Holt Leadership Award for Residents and Fellows-in-Training

About the Holt Leadership Award for Residents and Fellows-in-Training

The Holt Leadership Award is awarded annually to the Resident or Fellow-in-Training who best exemplifies the attributes of a young leader: honesty, integrity, fairness, advocacy, and enthusiasm. The Award recognizes exemplary efforts on behalf of the Section for Residents and Fellows-in-Training of the AAO-HNS/F for the promotion of the missions and goals of the association.

Nominees are brought forward annually from the SRF. The award, a check for $500 and a medal, is presented at the annual SRF General Assembly and the awardee is announced during the Annual Meeting Opening Ceremony.

The 2023 nomination process will be open January 4 – March 15. Submit your nomination today!

2022 Holt Leadership Award Recipient

This year’s awardee, Hayley L. Born, MD, has been an active member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO–HNS) since her second year of residency at the University of Cincinnati. There, she served as a program and regional representative for the Section for Residents and Fellows-in-Training (SRF).

The description of the Holt Leadership Award highlights honesty, integrity, fairness, advocacy, and enthusiasm. Dr. Born not only embodies these traits, but she also works to lift up and encourage her colleagues, setting her apart as she develops herself as a leader within the specialty. She has held several leadership positions within the SRF, including two years as the appointed delegate to the Society of University Otolaryngologists Head and Neck Surgeons.

When she was voted onto the Governing Council (GC) as the Board of Governors (BOG) Socioeconomic and Grassroots Representative (SEGR), she instituted a fun “term of the month” initiative on SRF social media accounts to help residents understand the role of the BOG. She is serving her second term as Member-at-Large on the GC during her laryngology fellowship, where she works with junior moderators to ensure that AAO-HNSF Annual Meeting Panel Presentation proposals are well crafted and include impactful topics and panelists.

Dr. Born has also served on many AAO-HNS committees, most within the Women in Otolaryngology Section, including the Leadership Development and Mentorship, Program and Awards, and Communications Committees. In 2019 she received the WIO Exemplary Senior Trainee Award for her excellence in leadership and mentorship inside as well as outside the organization.

Previous Awardees:

  • 2021: Carla V. Valenzuela, MD, MSCI
  • 2020: Aurora G. Vincent, MD
  • 2019: Claire M. Lawlor, MD
  • 2018: Peter M. Vila, MD
  • 2017: David S. Cohen, MD
  • 2016: John M. Carter, MD
  • 2015: Nikhila P. Raol, MD, MPH
  • 2014: Jayme R. Dowdall, MD
  • 2013: Mark E. Zafereo, Jr., MD
  • 2012: Jeffrey C. Liu, MD
  • 2011: Vasu Divi, MD
  • 2010: Lily Love, MD
  • 2009: Spencer C. Payne, MD
  • 2008: Jacob D. Steiger, MD
  • 2007: Monica Tadros, MD
  • 2006: Angela M. Powell, MD and Mark E. Boston, MD
  • 2005: Adam T. Ross, MD
  • 2004: Paul L. Leong, MD
  • 2003: Liana Puscas, MD and Robert Puchalski, MD
  • 2002: F. Christopher Holsinger, MD

AAO-HNS COVID-19 InformationLearn More