedback, etc. Faculty interested in attending or receiving more information may contact Dana directly.
    Read More
  • Katie Gielissen, MD, MHS

    TLC/GME Faculty Associate for Resident and Fellow Development

    Assistant Professor of Medicine (General Medicine) and of Pediatrics (General Pediatrics); Associate Clerkship Director, Internal Medicine; Faculty Director, Yale Clinician Educator Distinction, Internal Medicine; Faculty Director, Pediatric Clinician-Educator Track, Pediatrics

    Dr. Gielissen earned her medical degree at the University of Chicago - Pritzker School of Medicine before completing her Internal Medicine / Pediatrics training at Yale New Haven Hospital. She completed the General Internal Medicine Medical Education Fellowship and an MHS through the Medical Education Pathway (MHS-Med Ed) in 2018. She previously served as the Ambulatory Associate Program Director for the Yale Traditional Internal Medicine Program, and currently as the Associate Clerkship Director for the Internal Medicine Clerkship at the Yale School of Medicine. She also directs the Yale Pediatrics Clinician-Educator Track (PCET) and Co-Directs the Yale Internal Medicine Clinician-Educator Distinction (CED). In 2019, she joined as a co-editor of the Yale Office-Based Medicine (YOBM), an ambulatory curriculum used at over 300 programs across the country.Dr. Gielissen's scholarship focuses on Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) as a form of assessment in both the Undergraduate and Graduate Medical Education space. She serves as a member of the Faculty Development group Core EPA pilot in the Association of American Medical Colleges. She also performs qualitative research on Entrustment Decision-Making and on faculty development to enhance the quality of feedback and evaluation in clinical settings. Her clinical interests include diabetes management, transitions of care (pediatric to adult), and inpatient medicine.
    Read More
  • Viji Kurup, MD

    TLC Associate for Clinical Teaching Educator Development

    Professor of Anesthesiology; Vice Chair for Medical Education, Anesthesiology; Section Chief, Perioperative & Adult Anesthesia, Anesthesiology

    Viji was certified by the Stanford Faculty Development Center for Medical Teachers in 2018 and began her role as a TLC Associate for Clinical Teaching Educator Development. Her focus is working with clinical educators in the surgical specialties. The course she leads is offered in five to seven modules which include topics such as learning climate, communication of goals, promotion of understanding and retention, feedback, etc. Faculty interested in attending or receiving more information may contact Viji directly.
    Read More
  • Rachel Liu, BAO, MBBCh, FACEP, FAIUM

    Associate for Point-of-Care Ultrasound Educator Development

    Associate Professor Term; Director of Point-of-Care Ultrasound Education for YSM

    In 2019 Rachel Liu joined the TLC as our Associate for Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Educator Development. Rachel brings her expertise in Point-of-Care Ultrasound education to medical educators at Yale. She focuses on designing curricula and implementing the use of ultrasound in basic, physical and clinical science teaching to medical students. Rachel is offering courses on Point-of-Care Ultrasound for faculty with the goal of introducing educators to teaching trainees using POCUS. If you are interested in attending a POCUS course with Rachel or want more information, please contact her directly.
    Read More
  • Andrés S Martin, MD, PhD

    Director of the Standardized Patient Program

    Riva Ariella Ritvo Professor in the Child Study Center and Professor of Psychiatry; Medical Director, Children's Psychiatric Inpatient Service at Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital; Director, Standardized Patient Program, Teaching and Learning Center; Director of Medical Studies, Yale Child Study Center, Child Study Center

    As Director of the Standardized Patient Program, Andrés oversees the work of simulated patients (SPs) in the teaching of Yale Medical, Nursing and PA students as well as residents and other YNHH programs. He works with faculty to write cases for SP scenarios, working and overseeing the training and development of the actors in the Program.
    Read More
  • Jennifer Rockfeld, MD

    TLC Associate for Ambulatory Educational Development

    Dr. Rockfeld is part of the Northeast Medical Group (NEMG) acting as the lead for medical education. She received her M.D. degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed her internal medicine residency at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.  She has worked as the Associate Program Director for Ambulatory Care for the NYU Internal Medicine residency program, the Assistant Director for the Clinical Arts and Sciences Course at the Frank H. Netter School of Medicine and most recently as their Assistant Dean for the Clinical Curriculum.  She has been part of NEMG since 2018, providing primary care to NEMG patients at the Family Practice Associates in Guilford, CT.In her role as TLC Associate, Dr. Rockfeld will serve as a bridge between our clinical preceptors and the Yale School of Medicine.  She will provide organizational leadership of the NEMG Senior Preceptors Program and support our clinicians with faculty educator development programs.
    Read More
  • Martin Slade, MPH, PhD

    TLC Associate for Statistics in Medical Education

    Lecturer in Occupational Medicine

    Marty began his role as TLC Faculty Associate for Statistics in Medical Education in 2020. His focus is working with educators in the development and application of statistical methodologies to evaluate the effectiveness of medical education programs. Marty brings his expertise in statistics and research to the TLC masters students’ learning and supports their research project development and implementation.  If you are interested in connecting with Marty, contact him directly.
    Read More
  • Peter Takizawa, PhD

    TLC Associate for Educator Development

    Assistant Professor of Cell Biology; Director, Medical Studies

    In his role as TLC Associate for Educator Development, Pete primarily assists faculty in enhancing their lectures, creating exciting new lectures and converting existing content from lecture into interactive pedagogies. One such interactive pedagogy on which he works closely with educators is team based learning (TBL). This format requires developing content specifically created for TBL learning, understanding the various ways to present learning in this format and practice in how to facilitate the session. When YSM redesigned their curriculum, one outcome was to greatly increase the use of TBL and interactive learning in medical student education. He consults with faculty to work together to create and deliver effective and inspiring interactive education experiences for our students. Pete is available to consult or answer any questions at the contact information above.
    Read More
  • Thilan Wijesekera, MD, MHS

    TLC Associate for Clinical Reasoning Educator Development

    Assistant Professor; Director of Performance Improvement, Yale School of Medicine; Course Director, Clinical Reasoning and Decision Making; Associate, Educator Development in Clinical Reasoning, Teaching and Learning Center; Section Leader, Interprofessional Longitudinal Clinical Experience; Advisor, Clinician Educator Distinction, Internal Medicine Residency Programs; Member, Course Review Committee

    In 2019, Thilan accepted the role of TLC Associate for Clinical Reasoning Educator Development. His focus is working with YSM educators in enhancing their skills in teaching clinical reasoning to all levels of trainees. From observations to workshops to curricula, Thilan works closely with leaders in medical education to design educator development programs to meet the specific needs of the department and trainees. If you are interested in connecting with Thilan, email him at the contact information above.
    Read More

Email Us

Send us an email at tlc@yale.edu to be added to our mailing list or ask a question about our programs.